Lecture 8 10 01 Fictional narratives 1 Character fictional based on reality or real 2 Events in some order chronological thematic imagined 3 Causes and effects usually based on character goals arbitrary usually via conflicts Three classic conflicts 1 People vs nature 2 People vs people 3 People vs themselves Dramatic conflict is key for creating a story Format as a cycle 1 Intro 2 Exposition 3 Climax 4 Denouement Structuring time Time can be conveyed as past present and future Flashback Flash forward Parallel editing Story length Two types according to Aristotle 1 Mimesis showing the story events are happening live theater 2 Diegesis telling a story narrator etc literature cinema is both Cinema combines both forms of storytelling hence having a wider range of narrative techniques at its disposal Narrative story Narrator spoken word by a narrator etc Narrative paradigms conventions not rules 1 Realistic The Player attempts to portray real world transparently tries to not draw attention to storytelling itself seems to unfold automatically loose discursive plots with no defining beginning middle and end story we see is just a slice of people s lives unresolved some scenes don t propel the story forward but help filmmaker be true to it 2 Classical Star Wars Casablanca setup confrontation and resolution we are aware of shaping of story usually a conflict between protagonist and antagonist begin with implied or dramatic philosophical question deadline train will leave at 5 building explodes at midnight linear plot structure not much flashback or forward 3 Formalistic Pulp Fiction most musicals author is overtly manipulative revel in artificiality design of plot is heightened not concealed time jumps etc 4 Nonfiction documentary film unfolds like a layer making a case presents facts and case social actors real people 5 Experimental concerned with being evocative rather than being direct or clear subjective films can be obscure sometimes intentionally sometimes incomprehensible without having prior knowledge about the time period or the filmmaker Content and form Story general subject matter raw materials of dramatic action in chronological sequence wizard of oz girl travels to fantasy land and encounters adventures Plot what shapes a story and gives it a certain direction or intention of meaning coming of age story where a girl makes discoveries about life and herself Screenwriter s job Language need mastery of language Research deep knowledge of his or her subject matter Dramatic Structure ordering of events and the rhythm need good sense of that Complexity appreciation for complexity of storytelling Multidimensional Characters need to be able to invent 2D characters and situations Screenplay itself should have minimal amount of direction camera lighting costume sound Build your idea decide on themes and characters organize structure Revise the script many times it s necessary and normal Words are most cost effective way to test your storytelling and visual ideas Log line a one sentence enticing description of the movie s story including Main characters Situation the characters find themselves in Inciting incident what triggers story Log lines do not tell the movie s story Leave the listener curious about what happens next Ex To save her father an intelligent young woman gets trapped in an enchanted castle with a seemingly monstrous beast Beauty and the Beast Student films Be concise don t tell a conventional love story start each scene as late as possible and get out of it as soon as possible lose the music montages and dream sequences Television 1 page about 1 minute of screen time Situation comedy sitcom Drama TV movie
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