The Art Of
Storytelling
THE ART OF STORYTELLING
Introduction to storytelling:
Human begins storytelling since the dawn of time, everyone can
tell a story, even a kid can do that, however, what does make us a
good storytellers? The answer is to put a feeling in that story,
feelings and emotions you have towards that story that’s what makes
it so special, and we’re going to develop the skill of storytelling
so when we finish we’ll be the same as the biggest story artists in
the major studios we know.
1. We are all storytellers:
It is true we are all a storytellers, we did this action when
were in a young age, but let’s answer these questions first:
I.
II.
How did you begin telling stories?
Everyone will tell us I started telling stories when I was very young, yes
that’s true we all started to tell stories when we were children, perhaps
you told a story to your friends in kindergarten, or to your mom.
Additionally you may have been drawing some pictures imagining the
heroes of your story. So this was the beginning of every story artist.
Where do you get your ideas from?
The answer for the particular question is, I get my ideas from my own life
experience, how’s that? Remember the last time you were happy and
get inspired by that, remember the last you cried or got very angry,
there are a lot of life experiences that can help you tell a good story,
because when you’re telling a story about your own life experience you
can make it very special because it has an emotional feelings, and also
it makes your story original because it’s impossible for two people to
have the same life experience. That is two people will never tell a story
the same way.
Exercise 1: Expressing memories
Part A: Think of a memory that your remember vividly. It should be a memory that
comes easily to you.
Part B: Why do you think you remember this so well? Try connecting one or more
emotions to this memory. (Sadness, Joy, Fear, Anger … etc)
Part C: Now try to express your memory and emotion in some way. The goal is to get
it out of your head. Here are some ideas for what you could do.
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
Verbally: Tell your memory to someone that you know. Can you make them
feel the emotion?

Written: Write your memory in less than a page. Do the emotions come out in
your words?

Visually: Express your memory using only lines and shapes. Do the emotions
come out in your drawings?
Your favourite stories
There are many ways to tell a story, and to make it simple for
you a story is a sequence of events, or narrative, which unfolds
through time, it has a beginning, then something will happen, and it
ends. However, there some stories no matter how they are told, they
still have a special quality, some stories makes you engaging with
them and pull you in, they leave a special emotional touch within your
heart.
Imagine that you’re castaway in an isolated island and you have
to bring only 3 of your favourite movies, what would they be? In the
following exercise, we’re going to use these three stories as a
reference. So take the time to pick up your favourite movies.
Exercise 2: Your three favourite films
Part A: Identify the three films that you would take to a deserted island....
Part B: Why do you think you connected with these stories? Come up with at least
one reason for each.
Part C: What, if anything, do these three films have in common? How are they
different?
What if...
Every animated feature you saw in the cinema even though it
involves hundreds of people to create it and it takes years to be
finally released but it all starts with a simple idea, how’s that
you’re asking? This where “what if…?” question comes to play its role.
In the following exercise, you’ll use this “what if” statement
to reframe your favourite movies.
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Exercise 3: What if...
Part A: Return to your 3 favourite films and try reframing each of them in terms of a
"what if" statement. Share these with someone (written or verbally) and see if they
can guess what movie it is from!
Part B: Now it's your turn. Come up with 3-5 of your own “what if” ideas.
World & Character
The “what if” statement is ultimately connected to a world and
character, and when we say world what we actually mean is the
environment or where our story will take place. Characters of course
refers to the individuals or subjects we follow on the journey of the
story.
You may have issues trying
world or the characters. Well, it
you are comfortable with setting
follows that is your own way, and
to figure out which comes first the
depends on your own imagination, if
the stage first then the character
vice-versa.
Exercise 4: Characters & Worlds
Part A: Return to your 3 films. Identify the worlds and characters in each. Write these
down.

Who are the main characters?

Is there a character you identify with most?

