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Lecture 7:Lecture 7:How do I Move My Story?How do I Move My Story?

Professor Michael Green

Almost Famous (2000) Written by Cameron Crowe

Previous LessonPrevious Lesson• Basic Three-part

Structure

• The Set-Up

• The Rising Action (Developing the Conflict), the Climax and the Resolution

• Writing Exercise #5 – Your Treatment Notorious (1946)

Written by Ben Hecht

In this LessonIn this Lesson

• Plotting – The Twists and Turns

• The Role of Conflict

• The Principles of Action

• Writing Exercise #6

The Crying Game (1992) Written by Neil Jordan

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Plotting – The Twists and TurnsPlotting – The Twists and Turns

Lesson 7: Part I

Apocalypse Now (1979) Written by Francis Coppola and John Milius (screenplay) and

Michael Herr (narration) and Joseph Conrad (novel)

Writing the PlotWriting the Plot• Once you have an understanding of

structure and the purpose of each section of the story, you can begin to think of the actual step by step plan for constructing the plot.

• Plotting is the nuts and bolts construction of your story. It orchestrates the action and conflict, designs the sequences, and creates the storyline so that the progression of events makes sense, builds suspense and moves your audience.

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Writing the Plot (Continued)Writing the Plot (Continued)• Writing plot is never easy and you shouldn’t

expect it to come to you just because you have a concept, protagonist and goal.

• Plot develops as you turn a general theme and characters into specific details – actions, dialogue, circumstances, time and place.

• Good plot evolves organically from the reaction of a particular character in a particular situation.

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Plot as ActionPlot as Action• Plot depends on the protagonist pushing

the action forward, whether by his own design or as a reaction to a situation.

• If the plot is a mere natural sequence of incidents, with no real orchestrated rising action, it will be ineffective.

• The incidents may reveal character, but if they don’t advance the plot a step further towards the crisis, if they don’t lead to a big situation, they’ll be of no dramatic value.

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ObstaclesObstacles• Remember, plot is made interesting by the

obstacles standing in your character’s way.• The audience watches with anticipation, in

suspense, waiting to see if the protagonist will succeed or fail.

• If the attainment of the goal is too easy or unrealistic, no one will care.

• But if the struggle is fierce and the suspense intense, the audience will feel satisfied at the end of the film.

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Simple PlotSimple Plot• A simple but very effective form of plot is

one in which the protagonist is put into a predicament, stays there as long as the writer can keep up the suspense, and then is extricated in a surprising way.

• But in addition to the bare predicament, you must find interesting and logical reasons for the character falling into the predicament, logical causes for his inability to get out, and finally a logical but unforeseen escape.

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ExampleExample

• In Powder Keg, the predicament of the protagonists is that they are trapped in a Latin American country, with killers after them, and the photographer has been shot.

• The suspense, which is maintained for most of the film’s running time, has to do with whether or not they will make it across the border to safety.

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Example (Continued)Example (Continued)

• The surprise comes when they make it across in a daring escape, but the photographer is killed.

• There are interesting and logical reasons for the characters falling into the predicament, logical causes for their inability to get out, and finally a logical but unforeseen escape.

• There is also irony, character development and theme.

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Plot vs. StoryPlot vs. Story• A story is a series of events recorded

in their chronological order.• A plot is a series of events

deliberately arranged so as to reveal their dramatic, thematic, and emotional significance.

• Stories may not require conflict or desire and may be designed simply to inform or amuse an audience.

• Plot needs conflict and desire to work.

Three Factors in Creating PlotThree Factors in Creating Plot• Creating a strong plot is dependent on

three important factors.• First, plot refers to the arrangement of

events to achieve an intended effect. A plot is constructed to make a point, to reach a climax that produces a specific result.

• Second, plots are based on casually related events. These cause and effect relationships between scenes are instrumental in creating continuity of action.

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Three Factors in Creating Plot Three Factors in Creating Plot (Continued)(Continued)

• Third, a plot must have enough conflict to awaken the audience’s desire to see what happens next.

• Depending on the story, conflict can be strong or subtle – but there has to be enough to arouse and maintain your audience’s interest.

• This conflict must be significant to the characters to be meaningful to the viewer.

