!!!UPDATED – 9/27/24 4:30PM!!! – Hey Guys- I forgot your reading assignment for this week. Read the first 4 Chapters of Orbiting the Giant Hairball by Gordon Mackenzie. Think about why perhaps people lose their willingness to be creative, or to consider themselves creative. In his book, Mackenzie uses a giant hairball as a metaphor for a big corporation. He talks about how a creative person needs to launch into orbit instead of getting tangled into the mass of hair and limiting their creativity. Think about what might be a hairball in your life. Why do we get stuck and struggle to be creative? Now back to the rest of the Blog.
Write the Story
Think back–if you can– to vision day. You were put into groups for this class. You were told you would be creating a movie as a group. You spent time with your group discussing a genre and hopefully you brainstormed some concepts and/or ideas of what kind of film you would make. Sounds like you’re on the write track. Perhaps you decided some specifics but you didn’t come up with the whole story yet…did you? Well guess what time it is? That’s write.
We are going to write a script. But where should we start?
This week we are going to learn about the 3 Act structure and how it is used in movies. Then you’re going to use the 3 Act structure to write a script for your movie. The movie your group will make together. The one you thought about at vision day and also the one you remembered– three minutes ago–up there, above the picture that says “I am a writer”; come on! you know what I’m talking about–I literally just told you to remember it!!! Please tell me we’re all on the same page. Are we good? OK.
Wait…Writing? I thought we were making a movie?
We are making a movie. Did you know there’s a lot that goes into making a movie? You’ve got Producers, Directors, Actors, Set Designers, Storyboard Artists, Gaffers, Key Grips, and Best Boys. These are the people whose names are on the screen after the movie. And there are a lot more than just these ones- if you read the credits you’ll see Craft Services–these are the people who fed everyone while the movie was being made. You’ll see stunt coordinators. You’ll see Animal trainers, music makers, sound engineers, transportation crews, assistants to the stars, assistants to the directors, assistants to the assistants. the List goes on. If you’ve ever sat through the credits of a movie you know. Phil Tippett worked on the movie Jurassic Park. He tried.
If you are one of those people who gets up and leaves or turns off the tv when the credits start you should know that there are real people who worked on that movie who waited their whole life to have their name scroll across the screen for a few short seconds, and you couldn’t be bothered to show them any respect and watch their name go by. You’re probably the same kind of person who leaves a football game before the final whistle is blown simply because you think you know how the game will end. You are a sad, strange, little person. Do better.
Let me get down off of that thing. Alright, what’s the point? Oh yeah, a lot goes into making a movie. This week we are focussing on the writing part of it. Believe it or not- Movies have to be written. Sometimes someone has a great idea for an original story. Sometimes they read a great book and want to make a movie. Sometimes they watch a perfectly good movie and think I want to remake this and make it really dumb. Either way they need to write that story into what is called a SCREENPLAY. A screenplay is like a play(think Bill Shakespeare) but for the Screen–Movie or TV.
A screenplay is a written work that serves as the basis for a film, television show, or video game. It’s also known as a script, and it’s written in a specific format to distinguish between characters, dialogue, and action lines.
- Screenplays often go through multiple revisions, and screenwriters may incorporate suggestions from directors, producers, and others involved in the filmmaking process.
- Screenplays can be original works or adaptations of existing works, such as novels or stage plays.
- The format of a screenplay helps guide the budget and schedule for production.
- Early drafts may only include brief suggestions for shots, but by the time of production, the screenplay may be a detailed shooting script.
- A screenplay can describe a scene, characters, dialogue, and actions. They also can describe changes from one scene to the next (ie. the camera moves to the window where in the distance we see the attacking horde of headless barbie dolls breaching the the fortress walls…fade to black).
- Dialogue, who is speaking, and character directions, who is moving, should be clearly noted. (ie. CHARLES: Looking into Beatrice’s beautiful brown eyes – “When I tell you that I love you, I mean as a friend only.” BEATRICE: Overcome with emotion she falls to the soft muddy ground, accidentally landing on a garden rake that flips up into the air smacking Charles across the face. CHARLES: is knocked out cold and collapses across Beatrice’s back. BEATRICE: Attempts to do a pushup but Charles is too heavy. She sighs…She cries… She dies… Fade to black).
Why tell the story?
I watched a great talk on story telling. But unfortunately the speaker told a dirty joke, so we’re not going to watch the talk in this class. Because like my dad used to say, “One bad part, does not make a movie good.” This was his response when I told him a movie was good, and it only had one bad part. Something to think about. But also in this specific case- the dirty joke was bad so we aren’t going to watch it. But I will share some of his thoughts on story telling.
He said:
Story telling is Joke Telling. You have to know your punchline. The Ending. Everything you’re saying, from the first sentence to the last, is leading to a singular goal, and ideally confirming some truth that deepens our understanding of who we are as human beings.
Your story should make the audience care. Emotionally, intellectually, aesthetically.
Make a promise: In the beginning of your story make a promise that this story will lead somewhere that is worth their time. “A well told promise is like a pebble being pulled back in a slingshot that propels you forward through the story to the end.”
