Robert McKee Story Seminar Notes (Part III

DAY III: THE PRINCIPLES OF STORY DESIGN (Continued)Note: For a full outline of the daily agenda of McKees three-day seminar see:http://mckeestory.com/outline.html

Turning points Two ways of doing them:

actionrevelation comes from back story

Flashback Simply a way of doing exposition

should be dramatized

should be a story in itself

Narration (Voice Over) Best used as counterpoint narration

-ie Woody Allen

if you can take out the narration and your story still makes sense,then its justified

Coincidence No need to avoid, just handle well

bring in early if possiblecan be an inciting incident

Surprise If used should be followed by insight, rather than being used as a cheap trick

Holding interest: Curiosity

Both emotional and intellectual

Curiosity generates three possible relationships:1) Mystery: teases the audience by hiding factscharacters know more

than the audiences; often uses red herrings2) Suspense characters and the audience share the same knowledge

3) Dramatic ironyaudience ahead of character; facts hidden from

characters

Holes in Story Lose credibility However, there are ways of covering a logical problem:

kick sand over it hold it up so people can see it; character can actually comment on it

ie Terminator

relay on narrative drive to gloss over it

Text and Subtext Text: sensory surface of a work

Subtext: inner life

inexpressible subconscious thoughts

If you write the scene about what the scene s about, youre in deep shita.k.a.writing on the nose

scene will die like a squashed dog

actors act subtext Audiences go to movies for extended exposure to subtext

only momentarily available in real life

Can write passionate dialogue, but must also have subtextsubtext a universe of gliding monsters

All characters have desires

dramatic characters recognize this

comic character is marked by blind obsession

Character Not human beings; instead, works of art

metaphors

Characterization is the sum total of observable parts when well done creates an intriguing character, but this is not who the

character is

Choice under pressure reveals who a person is Must understand a characters real desire

motivation should be understood as well, but audience may have adifferent interpretation

If character is motivated do not mention it

Have a sense of things, but no need to mentiondraws in audiences active participation

In character, dimension means contradictionconsistent and multiple contradictions make a dynamic and

multidimensional character

Different characters and contexts provoke different characteristics from a

character Villains are deliberately flat, but not dull

No one thinks they are bad; only act towards the positive

Any dimensional characters will be returning do not make throw-away characters more dimensional than needed

Writing characters for screen Write with an awareness of actordont overwrite action, for example. Put the

ideal actor in your role Love your characters

Finding characters: observe and note-take, but do not copy

ask yourself what you would do in your characters position. The honestanswer is always correct

Dialogue dialogue is not conversation

less is more; must be purposeful and compressed screen dialogue require immediate understanding

long speeches are anti-ethical to the screen

in real life no such thing as a monologue all of life is dialogue

action and reactioneven if only one character talking, specify reaction

if you can avoid dialogue, then dont sue it

dialogue is the regretful second choice used sparingly dialogue has real power

relief to the visual

Description be specifc, rather than general ie spike rather than big nail no generic verbs or nouns

no adverbs use active verbs

remove is and are-- both are static the screen is active, so use the most active verbs and concrete nouns possible

- use metaphor and simile sparingly---only it they can be realized literally

we see and we hear: get rid ofold-fashionedpull out all camera direction

only use slugline if shot is absolutely necessary to telling the taleif possible, make shots in screen description, and drop in

lines of white to break up longish descriptions

Poetic expressive poetics of screenwriting

image system subliminal category of images that repeats

must be subliminal in order to have effect/impact audiences instinctively attaches connotative meaning to any denotative image

writer can use both external and internal meaning of imagery

externalattached outside the film ( used by amateurs) internalizedmeaning created inside the film (Pro)

Examples:Alien image system =rape

Diabolique water= dread

After Hours art=weaponimage system does fall under the directors aegis, but writer can create it.

Creative ProcessStep Outline one or two sentence outline per scene (one sheet of paper per Act or 3x5 cards) do for both plot and subplot

pour out ideas, but chuck most find the story step by step

simultaneously collecting info/inspiration/imagining/research about characters

and world

dont let people read the step outline; pitch the story instead

- pitch must hook, hold and pay off in 10 minsTreatment prose treatment of step-by-step moment-by-moment telling of what happens

write it down!

no dialogue in treatment Be thorough: take every scene and expand it moment by moment

Screenplay dialogue finally appears

if treatment is done thoroughly, this will be a joy

this method will put emphasis on the story also the most effective way

inside out method is tried, true and the best

Casablanca Analysis (Random Notes) all life is ritualistic

ie airport scene when Strasser arrives

used to add subtext

subplots: at least three

1) Ugarte2) Refugee

3) Bulgarian wife

logic is retroactive, so go back and fix if problems

can always set-up to make event logical

ritual of cocktail chat used to establish subtext of passion and longing

value charge at the beginning of a scene cannot be the same at the end of a scene

happens consistently in CasabkncaPulling Apart a Scene

use when scene not working or analyzing a movie identify who runs the scene

ask what the character wants, their desire

look at the subtext, the real desire what is the source of antagonism?

then look at the antagonists stated and unstated desire which values exist?

pos or negative charge?

break into beats action/reaction

when behaviour changes:

what is the character doing?identify with specific, gerund phrase

break scene into beats

look at the value charge at the end of the scene

if unchanged then the scene doesnt work reexamine the beats see where the value did change

Value progression in Casablanca begins in the negation of the negation

begins in tyranny Rick says he doesnt care--self hate

process of the film is to bring love back into his heart Casablanca is a myth

myth mediates between the contradictions that make life unlivable

-ie life and death

at climax, Rick choose both love and duty

the lyrics to Time Goes By provide controlling idea love is permanent while world changes