creating a story plot for a movie short the process

Creating a Story Plot fora Movie Short

The Process

Creating the Story• The Big Three:

– Character: This is who the story is about and through whose eyes the story is told.

– Goal: This is the physical object the character wants to obtain: the princess, the treasure, the girl, the bounty, the recognition, and so on.

– Conflict: Conflict is what is between the character and his goal. There are three forms of conflict.

Three types of Character Conflict

• 1. Character vs. Character• 2. Character vs. Environment• 3. Character vs. Self

Other Elements of the Story• Location:• Inciting

Moment• Story Question• Theme• Need• Ending/

Resolution

The Basic Story• The lights dim. In the first part of a story, a

hero will be introduced. He/she will have some flaw that makes them human-like us. Something unexpected will happen that throws his/her world into chaos. For the next hour or so, our hero will go through a series of trials, aided by friends and challenged by foes, trying to restore order to his/her world. In the last part of the story the hero will be crushed, only to rally for one final showdown against his/her challenger. He/she succeeds or fails-usually succeeds. We all celebrate or cry.

The Hero• The character through which the story is told.

The Mentor/Friend

• The ally that helps the hero

The Herald• This character announces the ‘Call to

Adventure’ and delivers other important information throughout the story. This role sometimes shifts from character to character.

The Villain/AntagonistAn evil character who provides the conflict and is the main enemy of the hero.

Plot Conflicts• Brains vs. Brawn• Rags to Riches• Good vs. Evil• Role Reversals• Courage and

Survival• Peacemakers• Tempting Fate

• Fish Out of Water

• Ship of Fools• Buddy Stories• Love Stories• Quests and

Journeys

Difference between a Movie Plot and a Movie Short

• Beyond the obvious differences in running time, scope, complexity, budget and resources the animated game requires directness, clarity, simplicity, and economy of structure, plot, and assets not found in movie films.

Making the Long Story Short

• The movie short plot for our assignment should have one theme or concept that the piece communicates and one conflict that intensifies or gets worse. It should have at least three characters (needed for you to be able to create them in ZBrush) , about five or more locations, and only props necessary to populate the scene appropriately or drive the story forward.

The Long and Short of It

• Remember our most basic definition of a story: a character wants something badly and is having trouble getting it. When you are looking for ideas, this is the basis of what you are looking for.

The Rules• Story Is King• Keep it Simple• Know Your Concept,

Theme, or Meaning• Avoid Cliché• Create a memorable

Character• Emotion Drives Action

The Rules

• Create Conflict• Know Your Ending• Entertain Your

Audience• Use Humor• Write About

Something You Like

The Ideal• The most linear path for getting and

developing ideas comes from knowing your concept first. If you know what your piece is about, it is easy to determine early on which elements you need to tell your story: the situation that will best convey your message, the characters that will be in conflict with your situation, and then, your genre, time period, characters, costuming, backgrounds and everything else will fall into place.

Concept Statement• Concept Statement: A concept is basically a general idea of

what the story is about. Think of it this way: you have one line in which to write what the story is about. Maybe you can, or you give up and take three lines, but that's the limit. A concept is a very concise general statement - very short on specific details. What do you put in a concept?

• Following are some very basic concepts I gleaned from movies: Orphaned tall man meets short brother, Detective and slobbery dog, Man marries genie, Man rooms with woman disguised as a man. These concepts put unusual people together and a story comes out. Every part of the story is dictated by the concept. 

• Concept is usually extended to encompass more of the story. For example, Aladdin: A poor orphaned young man and an overprotected princess fall in love. Aladdin tries in vain to win her hand with wealth, then rescues her from marrying the villain, with the aid of a genie. But he wins her only through being himself.