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Some Plot DevicesSome Plot Devices• Conflict• Suffering• Discovery• Reversal• Surprise• Suspense• Frame Story• Flashback

Ghostbusters (1984) Written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis

Defining Your PlotDefining Your Plot

• Once you know your protagonist and his goal, a good starting point is to establish– What internal and external forces are in conflict

with her?– Which characters are trying to accomplish or

decide something?– What will the result of the action/struggle be?– What themes are you interested in elucidating?

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Defining Your Plot (Continued)Defining Your Plot (Continued)• Next, establish the inciting incident and the

climax – not exactly what happens, but whether or not your hero succeeds.

• Next, focus on the active moments in your material – the moments of conflict, change, growth and discovery. These moments are usually the most dramatically significant.

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The Basic OutlineThe Basic Outline

• A general plan for your script:– A balanced situation (main exposition)– Some force that unbalances the situation

(inciting incident)– The character’s reaction/decision to act– Consequences of your character’s action

(obstacles and complications)– Re-establishment of balance (climax and

resolution) or– New balance or degeneration into chaos

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The Basic Outline (Continued)The Basic Outline (Continued)• This is only a general plan from which to

work. Don’t be afraid to change, organize or even delete scenes as you move ahead. Once you have your outline, creating a more specific scene-by-scene outline of the plot will provide the connections between the story beats.

• Remember to always keep the conflict at the front of your mind.

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The Role of ConflictThe Role of Conflict

Lesson 7: Part II

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) Written by George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson (story) and David Koepp (screenplay)

The Function of ConflictThe Function of Conflict• Remember, conflict:

– Engages and sustains your audience’s interest.– Reveals your characters to the audience.– Forces your character to choose between the

easy and the hard and in doing so defines his or her character.

– Forces emotion out into the open, which creates a connection between characters and audience.

– Gives the screenplay balance, purpose and forward momentum.

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Positive and Negative Conflict Positive and Negative Conflict DevelopmentDevelopment

• Conflict must develop both positively and negatively for your protagonist – in other words, she must win some and lose some. She can’t succeed in every attempt at a goal, nor be turned back on every attempt.

• When conflict develops this way, it makes it less likely that the audience can predict how the film is going to end. They can’t assume the protagonist will definitely prevail.

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Failure as TeacherFailure as Teacher• In addition to creating suspense and making

the ending difficult to predict, negative outcomes to conflicts set up incidents of failure from which your protagonist can learn.

• Failure can be a great teacher for your characters, just as it is for us in real life.

• Failure demands examination. If we are committed to our goals but have trouble reaching them, then we must examine our lives to figure out how we can succeed.

Failure as Teacher (continued)Failure as Teacher (continued)• Your protagonist’s failure to hit his goals can

either defeat him or force him to change in ways that allow him to grow and succeed in his quest.

• How he changes – grows or disintegrates – deepens your characterization of him.

• It also creates surprise twists and develops the theme.

Unity of OppositesUnity of Opposites• Conflict between a protagonist and an

antagonist works best when the characters are locked together in a zero sum game with no possible compromise between them.

• This creates a strong rising conflict because the characters have strong purposes and convictions and will fight for what they want.

• The more evenly matched they are, the stronger the battle and the more suspenseful the outcome.

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Unity of Opposites (Continued)Unity of Opposites (Continued)• If the conflict of your story revolves around

a situation, or the antagonist is a force and not a person, find a way to personalize the obstacle for the protagonist.

• A clash of man against nature can be translated into personal conflict only if nature objectifies a challenge that the protagonist has set for himself. It is not a conflict between man and nature or beast, but a struggle within the man himself.

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Types of ConflictTypes of Conflict• In film, conflict doesn’t always mean

physical violence. Audiences relate better to emotional violence than to physical, because more of us have experience it.

• Physical violence makes for good drama as well. Just make sure – especially in a short film – that it has a point and is not used gratuitously.

Conflict Rises in WavesConflict Rises in Waves• To be effective in constructing a plot,

conflict needs to rise in waves. Along the way, between episodes of conflict, there need to be episodes of respite and temporary “fixes.”

• These short-term solutions just prolong the final confrontation with the antagonist. Delaying the confrontation often builds tension.

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Conflict Rises in Waves Conflict Rises in Waves (Continued)(Continued)

• The respites between the conflict also allow the writer the chance to fill in important details about main characters. These details help the audience define their relationship to the characters.

