ANIM 30102 Storyboarding-Advanced Story Structure Week 10

Story Analysis Sheet:

What’s the logline?

Who’s the protagonist?

What’s the story world?

What’s the conflict: (Conflict = Objective + Obstacles)? How does it escalate?

What’s the plot? Where’s Act 1 end? Where’s Act 2 end?

What’s the theme or purpose of the story?

Definitions: LOGLINE: It’s like the cover of a book. You must be able to tell the whole story in the line. The idea is to create a compelling mental picture. Why will this hold an audience’s interest?

CHARACTER: Protagonist and antagonistWhat’s the guy want, and who’s-or what’s- trying to stop him? (Not necessarily a character. See Conflict.) The story is about somebody with whom we, the audience, have some empathy. This somebody wants something very badly. This something is difficult, but possible to do, get, or achieve.

PLOT: The cause and effect of the story. Beginning, middle and end or set-up, confrontation and resolution. The story is told to the maximum emotional impact and audience participation in the proceedings. The story must come to a satisfactory ending-not necessarily a happy ending.

CONFLICT: Conflict=objective +obstacle.Three types of conflict: those between two characters, those within a character, and those between a character and some aspect of the world.

UNITY: There must be only one main objective if the film is to have unity. The storyteller must adhere to unity of time, location or action, but not all three. (i.e. it happens to one guy, all happens in one place, all happens at one time.)

THEME: What’s the hero’s emotional journey? According to Robert McKee, a story must be a vehicle for an emotion. The audience wants to be moved.

“Screenwriting is a piece of carpentry. It’s basically putting down some kind of structural form to mess around with. And as long as the structural form is kept, whatever I have written is relatively valid; a scene will hold regardless of the dialogue. It’s the thrust of the scene that’s kept pure.” William Goldman.

ANIM 30102 Storyboarding-Advanced Story Structure Week 10

Story Structure Template

ACT 1‘Once upon a time . . .’ The place. The world defined. The setting.

‘there lived . . .’ The protagonist. The story’s central figure.

‘who . . .’ The action of the protagonist. What does he want and what is his will or purpose.

‘but . . .’ The obstacle. Antagonist. Whatever or whoever stands in opposition to the action or goals of the protagonist.

‘so one day it happened . . .’The point of attack –the inciting incident. This is the moment that the action starts.

ACT 2‘so then, as a result of which . . .’ Narrative progression. Cause and effect. And multiples of.

‘but meanwhile . . .’ Simultaneous development: subplot. Sometimes referred to a B story. Some complications to the plot.

‘so that unbeknownst to . . .’ Dramatic irony where the audience knows something that the characters don’t. This is a common and almost essential ingredient to strong story structure.

‘Until the time came that . . .’ A confrontation scene.

‘when suddenly-to the surprise . . .’ An unexpected shift.

ACT 3‘so it turned out . . .’ The resolution. The unknotting of all the tensions in the story.

‘and for ever after . . .’ Closure. The sense of coming full circle. Denouement.

Dramatic Construction. On Film-making Alexander Mackendrick Pg. 76-85

But remember:

“Just to imitate nature, illustrate reality, or duplicate live action . . .wastes the medium of animation” Frank Thomas & Ollie Johnston