The audience wants to work for their meal. They just don’t want to know they’re doing that. Meaning, we want to be given the clues to understand the whole story. We want to be told, what is 2 + 2? But we don’t want to be told, 2 + 2 = 4. It’s this well organized absence of information that draws us in. Make the audience put things together.
The elements you provide and the order you place them in is crucial to whether you succeed or fail at engaging the audience.
Change is fundamental in a story. If things go static, stories die, because life is never static.
Drama is anticipation mingled with uncertainty. When you’re telling a story, have you constructed anticipation? In the short term, have you made me wanna know what will happen next? Have you made me wanna know how it will conclude in the long term?
Have you constructed honest conflicts with truth that creates doubt in what the outcome might be?
Storytelling has guidelines, not hard rules.
Like your main character. Allow him to change over time. Character arcs are important.
Storytelling is a very difficult craft. Trying to put together the puzzle pieces for it to work is part of the journey. Andrew Stanton (he wrote Finding Nemo, and WALL-E) has a motto: “Be wrong as fast as you can.” Get out the bad ideas so you know what doesn’t work and then you can find where the story needs to go. Make a lot of mistakes. Back to me.
Writing the 3 Act Structure
Write your script using a 3 Act Structure. You may be asking yourself, “What is the 3 Act Structure?” Well, I’m glad you asked.
The three act structure is a narrative model that divides stories into three parts — Act One, Act Two, and Act Three, or rather, a beginning, middle, and end. Screenwriter Syd Field made this ancient storytelling tool unique for screenwriters in 1978 with the publishing of his book, Screenplay. He labels these acts the Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution.
Some writers label these three acts the setup, build, and payoff. Both are correct. But the basic point of each of these acts is that they have their own set of guidelines to develop, build, and resolve a story.
On a basic level, Act One sets up the world, characters, the character’s goal, as well as the conflicts or obstacles that are preventing them from achieving their goal. Act Two raises the stakes for the character to achieve the goal, escalating the conflict. Act Three resolves the story with either an achievement of that goal or a failure.
WATCH
This will help you see how Paperman fits the structure. Also get some ideas for important elements to include in your own movie.
What did you learn about the 3 Act Structure? How can you apply it to your story?
WATCH
Watch one of these movies and analyze it. See if you can map out how this film uses the 3 Act Structure.
At very least can you identify specific parts of the 3 Act Structure: Act 1, Inciting incident, Act 2, Midpoint, Conflict, Resolution, etc.
STAR WARS: A New Hope
The Incredibles
The Wizard of OZ
Finding Nemo
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Plot Devices to Consider
There are many plot devices common to most films. Consider including some of these in your story.
MacGuffin – A MacGuffin is an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, though it is otherwise unnimportant or irrelevant. Examples include: Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers (The Wizard of OZ), Te Fiti’s Heart ( Moana) , Infinity Stones (MCU), Death Star Plans(StarWars:A New Hope)
Foreshadowing – when something hints to what will happen at a later point in the story. Examples include: No Capes!( The Incredibles), Captain America almost lifts Mjolnir(Avengers:Age of Ultron)
Chekhovs Gun – Chekhov’s Gun is a narrative principle where an element introduced into a story first seems unimportant but will later take on great significance. The principle postulates that any seemingly unimportant element introduced into a story—an object, a character trait, a backstory, an allergy—should later have relevance. ie- If you are going to emphasize that there is a gun on a table in your story, that gun needs to be used at some point in the story. Don’t bother pointing out the gun if no one is going to use it.
Red Herring – A clue or piece of information that is, or is intended to be, misleading or distracting. Examples: Sirius Black is a dangerous wizard motivated only by his desire to kill Harry Potter(The Prisoner of Azkaban), Coco’s Father is Ernesto de la Cruz (Coco)
Plot Twist – A literary device that changes the direction or outcome of a story, often unexpectedly. It can be used to add suspense, shock, or intrigue, and can appear at any point in the story. However, plot twists are most commonly associated with endings, and are then known as twist endings or surprise endings. Examples: I am your Father(Empire Strikes Back), Stinky Pete out of his box(Toy Story 2)
WRITE
Work on a script for your group’s movie. It should be based on what your group already decided, but make some choices on your own. Write what works for your story. Your group will come together and share and compile from everyone’s stories into what you want to do for your group’s film. Don’t be too attached to your ideas, just write a great script and let the fun begin.
Your finished movie should be 6-8 minutes total. Don’t worry so much about that right now. You will learn to edit. Some of your favorite ideas may end up on the cutting room floor. It’s ok.
Write a script. All in the group will be writing their own script. As a group you will then decide which parts of the scripts you like and which you don’t. Your challenge will be to let go of your own ideas and work together to piece together the best story. Yes you will need to rewrite your script as a group. You may want to set up a shared doc, or email each other your scripts before class so everyone can read through them and see what they like.
Other things to keep in mind- Your movie does not need to have everyone acting in it. Some of you may just want to direct, or write, or edit, etc. You can also use other people as needed. Try to keep your films simple enough to work within your groups. Ultimately– just have fun. Make mistakes. Learn lots.