Where does the movie take place? Is it one world or multiple worlds?
Part B: Try mixing a character and world from different movies. Try this a few times
and see what happens.
Part C: Return to your three "what if" statements from the previous exercises. Pick
your favourite one. Can you imagine a possible character and world?
Part D: (optional) Draw or write about what life would be like in this world.
Storytelling Advice
Storytelling can be very challenging, and that’s why we come up
with these advice from the experts to help you out in the process of
storytelling:


It is okay that your idea is not perfect when it first came out.
It takes trials and errors to come up with a great idea for a story.
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

Even though it took you so long, that’s okay because you’re making
progress.
Keep practicing on storytelling and brainstorming all the times.
We hope now that you come up with some ideas of your own and
have some worlds and characters to follow along with us, in the next
lesson we’re going to learn how to develop our characters.
Glossary:
Here's a list of definitions introduced during this lesson.





Story: a sequence of events, which unfold through time.
Perspective: a point of view or way of seeing the world.
World: the environment or set of rules where a story takes place.
Character: the subjects or individuals we follow on the journey of the
story.
Protagonist: the main character(s), whose journey the story is about.
2. Characters:
Introduction to character:
In order for you to know each character of your story, well
there is an exercise called “The Elevator Test”, in which you put your
characters in a bad situation and you have to imagine how they are
going to deal with that situation. This way you’ll identify well with
your characters and you’ll figure out if the audience will engage with
that character or not.
Warm up: elevator test
This is an activity you can return to many times during the creation of a character.
Step 1: Pick a character from one of your favourite films. How would they respond to
being trapped in an elevator? Draw or write a single page about what happens.
Step 2: Return to a character you are in the process of creating and do the same
thing.
Disclaimer: One does not literally have to get locked in
an elevator to do this exercise!
Internal vs. external features:
Creating a new character is not that easy, it takes a little
bit of time and imagination, why? Because you have to create a
character that audience would like to engage with and you have to let
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the audience know that character very well, they have to know what
that character will do in any particular situation. And that’s what
we call a fully developed character. So where we begin our character
development?
We can talk about characters in two ways:
1) External Features: Design, Clothes, how they look like…etc.
2) Internal Features: are they brave, jealous, insecure … etc.
Where do we get ideas for internal and external features?
Characters have to come from an authentic human emotions &
experiences, and it doesn’t mean that the character always should be
YOU, it can be someone you know, maybe your friend, your uncle … etc.
Exercise 1: Internal & External Features
Part A: Return to your three favourite films and identify a main character in each.
Part B: Identify three of their external features.
Part C: Identify three of their internal features.
Part D: Identify three internal and external features of someone that you know.
Part E: Return to one of your character ideas from the last lesson. Brainstorm some
possible answers to the following questions (feel free to work alone or in a group)
External features:

Is your character a human, animal, object?

What kind of clothing do they wear?

How does your character move?

What is the first thing you'd notice when looking at them from a distance?
Internal features:

What do they like to do?

What do they fear?

What emotion do they most often feel?

How would they respond if trapped in an elevator?
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Wants vs. needs:
In this lesson, we are going to forget about external features
and focus on the mind of the character, always ask yourself this
question, what does this character want?
It’s quite important to understand what a character wants
because it informs your story. If you have struggles finding what your
character wants then it’ll be hard for you to take them on a journey
which is the actual story you’re telling.
The distinction between what a character wants and what it needs
is so important when you’re building a character.
Having the wants and needs conflict is a key for a good story,
for example, I want that new car, but I need to save money to feed my
family. So you must understand the difference between the wants and
the needs.
Exercise 2: Wants vs. Needs
Part A: Return to the main characters from your three favourite films. Identify
a want and a need for each character.
For example In Monsters Inc. Sulley wants to be the best scarer but he needs to be a
father figure.
Part B: Try to identify one of your own wants and needs.
Part C: Return to your character idea from the previous exercise. Brainstorm answers
to the following questions:

What do they want most?

Who do they want to become?

