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Lecture 3:Lecture 3:The Principles of Drama: The Principles of Drama:

What is Story?What is Story?

Professor Christopher Bradley

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)Written by John Logan (screenplay) and Christopher Bond (musical adaptation) &

Steven Sondheim (musical) and Hugh Wheeler (musical)

Previous LessonPrevious Lesson

• How do I get started writing?

• What is the writing process?

• Proper screenplay format

• Writing Exercise #1The Big Picture (1989)

Screenplay by Michael Varhol &

Christopher Guest & Michael McKean

In this LessonIn this Lesson

• The Nature of Story

• Conflict and Goals

• Emotion, Action and Dialogue

• Approaching Form

• Writing Exercise #2 Captains Courageous (1937)

Written by John Lee Mahin andMarc Connelly and

Dale Van Every

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The Nature of StoryThe Nature of Story

Lesson 3: Part I

Gorillas in the Mist (2005)

Screenplay by Anna Hamilton Phelan

Based on a story by Anna Hamilton Phelan and Tab Murphy, an

article by Harold T. P. Hayes and the work of Dian Fossey

StoryStory

• Stories are how we understand the world.• Stories are everywhere around us - in

movies, television, theater, literature, video games, comic books and journalism.

• But we also tell each other stories to explain our lives. The stories we tell help define our joys and struggles.

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FormForm• Only if our stories make sense can we

make sense of the world.• In fact, stories need to make more

sense than life in order for them to communicate meaning. So they obey certain rules and follow certain form.

• In life, experiences usually become meaningful with reflection in time, but stories are meaningful now, at the instant they happen.

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Detail in StoryDetail in Story• One of the ways that we create reality in

stories is by the accumulation of detail.• In conveying events, we often invent

detail to make our stories more comic, dramatic, frightening, comprehensible, awe-inspiring, etc.

• The detail creates verisimilitude, which allows for a story to approximate the truth of real life.

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Using DetailUsing Detail• A generic story about a truck driver who

chases down a motorist in a road rage can be effective and evoke emotion.

• But give that trucker scars on his face and bulging biceps, put a gleaming skull and crossbones on the grill of the truck, and give the motorist a baby in the back seat, and suddenly the accumulation of detail makes for a more compelling story. There is now more at stake.

Example of Use of DetailExample of Use of DetailDR. LECTER'S CELL

is coming slowly INTO VIEW... Behind its barred front wall is a second barrier of stout nylon net... Sparse, bolted-down furniture, many softcover books and papers. On the walls, extraordinarily detailed, skillful drawings, mostly European cityscapes, in charcoal or crayon.

DR. HANNIBAL LECTER

is lounging on his bunk, in white pajamas, reading an Italian Vogue. He turns, considers her... A face so long out of the sun, it seems almost leached - except for the glittering eyes, and the wet red mouth. He rises smoothly, crossing to stand before her; the gracious host. His voice is cultured, soft.

IncidentIncident• Often, young writers and filmmakers

believe that assembling a string of incidents - distinct pieces of action or episodes - will somehow create a dramatic story.

• While incident is crucial to story, a story must be much more than simply the compiling of incidents. It must follow rules of drama.

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Conflict and GoalsConflict and Goals

Lesson 3: Part II

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Screenplay by Horton Foote

Based on the novel by Harper Lee

The Principles of DramaThe Principles of Drama• Drama relies on two important rules:

1. A main character (the protagonist) must take ACTION to achieve something.

2. This character must meet with CONFLICT.

The Big Lebowski (1998) Screenplay by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen

Character Goals/DesiresCharacter Goals/Desires• Drama needs characters who desire, who

want, who need and who act. This kind of character will drive a story forward and provide an understandable framework for the story’s action.

• On the most superficial level, every story is about the quest to obtain a goal and whether or not a character will achieve it.

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Passive CharactersPassive Characters• Inexperienced writers often make the

mistake of creating passive characters. These characters might seem more representative of “real life”, but they’re boring.

• Passive characters may evoke sympathy and engage the reader's believability, but the audience will get bored with a character who waits for something to happen or who doesn’t act and react.

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Active CharactersActive Characters• An active main character takes charge

of the story by doing something to get his/her goal. The actions may be small. She may make mistakes, or even take the wrong action--but the important thing is she's active!

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Juno (2007) Written by Diablo Cody

Active Character GoalsActive Character Goals

• In The Silence of the Lambs, Agent Starling acts on her desire to catch the serial killer Buffalo Bill and save a Senator’s daughter.

• In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker acts on his desire to avenge his family and destroy The Empire of Darth Vader.

• In Finding Nemo, Marlin acts on his desire to find his son Nemo, after he is lost in the open sea.

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ConflictConflict• Conflict - a clash of actions, ideas, desires

or wills - builds the tension that keeps the audience interested in what happens next.

• Conflict casts doubt on the character’s ultimate success and increases our interest.

• Conflict creates stress and problems that we want to see resolved.

• In the best movies, conflict is both internal and external.

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Conflict (Continued)Conflict (Continued)

• If the story’s action is mere activity or characters talking about their feelings, ideas and events, little tension develops and the audience’s attention dwindles.

• Conflict and character goals work together to provide the story with an organizing structure, make connections between characters and events, and create meaning.

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Goal/Conflict ExamplesGoal/Conflict Examples

• While attempting to capture Buffalo Bill and save the Senator’s daughter, Starling comes into conflict with Bill himself, as well as Hannibal Lecter, Dr. Chilton and others who present obstacles to her success.

• While trying to help the Rebellion and train to be a Jedi Knight, Luke comes into conflict with the forces of the Empire.

