|
|
April E-Track
by Frederic T. Dray
(April 2003) |
New Ideas on Structure
By Frederic T. Dray
On April 19, writer/instructor Glenn Benest presented a workshop for the Scriptwriters Network on story structure to help writers determine if their story is sound. Those who attended were treated to a different approach designed to help writers determine what elements belong in each act of a script. The presentation was entertaining and informative as it’s obvious that though his many years of teaching at The American Film Institute and UCLA Extension classes, Glenn has learned just what writers need to know to implement his ideas.
Glenn stated that one of the biggest problems he sees in most scripts that they are not sound structurally. He equates story structure with building a house. You have to begin with a solid structure or the house is likely to collapse before you finish constructing it. A story can have great dialogue and intriguing characters, but if the story doesn’t unfold in a logical or interesting manner, it will fall apart.
Thus, he advises us to remember that a screenplay is a story told through pictures within the confines of dramatic structure. Write so that when someone reads the script, they are seeing images. A writer should look at every scene and decide what they are trying to say visually. In essence, the writer is directing the movie by writing visual images.
Structure consists of the building blocks of a story. Because we are limited by a page count, every character, scene and line of dialogue has to matter. The challenge is to tell a simple story in a manner that is not simplistic. There are usually two stories -- the plot, and what the writer is really trying to say -- which often creates emotional involvement. Glenn used Lethal Weapon as an example, pointing out that it’s not about catching drug dealers, it’s really about the Mel Gibson character, who wants to kill himself as the story opens. As the story progresses, he changes through interacting with the Danny Glover character’s family and becomes someone who wants to live and enjoy life.
Glenn agrees with most of Syd Field’s definitions of three-act structure and plot points. Act One is used to grab attention and set up the characters. It also often includes an inciting incident that serves to launch the plot, but Glenn reminds us it’s not what the story is about. Act Two begins with a plot point, which is comprised of three elements. A plot point should relate to what the movie is about, should come as a surprise that shifts the story into a new direction and must reveal that the protagonist’s life will never be the same again. A plot point puts an obstacle in the way of the character that forces them to deal with something they would avoid under normal situations.
The second act is about a character’s emotional journey and is divided into two parts separated by a mid-point. It’s important to note the mid-point is not a turning point, but serves to connect the two halves of the story. It’s usually the scene where the character first faces their greatest fear. Thus, you can break a movie down to where does the character start emotionally and where does he or she end emotionally -- and that is what the movie is about. The plot serves as the vehicle to help you show the character’s emotional journey. One means to hold interest throughout the second act is to continually raise the stakes.
Act Two ends with the second plot point which thrusts the story in another unexpected direction. The third act shows in a dramatic way how the character is able to succeed or become a better person due to what they have learned through facing their fear. It must lead to a dynamic ending that leaves the audience feeling satisfied.
Once you determine the attention grabber, plot points, mid point and dynamic ending, it is time to write the script. Glenn reveals that this is his contribution to implementing dramatic structure. Before writing, he breaks the story down into what he calls major ideas. These reflect major movements of the story or character. He doesn’t care as much about scenes, but more about the ideas reflected in each act.
He uses 48 Hours as an example to present the six ideas in the first act. The first idea (also the grabber) is when the Nick Nolte character busts the Eddie Murphy character out of jail. The second idea develops the main character by showing Nolte as an alcoholic who can’t get along with anyone. The next idea is when the bad guys enter the city and wreak havoc. The fourth idea shows the antagonists taking Nolte’s gun and killing another cop, which makes the crime personal. Next, Nolte has to investigate and discover who the bad guys are. This leads him to Eddie Murphy, who he gets out of jail for 48 hours to help him catch the criminals which is the sixth idea.
These represent the broad strokes of the first act, which will be depicted through a series of scenes. Thus, structure is really comprised of the main story beats that move the story forward. The story ideas are not about details or scenes. Because most movies are about a protagonist, it is important to establish their character in the first or second idea. Most movies get made because a star wants to play the lead role. If you wait until the third idea to introduce them, they will read the script and in many cases pass because they don’t appear until 10-15 minutes into the movie.
It helps to establish these ideas because you can avoid becoming too involved with the details, which are likely to change many times as you write the script. Thus, you spend more time determining what the story is really about. It is also important when pitching because you can relate six ideas in about two minutes and that enables an executive to quickly grasp what the story is about. Glenn explains that each quarter of a script should consist of between five to seven ideas. Four is not enough and more than seven is too long. It is possible to wrap up act three with four ideas, as you want to end the story as soon as possible to heighten drama.
By listening to these six ideas, Glenn can quickly determine if there are enough essential story and structural elements that will make each act compelling. He then gave several of those in attendance an opportunity to write the ideas from their first act and then pitch them to him in order to see if they were compelling.
It was an eye-opener to see how quickly Glenn could spot weaknesses in the first acts. For instance, Glenn pointed out that one protagonist would be difficult to root for because she was racist. After some discussion, the writer agreed that realizing this before writing the script enables her to make necessary changes, saving much wasted effort and time. During another listing of first act ideas, Glenn was able to show a writer how they lacked an inciting incident and contained an idea that wasn’t necessary, as it didn’t drive the story forward. He also helped another writer determine what their story was really about.
Many of those in attendance were so swayed by Glenn’s approach and ability to quickly identify elements needed in a story that they signed up for some of his workshops. Glenn keeps the class size small (limit of seven students) in order to offer as much individual attention as possible. For more information on his classes and other consulting services, please go to his website at glennbenest.com or call (323) 912-9195. He also offers an informative newsletter, which you can sign up for and receive for free.
- Previous Network Meetings:
|