What might they need in order to succeed?
Obstacles:
Obstacles can be anything, a person, a great distance or
something internal like fear. Whatever it is the obstacles stand in
the way of the character and prevent them from getting what they want.
In the following exercise, you’ll have a chance to figure out
what kind of obstacles a character might face in his journey.
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Exercise 3: Obstacles
Part A: Return to your three favourite films. Identify one obstacle the main character
you selected faces in each.
Part B: Identify an obstacle that you have faced in your life. What was it preventing
you from getting?
Part C: Return to the character that you are developing. Brainstorm a few possible
obstacles they might face.
Character arc:
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The choices a character might do in response to the obstacles
form a character arc. The character arc is the transformation of the
character from the beginning of the story until the end.
In other words, the character arc is the pathway that leads the
character to achieve his goal at the end of the story.
Which means that the version of your character in the beginning
of the story is not the same as in the end of the story. In the
following exercise, you will know how you can use the character arc.
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Exercise 4: Character Arc
Part A: Identify the arc of the main character in your 3 favourite films.

What do they want at the beginning
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
What did they realize they need by the end?
Part B: How have you changed as a result of overcoming an obstacle?
Part C: Brainstorm ideas for how your character might change as a result of the
obstacles you have identified in the previous exercise?

What might they want at the beginning?

What might they realize they need at the end?
Stakes:
The stakes are something very important in every story, because
it adds a little bit of drama to it, and when we talk about stakes we
have to answer this question always “Why Do We Care” let’s take
“Tangled” for example why do we care about Rapunzel to get outside of
the tower to see the outside world?. We all want Rapunzel to get
outside and see the outside world and hopefully meet her real parents.
We have what is a risk if Rapunzel fails to get out and meet her
parents, so the higher the stakes are the more tension you add to your
story and the more tension the audience get. If the stakes were low
then it would not be an enjoyable film.
Now that we know –basically- what the stakes are and how much
they are important in the core of a story, we need to distinguish 3
types of stakes:
1. Internal stakes
2. External stakes
3. Philosophical stakes
Let’s now more about them.
External Stakes:
The external stakes
are literally, what
is going on in the
world
or
the
environment
where
the story is taking
place,
the
character might be
chased by someone
else, or he might
lost
his
way.
Therefore, that is
an
example
of
external stakes.
Internal Stakes:
The internal stakes
are
usually
psychological,
what’s going on for
the
character
emotionally
or
mentally? What they
potentially they’re
going to lose? What
they
potentially
they’re
going
to
gain? Why is it
important to gain
that thing? Why is
it sad to lose that
thing?
Answering
these
questions
will help you figure
out
what
these
stakes are.
Philosophical stakes:
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The
philosophical
stakes are what is
impacting
the
world, for example,
Let’s summarize:
Lord of the Rings,
if
Frodo
doesn’t
through
his
ring
then
the
Middle
Earth is going to be
ruled
by
evil
forever.
-External Stakes, the possible physical impacts of a choice or action (life or
death)
-Internal Stakes, the mental or emotional consequences (broken heart)
-Philosophical Stakes, what are the underlying ideas or values in your story?
(Good VS Evil).
The distinction between Internal, External and Philosophical
stakes can be tricky, in the following exercise we’ll be focusing on
this distinction.
Exercise 5: Stakes
Part A: Return to the main characters from your three favourite films.

What was one important choice they had to make where the stakes
were high?

What were the stakes?

Can you identify them as internal, external or philosophical?
Part B: Think about a difficult choice you had to make in your own life. What was at
stake?
Part C: Return to one of the obstacles your character might face from the previous
exercise. Now think of the choice this obstacle forces them to make. Answer the
following:

What are the possible stakes of this choice?

Can you come up with an internal, external or philosophical stake, which
applies, to this choice?
Advice to storytellers 2:
1. Where to begin when creating new stories?
Ans1 1: Let your mind go on a vacation, and think about everything because
1
Ans : here it means Answer
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in storytelling there’s no limitation to how far your mind can go.
Ans 2: Think about what you want to watch on movie, if you have the chance
to create a movie what story would you come up with to realize this film.
Ans 3: You could always use a hand, watch other films for ideas and
inspiration.
2. Advice for new storyteller?
Ans 1: Tell your story to another person and get notes and critics about your
story, this way you can make it better along with the characters.
Ans 2: Express yourself and figuring out what influences you in your life, and
display that into your art.
Glossary:
Here's a list of definitions introduced during this lesson.