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Emotion, Action and DialogueEmotion, Action and Dialogue

Lesson 3: Part III

Sexy Beast (2000) Screenplay by Kario Salem and Lem Dobbs and Scott Marshall Smith

EmotionEmotion• Every successful film, short or long, and

no matter what it is about, gives the audience an emotional experience.

• The audience craves this emotional experience, and when a film gives it to us, the audience connects with it.

• The key is to feel something. The worst thing is to leave a film feeling nothing.

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Strategies for Creating EmotionStrategies for Creating Emotion

• How do you give your audience an emotional experience?– Characters and their emotional responses

allow the audience to experience empathy.– Humor– Surprise and suspense– Put your characters in difficult situations and

force them to make hard choices in which they have to sacrifice.

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Emotion through CinemaEmotion through Cinema• Cinema is a visceral art that creates

emotion through images, music, and performance.

• Though the screenwriter is not directly responsible for creating these elements of the film, the screenplay must facilitate them by being clear and direct and by telling a story in which something is at stake for the characters. Make your story about something.

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Action vs. DialogueAction vs. Dialogue• Many inexperienced screenwriters

mistakenly think that the story is mainly communicated through dialogue.

• Action drives the story. Make sure your dialogue is action.

• Telling the audience everything through dialogue lessens a story’s impact, reduces the tension and ultimately results in a boring movie. Show, don’t tell.

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Involving the AudienceInvolving the Audience

• Audiences like mystery, like to figure out a little of what’s going on for themselves.

• Audiences will fill in a lot. • If you tell the audience everything through

dialogue, it gives them little to do. Let them do some of the work. Get them involved.

• Actors are able to convey a lot about character through little dialogue.

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Involving the Audience Involving the Audience (Continued)(Continued)

By giving the viewer just enough so that he or she understands what is going on, and then allowing the characters to reveal themselves through their actions and reactions, the viewer follows along, putting information together and making sense of it. What is unsaid is as important as what is said.

ExampleExample

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EXT. MOSCOW OUTDOOR MARKET – DAY

BOURNE -- leaving the market -- taking a swig of VODKA and knows there are TWO NEW COPS on his ass.

EXT. MARKET PARKING LOT – DAY

Another CAB STAND. CABBIE by a YELLOW CAB, looks up to see BOURNE coming toward him and also the TWO COPS. As BOURNE nears, the CABBIE shakes his head. Bourne pivots casually like he doesn't know they're coming until HE SPITS VODKA into one of the cop’s face! -- blinded as BOURNE takes him and his PARTNER out. The CABBIE raises his hands in surrender, steps aside as BOURNE takes his car.

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Approaching FormApproaching Form

Lesson 3: Part IV

The Bourne Supremacy (2004) Written by Robert Ludlum (novel) and Tony Gilroy (screenplay)

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Exceptions to FormExceptions to Form• A short film, particularly a funny one, can

sometimes get away with breaking some of the fundamental principles of drama.

• Humor can sometimes be an end in itself, though it generally works best when it is fraught with conflict and the character goes after what he or she wants. The obstacles make it funny.

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Sketch ComedySketch Comedy

• Sketch comedy, such as the kind found on “Saturday Night Live,” can be very effective—in short doses.

• The danger with sketch comedy is that the longer it lasts, the more the audience wants it to become a story.

ExampleExample

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) Written by Graham Chapman & John Cleese & Eric Idle & Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones & Michael Palin

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The Difference between Shorts The Difference between Shorts and Featuresand Features

• Many writers approach their shorts with stories that are just too big.

• Though many of the principles of drama apply to both, a short film differs as much from a feature as a short story does from a novel.

• Shorts differ from features not only in size and scope, but also in plot structure.

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Differences (Continued)Differences (Continued)• Shorts might have an off-screen inciting

incident, while in features it is on-screen.• Shorts might follow an unsympathetic

protagonist.• Shorts focus on one conflict, often in less

detail than a feature.• Short films can deal more effectively with

difficult themes that mainstream films might avoid for fear of alienating audiences.

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EndingsEndings• Regardless of the structure you choose to

follow, you should begin thinking about your film’s ending almost immediately.

• The audience wants a strong finish to a film. Make your ending definitive.

• Think of your ending in terms of theme. What are you trying to say with your film?

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ChoiceChoice• You should also think of your ending in

terms of a choice that your protagonist must make that will define him or her.

• This choice should be made at the story’s highest point of tension and it should be an either/or proposition in which the character is called upon to make a sacrifice.

• Forcing such a choice on a character makes for a more satisfying conclusion.

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Famous Examples Famous Examples

• Sophie’s Choice (1982)• Casablanca (1942)• The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Sophie’s Choice (1982) Written by William Styron (novel) and Alan J. Pakula (screenplay)

AssignmentsAssignments

Lesson 3: Part V

Arthur (1982)

Screenplay by Steve Gordon

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E-Board Post #1E-Board Post #1• Identify the choice made by a

protagonist in either a short film or a feature film that you have seen. Does the choice define the character? How does he or she come to be in the position to make it?

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E-Board Post #2E-Board Post #2

• Watch the short film from the lesson, Ten Minutes and then discuss it in terms of the principles of drama from this lesson. Among other things, you should talk about how detail, action and emotion work in the film. Also, is the structure notably different than the structure for most feature films?

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Writing ExerciseWriting Exercise• Write a page of prose in which you sketch

out two characters who are in conflict over something. Try and make the conflict arise out of their personalities. Sketch the characters and their situation with as much details as possible. Think about the emotions you are trying to evoke through such a conflict.

End of Lecture 3End of Lecture 3

Next Lecture:

The Characteristics of a Good Short Film

10 Minuta (2002)

Screenplay by Srdjan Vuletic