Hey everyone! For this week's reflective response, I'll be talking to you about something I learned about storytelling. Today, we had two guest speakers visit our class, and one of them was a filmmaker from Oahu. He recently produced a documentary on the Hawaii's volleyball team. I learned a lot of important things from him, and I am very thankful to have him spoken to us, and I'll be sharing it with you. What is something you need for a story? Conflict. Without conflict, the story wouldn't be as exciting or as strong. In fact, the whole story is conflict. The story is just the main character overcoming obstacles and conflict. Every story has a hero, or the protagonist and the enemy, who is called the antagonist. The antagonist doesn't have to be a person, it could be a tsunami or natrual disaster, etc. He showed us the four parts in a story structure. Not only do filmmakers use this method, but writers and authors too. It's a very successful way to tell the story. The story is broken up into four equal parts. But before all four parts, there needs to be a teaser or hook. A hook will make the audience keep watching or keep reading and stay for the whole time. After that, comes Part 1. Part 1, or the first 25%, is the set up/orphan. This is where you set the story up, the protagonist is isn't a hero just yet. Here you will also explain the stakes. When I say that, I mean, the consequences if their destiny isn't fulfilled. It kind of bonds the audience with the main character. Now, at the 25% mark, comes the first plot point and inciting incident. The inciting incident is important, where something should happen to the main character that will lead them into conflict. Part 2 is the response/wanderer. This is where the main character becomes a wanderer, meaning, things haven't unraveled yet. Also, the antagonist is moving, but the protagonist doesn't know. At the 50% marks is called the midpoint. This is where something will get unveiled which puts the protagonist is in danger. You can tell that this means it would be very suspenseful. Part 3 is the attack/warrior. This is where the protagonist becomes a confident warrior who is actually now engaged with whats going on. Also, in the middle of both Part 2 and 3, there are something called pinch points. A pinch point is where the antagonist comes back into the story. Now at the 75% mark, it is the 2nd plot point, where the protagonist knows who the antagonist is and no more new information is given to the audience. Finally, from part 3 to part 4, there is a lull. The lull signifies where the protagonist losses their self confidence and starts to doubt themselves. This far into the story, the whole audience is engaged. Lastly, part 4, resolution/martyr. This is where the protagonist puts everything on the line. It concludes the story with exactly what the audience expects, but in a unique, creative, and different way. Also, if you want to read a book all about the story structure, I recommend reading "Story Engineering" by Larry Brooks. I'm not sure if we can use this method in our news story videos, but it sure will be helpful if you plan on making a short film! They gave us great pieces of information. Well, that's it for my blog! Thanks for reading! Bye!
http://julieglover.com/2011/09/12/a-mostly-pantser-tries-plotting/
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