External feature: the clothes, design or look of a character.

Internal feature: the personality, beliefs or drive of a character.

Want: something that drives a character to act.

Need: something that a character must do or learn in order to succeed or grow.

Obstacle: something that stands in the way of a character obtaining what they
want.

Character arc: the choices a character makes in order to overcome their
obstacles and how they change as a result.

Stakes: What is at risk if the character fails to achieve their goal (OR, what are
the consequences of their choices?)

External: what will physically happen to a character or the world

Internal: what will happen to a character emotionally

Philosophical: what will happen to the values or belief system of the world
3. Story structure
Introduction to Structure:
Story structure is the way we organize and tell our story, and
let’s demonstrate this a bit, have you heard the mushroom joke?
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See this joke has a
structure;
it’s
got
an
opening, a build-up in the
middle and an ending. That
structure is a big part of
what makes it funny.
The structure is the
answer to the question “What
do you want the audience to
know, and when?” If you get
the order wrong, it could be
a huge problem,
A mushroom goes into a bar and sits
down to order a drink. The bartender
walks over and says, ''I'm sorry sir, but
we don't serve your kind here.''
The mushroom sits back and
asks,''Why not? I'm a fun guy (fungi)!
As a conclusion, if the structure is important to tell a joke
so it is also essential for making a movie that has the emotional
impact you want on your audience. In the following lesson will get
know more on how to master the story structure because it can be very
affective on the film you’re trying to make.
Story spine:
As we learned previously that a story is a series of events, it
begins, something happens, and it ends, but between the beginning and
the end of the story many things will happen and the ordering of these
events known as the structure, and it can have a dramatic impact on
how the audience will respond to the story.
When you just starting a story, it may seem a little daunting
to figure out how all of its events will flow, when they’ll unfold,
and how they will fit together. Therefore, it is helpful for you to
find simple ways of doing it, and one way to do this is by coming up
with the most important moments in your story which we refer to story
beats.
The way we can really do to focus on the story beats or formally
the most important moments in the story is to use the story spine; we
noticed that every film we’ve watched can fit into this simple pattern:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Once Upon a time…
Every day…
Until one day…
Because of that…
Because of that…
Because of that…
Until finally…
And ever since then…
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In the following exercise, you’ll be able to use the story spine
on your favourite films and you may use it on stories you’re creating
throughout this lesson.
Exercise 1: Beats
Part A: Beats can show the
most important moments in
your story. They show WHAT
is happening, not HOW.
Choose a format (outline
form, using index cards,
sketchbook, etc.) to identify
and describe the beats that
are part of the structure in each of your three favourite films.
Part B: Play the “Story Spine game” with a group of people. Go around in a circle and
improve the development of a story. Start with “once upon a time” and have one
person at a time spontaneously fill in the blank for each line.
Part C: Develop a story spine for your own film idea. Try sharing your spine with
someone and iterating a few times…
Theme:
We have talked previously about structure as a sequence of
beats. During the process pf creating a story we have to get back and
see what connects all these individuals to the story; to do this we
often ask this simple question “What are you trying to say in your
story?” When we’re answering this question, we’re getting something
called the theme. The theme is connected to the moral, which is the
lesson that the protagonist will learn at the end of the story.
That can help make sure that your entire story beats work
together to get across this larger point.
Usually, we start figuring out the theme of our story before we
even begin to telling it, but you may discover the theme while you are
making progress of creating the story. In addition, the theme helps
the story to be memorable to the audience, in the following exercise,
will focus on how we can extract the theme of our three favourite
movies.
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Exercise 2: Theme
Part A: Describe the moral or theme of your three favourite films. Can you identify the
lesson that the main character(s) learns by the end of the film?
Part B: Think of a story from your own life. What was the moral of your story? What
did you learn and why?
Part C: Return to the story you are developing and try the following:

Brainstorm ideas for the moral in your own story (return to the needs of your
main character from the Character lesson)

Try retelling your original story spine in order to reinforce (clarify) the moral at
the end.
Act 1:
In the previous lessons, we learn how to use the story structure
and how to split our story into beats using the story spine, the next
step is to divide our story spine into larger sections, which we call,
acts.
Act 1
Act 2
Act 3
1. Once upon a time…
2. Every Day…
3. Until one day…
4. Because of that…
5. Because of that…
6. Because of that…
7. Until finally…
8. And ever since then…
9. The moral of the story is…
Storytellers throughout history used to split their stories from
one act to eight acts or even more, but the most common structure for
film is the three acts structure.
Act 1 consists of the first three steps (as shown above). We’re
starting with “once upon a time”. This is where we meet our main
character, known as the protagonist, and we find out when and where
the story will take place; this first act also tells the audience what
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type of movie they are about to see. Is it a science fiction or a
romantic comedy, historical drama or something else?
“Every Day”, this where we learn more about how the world works.
“Until one day”, this is often called the inciting incident; it is an
events which leads to a key obstacle your protagonist faces and sets
the rest of the story in motion.
The first act can also introduce a character called the
Antagonist (Sometimes called the villain), but it can take many forms:
generally, the antagonist is a force that gets in the way of the
protagonist’s wants and needs.
CLARIFICATION ABOUT ACT 1:
I.
II.
In Act 1, we want to introduce our characters, introduce the story, and get a
landscape where the story is trying to go.
What’s essential in the first act is that you meet the main character in his/her
world, and you understand their place in the world, and you understand their
problems in the world.
CLARIFICATION ABOUT INCITING INCIDENT:
I.
The inciting incident will introduce a conflict that will launch the main character
into a journey that will take place throughout the film.
II.
In most cases, the inciting incident comes towards the end of the first act, you
spend the first act setting up who the characters are, what’s important, what
status in the world, and the inciting incident is going to pull that stable status, is
going to launch you into act 2.
III.
A successful first act gets you to investing your character, care about your
character, and care about the things they care about, so when the things they
care about are threaten, you are pushing your character to launch into the
second act to solve that problem.
Exercise 3: Act 1
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Part A: Identify the First Act in your three favourite films.

Who is/are the main characters, and why do we care about them?

Where and when does the story take place?

How do we learn what type of movie it is?

What is the inciting incident? (how is the world disrupted?)

What or who is the antagonist?
Part B: Now dream up what you want to present in the first act of your own film.

