Journal 9/16/13

Are there choices, risks, or roads you
sometimes wish you had taken? If your
life were a movie, what would your
parallel self be doing at this moment
and would that path ever intersect with
your current reality?
Linear Storytelling

 The most common method of storytelling.
 Linear time is just like real life in that characters start
at Point A and move sequentially toward Point B.
 Examples:
Nonlinear: Bookend

 Where we initially meet characters after the main
event has already occurred; the event itself is told in
flashback, followed by a return to the same time
period as was shown at the film’s start.
 Examples:
Nonlinear: Parallel
Universe

 A character’s momentum suddenly splits into two
simultaneous journeys which may or may not arrive
at the same destination.
 Examples:
Nonlinear: Maypole

 A device that uses multiple flashbacks and points of
view which all revolve – like a maypole – around a
common event or theme.
 Examples:
Nonlinear: Reverse
Engineering

 The layers of plot and character are revealed in
backwards, repetitive, or serpentine fashion.
 Examples:
Story Beats

 In music, a “beat” is a rhythmic accent that defines
the tempo of the piece being played. “Beat” is also a
word used in screenplay structure and refers to
accented scenes that move the story from start to
finish. A clothesline is perfect for understanding the
placement of beats
Story Beats
1. The set-up that introduces the main character
2. The catalyst/inciting incident that will impact the hero’s
status quo
3. The first major problem/complication
4. The point of no return – the hero must see his/her
objective through
5. The second major problem/complication
6. A complication that threatens to cost the hero everything
7. The resolution of the conflict
Story Beats – The Wizard of Oz
Journal 9/17/13

 Reverse engineer a timeline that starts with your
character taking a final exam and ends with what he
or she was doing 24 hours previous. Note: With
each incremental step backwards, your character has
knowledge or insights gained from events the
audience has not “linearly” witnessed.
Theme

 Just as a catchy tune can be played in a variety of
different tempos with different instruments, a story
could be written in many different ways based on
each writer’s opinions and personal frame of
reference.
 The message that a writer wants to get across with
his or her audience is the “theme” of the story. The
theme is supported throughout the script by
characters, dialogue, and events.
Journal 9/18/13

 In each of the following films, identify the
underlying theme.
 Shrek
 Twilight
 Titanic
 Jurassic Park
Hooks, Foreshadowing,
and Uh-Oh’s

 Hooks – at the beginning of the story – leaves the
audience asking “what happens next?!”
 Foreshadowing – hints and ideas that are introduced
early (and subtly) to tease our curiosity.
 Uh-oh’s – just when the finish line looms in sight,
there’s suddenly one final obstacle. The uh-oh
circles back to a film’s initial hooks and
foreshadowing.
Homework

 Read an Aesop’s fable – what is the theme? What are
some other films or books with the same theme or
message?
Journal

 Identify three films you have seen which had
powerful hooks. What were they and why did they
immediately grab your attention? What type of
hook do you plan to use in your own film to
immediately grab the audience’s attention.
Journal

 Identify three films or TV programs which contained
foreshadowing. Did the information imparted seem
like a clue at the time or was its placement not made
clear to you until later on in the story? Do you plan
to use foreshadowing in your own story? Explain
how.
Journal

 Identify three films in which something unexpected
happened just before the end (e.g., a character you
thought was dead turned out not to be). Does your
own script contain an uh-oh? Is this uh-oh plausible
based on the sequence of events that led up to its
occurrence?