• A plot deepens by dramatizing the main character’s reactions to the events. As with real life, we need time to understand the allies we have and the foes we face.

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Possibilities, Probabilities and Possibilities, Probabilities and NecessityNecessity

• At the beginning of a screenplay, anything is possible. But after the first scene the possibilities of what can happen become increasingly limited.

• Once the beginning defines specific situation, group of characters and conflict, the screenwriter leaves the realm of the possible and enters the realm of the probable.

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Possibilities, Probabilities and Possibilities, Probabilities and Necessity (Continued)Necessity (Continued)

• The characters must follow one or more lines of probability in reaction to the conflict as the plot unfolds so that by the end the writer is limited to only what is necessary – there can be only one resolution.

• However, this does not mean that the climax is inevitable from the start – and the plot must appear as though it is changing directions – only that it is logical and borne out of character actions and decisions.

The EndingThe Ending

• Problems with the end of a script generally indicate more than trouble with the final scenes. More often then not they reveal a plot that has disintegrated along the way.

• As a screenwriter, you must learn how to avoid problematic endings through effective plotting long before the final scenes.

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The Principles of ActionThe Principles of Action

Lesson 7: Part III

Dream Girls (2006)Written by Bill Condon (screenplay) and Tom Eyen (book)

The Principles of ActionThe Principles of Action• The Principles of Action describe three sets

of scene relationships that help us weave the threads of a story together and create real narrative momentum. They are:– Cause and Effect relationships between scenes

– Rising conflict (attack and counterattack)

– Foreshadowing Conflict

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Cause and EffectCause and Effect• Each scene or moment should advance the

action and cause a reaction in the following scene and moment – the language of drama depends on this, that we see the cause and effect to understand what is going on.

• The successful story shows not only actions, but reactions, allowing the audience to better identify with them through their own emotional responses to what’s happening.

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Action and EmotionAction and Emotion• Cause and effect scene relationships allow

you to show emotional reactions within the parameters of the plot. Without dramatizing the emotional side of the story, films lose dimension. If plot is all action and no emotion, it winds up melodrama, and the audience will be less likely to fully embrace it.

• As you plot, ask yourself ‘what would my character feel as a result of what just happened and what would he do then?’

ExampleExample

Apollo 13 (1995) Written by Jim Lovell & Jeffry Kruger (book) and William Broyles, Jr. & Al Reinert (screenplay)

Rising ConflictRising Conflict

• Rising conflict is also based on casual scene relationships and it entails attack and counterattack. We see this when characters battle each other, most often during the second half of the story.

• They become increasingly threatening to the protagonist as the story progresses and lead directly to the last crisis and climax.

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Foreshadowing the ConflictForeshadowing the Conflict• To foreshadow means to show, indicate

or suggest something beforehand. In film or fiction, when we foreshadow conflict, we are letting the audience know it’s coming.

• Foreshadowing is also based on causality, but it’s different than basic cause and effect and rising action because the effects of the foreshadowing aren’t felt until later in the story.

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Foreshadowing the Conflict Foreshadowing the Conflict (continued)(continued)

• Since there is little time to waste in short films, foreshadowing isn’t as readily employed, yet it does appear, often in the setting up of opposing characters – as in who is going to become an antagonist.

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AssignmentsAssignments

Lesson 7: Part IV

Beverly Hills Cop (1984) Written by Danilo Bach (story) and Daniel Petrie, Jr. (story and screenplay)

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E-Board Post #1E-Board Post #1• Watch the short film from the lesson,

Copy, and analyze how the film uses some of the plotting devices we’ve covered in this lesson, including obstacles, positive and negative conflict development, failure as a teacher and conflict rising in waves. You may need to return to the lecture or the book to brush up on the concepts.

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

• Choose any feature film you have seen and describe how foreshadowing works. What is it’s purpose within the film? Is it needed to complete the telling of the story? Why or why not?

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Writing Exercise #6Writing Exercise #6• Write one scene (or potential scene) in

your script. Make sure that the scene is in proper screenplay format and that it includes conflict in one of the many ways that we have seen it manifested in the course so far.

End of Lecture 7End of Lecture 7

Next Lecture: How do I Fade In?