Six Stage Plot Structure –
From start -> 10%
Setup
- what is the first thing that we have to see in order to get into a movie?
- Where are we? Where is this place? When is this place? What are the rules?
- Who is the main character? What is his/her life like?
- What is his/her problem? All main characters have a problem at the start – why?
- A movie is really the story of a main character who is getting “fixed” by the events that happen
- We HAVE to like that character, RELATE to that character and feel like we CARE about the character solving his/her problem
- To do that, the movie must MAKE us think the character is awesome
- Common Ways To Make the Audience Like the Lead Character:
- A) he/she “saves the cat” – does something nice or friendly
- B) he/she loses something that we can all associate with
- C) he/she is shown to have some special talent or skill or power – being a badass is pretty awesome
Turning Point 1
About 10% of the way into the movie, some new OPPORTUNITY is presented to the main character – this will, if it is taken, change the character’s life – it is still part of the lead character’s old world – the broken world
In Taken, it is when the old “spy” buddies offer him a new gig – bodyguarding for the singer
The new opportunity is TIED to the hero’s problem in some way, or linked to his life
10% to 25%
New Situation
After the Opportunity, things change for the hero, who is now facing some new kind of situation – he/she doesn’t really follow their old pattern anymore
In Taken, he isn’t sitting alone and sad, he is more in contact with his daughter, taking an active role, being awesome with the pop star, etc.
It’s building to the Changing of the Plans, at 25% which is where the movie REALLY starts – where the plot kicks in, and where the action intensifies
Change of Plans is often not good – ie a murder, a kidnapping, an exile, something that FORCES a change – not usually a decision
In Taken, the daughter is kidnapped
This moment in a movie is absolutely crucial – it has to be awesome to force us to want to see what happens – we get sucked in really hard at this point
Progress – 25% to 50% of the movie
During this section, the hero makes progress on his/her quest – the situations that he/she gets into end in a positive for him/her
He/she gets closer to finding answers, getting the money, winning the girl, whatever it is
We see a lot of action and “trailer moments” in this section – kicking ass and taking names – excitement is crucial
The good movies give good reasons for characters to go from scene to scene
No comments:
Post a Comment