Story Analysis Sheet:

What’s the logline:

Who’s the protagonist?

What’s the story world?

What’s the conflict: (Conflict= Objective + Obstacles)

What’s the plot?

What’s the theme or purpose of the story?

Definitions: LOGLINE: It’s like the cover of a book. You must be able to tell the whole story in one line. The idea is to create a compelling mental picture. Why will this hold an audience’s interest?

CHARACTER: Protagonist, antagonist and conflict. What’s the guy want, and who’s trying to stop him. The story is about somebody with whom we have some empathy. This somebody wants something very badly. This something is difficult, but possible to do, get, or achieve.

STORY WORLD: What are the rules of the world in the story? Magic works, wishes come true, you only get three wishes. Once these rules are established, they can’t be violated. (i.e. a fourth wish works.)

PLOT: The cause and effect of the story. Beginning, middle and end or set-up, confrontation and resolution. The story is told to the maximum emotional impact and audience participation in the proceedings. The story must come to a satisfactory ending-not necessarily a happy ending.

CONFLICT: Conflict=objective +obstacle.Three types of conflict: those between two characters, those within a character, and those between a character and some aspect of the world.

UNITY: There must be only one main objective if the film is to have unity. The storyteller must adhere to unity of time, location or action, but not all three. (i.e. it happens to one guy, all happens in one place, all happens at one time.)

THEME: What’s the hero’s emotional journey? According to Robert McKee, a story must be a vehicle for an emotion. The audience wants to be moved.

“Screenwriting is a piece of carpentry. It’s basically putting down some kind of structural form to mess around with. And as long as the structural form is kept, whatever I have written is relatively valid; a scene will hold regardless of the dialogue. It’s the thrust of the scene that’s kept pure.” William Goldman.