Ask yourself Who/What/When/Where

Try fitting it into the first three steps story spine, and flesh each step out with 3-4
sentences….
Act 2:
In Act 1, you’ve established all the information your audience
needs to know, and giving your character a set of challenges to
overcome,
now
begins
the
journey
to
achieve
their
goals.
Now let’s take a closer look at our story spine for Act 2:
Act 2
1. Because of that…
2. Because of that…
3. Because of that…
In Act 2 our protagonist often encounters a series of
progressive complications; these obstacles force them to make
difficult decisions as one thing leads to another in a chain of events
we call “The Journey”.
The choices and actions you push your character to make in
attempt to overcome this escalating obstacles is the substance of the
second act. So how we ensure that act 2 is more than a series of events
strung together.
CLARIFICATIONS ABOUT ACT 2:
I.
IN ACT 2 YOU BEAT YOUR CHARACTER A LOT, YOU HAVE TO KEEP MAKING
THINGS HARDER FOR YOUR CHARACTER OR THE STORY HAS NO CONFLICT, AND
A STORY WITH NO CONFLICT HAS NO SHAPE NO MOMENTUM. THEREFORE,
YOU JUST HAVE TO KEEP THROWING HARDER AND HARDER THINGS IN THEIR
WAY, AND THEY HAVE TO LEARN IT’S A GROWTH UP OPPORTUNITY AND
FIGURING OUT HOW TO OVERCOME THESE OBSTACLES, SO ACT 2 IS WHERE YOU
SEE MORE GROWTH.
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II.
ACT 2 MAY ALSO CONTAIN THE LOW POINT, WHERE IT SEEMS THAT ALL HOPE IS LOST
EVERYTHING HAS GONE WRONG AND YOUR CHARACTER FAILS IN ALL ATTEMPTS TO GET
WHAT THEY WANT, OR THEY MAY HAVE ACHIEVED EVERYTHING THEY WANT, BUT STILL BE
FRUSTRATED OR MISERABLE BECAUSE THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE THEY ACTUALLY NEED.
CLARIFICATIONS ABOUT THE LOW POINT:
III.
THE LOW POINT IS WHERE IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYTHING IS LOST FOR YOUR MAIN
CHARACTER.
IV.
AT THE END OF ACT 2 SOME REALLY BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO YOUR MAIN
CHARACTER, TO FORCE THEM TO CONFRONT THE THINGS THEY REFUSED TO
CONFRONT AT THE END OF ACT 1 IT’S WHY ACT 2 EXIST. AND IT ALLOWS THEM
TO THEN DEMONSTRATE IT IN ACT 3, IN SORT OF SHOW FOR THE AUDIENCE AND
FOR THEMSELVES THAT THIS CHANGE IS PERMANENT.
SUMMARIZE:
Act 2 often begins shortly after the inciting incident, and it’s
followed by a series of obstacles that our character must overcome to
achieve their goals. By the mid-point of Act 2, around the middle of
the story, there is often a choice where they cannot turn back; we
sometimes call this The Point of no Return. Act 2 may also contain The
Low Point; this is generally, where Act 2 ends.
Exercise 4: Act 2
Part A: Identify the Act 2 in your three favourite films.

What is the want/goal of the main character(s) at the start of Act 2?

What (if any) is the point of no return or turning point (when the character learns
something and changes their path)?

What (if any) is the low point?

What did the character learn by the end of the second act?
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Part B: Now develop the information you want to present in Act 2 of your own film.

What is the want/goal of your main character(s) at the start of Act 2?

Why does your character reach a low point, if any?

Describe the point of no return or turning point (where your character learns
something new and realizes their needs.)

Try fitting this into the Act 2 steps of the story spine (fill each step out with 3-4
sentences.)
Act 3:
By the time we hit Act 3, the story is now careening towards
its final crisis, the inevitable climax, and this is the most intense
moment of the story for the protagonist, who should be in danger of
losing everything they valued most. The choices your main character
has made in Act 1 and Act 2 were driven by their wants, but now they
face their ultimate test. Are they ready to accept their needs and
make choices they were not capable of making in Act 1?
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CLARIFICATIONS ABOUT ACT 3:
I.
II.
IN ACT 3, CHARACTERS SACRIFICES THEIR WANTS FOR THEIR NEEDS.
YOU SHOULD HAVE PUT YOUR CHARACTER THROUGH A LOT OF TESTS, AND YOU
SHOULD BE ABLE TO SHOW THAT YOUR CHARACTER HAS LEARNED SOMETHING,
LEARNED SOMETHING THAT EXHIBITS THE THEME OF YOUR STORY, THE REASON YOU
DECIDED TO MAKE YOUR STORY IN THE FIRST PLACE.
III.
WHEN THEME AND MORAL COMES INTO THIS IN ACT 3, IN THE COURSE OF ACT 2
YOUR CHARACTER HAS LEARNED WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT. IN THE COURSE OF
ACT 3 THEY ARE FIGHTING FOR THAT IMPORTANT THING, SO THAT USUALLY IS THE
THEME OF YOUR STORY THAT THEY ARE FIGHTING FOR.
IV.
ACT 3 SHOULD CONTAIN A SURPRISE TO THE AUDIENCE, YOUR CHARACTER MIGHT
BE ABLE TO OVERCOME ALL OF THE OBSTACLES THEY HAD BEFORE BUT STILL THE
CONCLUSION OF YOUR STORY IS NOT SATISFYING. THAT IS WHY YOU SHOULD MAKE
AN EVENT FOR THE AUDIENCE THAT THEY NEVER WOULD HAVE EXPECTED DURING
THE STORY. AND THAT EVENT MUST HAVE AN EMOTIONAL IMPACT ON YOUR
AUDIENCE, THIS IS HOW YOU GET THE SATISFYING CONCLUSION.
SUMMARIZE:
As a conclusion, in the 3rd act is where we pull everything
together, the character have overcome their obstacles, their arcs are
now complete, the theme has been clearly expressed, and we have brought
the story to a logical, and emotional, sometimes unexpected
conclusion.
Exercise 5: Act 3
Part A: Identify Act 3 in each of your three favourite films.

What was the crisis?

How is it resolved?

How does the main character demonstrate that they learned what they
needed?

What was the theme or moral?

Was the character arc emotionally satisfying? Why or why not?
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Part B: Now develop the information you want to present in Act 3 of your own film.

What is the crisis?

How could it be resolved?

How will the main character demonstrate that they learned what they
needed?

What is the theme or moral?

Do you think the audience will find the ending emotionally satisfying? Why?
Storytelling Advice:



Work backwords, nowhere you want to end, work backwords and you will
know how to set it up.
It is very important to expose yourself to as many ideas as possible, books can
be a treasure for great stories, and reading is the foundation for storytelling.
It is good to study structure, it is good to watch a wide variety of films so that
you have some foundation and some understanding how this would typically
go, and it is up to you to invent the new way.
Visual language
You know that old saying «A picture worth a thousand words» well
it is true, using only simple cues you can communicate all kinds of
cool ideas, and different emotions, and because of this a single image
can tell the whole story.
It’s important to understand the visual language and how it’s
used, because it allows you to communicate a lot of emotions, also it
gives you the ability to show several meanings. For example, if you
are putting something big that fills the whole frame, then you are
telling us that the big thing is important in that shot, you may put
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your character smaller and by that, you are saying that your character
might be threatened, or you want to mention how big his world is. In
the following lessons, you’ll get a solid understanding about the
visual language, and how you can use it to communicate your story.
Composition
Composition is the way of organizing your visual elements in a
scene, and we’ll focus on how we can use these visual elements like
lines, shapes, space, tone, movement, and colour to communicate
meanings and to express emotions in our stories.
Lines
You can express a lot of things using only lines, and do not
forget that lines has plenty of properties it might be long, short,
thin, thick, wavy, or straight. Each style of lines represents an idea
or a thought, and can be used to express different emotions, in the
following exercise; you’ll get to know how you can use lines as a part
of compositing.
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Exercise 1: Lines
Part A: How is line used to convey meaning and emotion within the frame below?
Can you identify the primary direction of lines that direct your eyes to different parts
of the frame?
Part B: On a blank sheet of paper write down two different feelings that you’ve had
recently (one at the bottom left, and the other at the bottom right). Visually
represent the feeling on the left as a line traveling across the paper to the right. Then
transform the line as it starts to take on characteristics of the feeling on the right. For
example:
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Part C: Create a character with just one line and give it a name and short
description. Try creating additional characters using multiple lines.
Shapes
A long with lines, shapes are major building block of composition. We begin with primitive (basic)
shapes, which can express their own emotion, for instance, Triangles can express action, speed, or
tension, Circles appear friendly, and Squares are reliable and state. Many characters begin with only
these primitive shapes, then they get too complicated by adding details to them, and with more
details, we can express more meaning, and emotions.
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Exercise 2: Shape
monsters inc image
Part A: Study the above image for a few minutes.

Can you locate the main shapes in this image?

How does shape influence where you look and what meaning and emotion is
conveyed?
Part B: Find a frame from one of your three favorite films. Notice how shapes are
used.

What are the unique characteristics that help establish the mood and story?

On a piece of paper, draw the composition using the simple shapes. Feel free to
overlay each frame and trace on top of it with a highlighter.
Part C: For your own story, identify the main shape for your main character(s).

What does the shape of the character imply?

Does their shape change over time?

Put this character in a scene from your story and try sketching out the composition
using simple shapes.
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