Sometimes characters in a film come to mind first when developing ideas, and sometimes instead the story does. You must begin with one and then work towards the other.
Some screenplays are Inner-driven, while others are motivated by external events, which must be reacted to. But these are not mutually exclusive and can occur together.
Similar to last week's reading, this chapter lists places from which ideas may be taken:
life, adaptation of novel/ short story, newspaper/ TV news, history, movie genres/ other films/ remakes, children's books.
You should consider the P.o.V. of who tells the story. Each film has a definite narrative voice or perspective. In Hollywood, this voice is traditionally omniscient distant unidentified narrator. The camera doesn't call attention to itself.
Narrative structure can be:
- Circular tale: Ending where it begins, except time has taken place between them. This gives both contrast and closure at once.
- Frame narrative: A tale within a tale, which gives sometimes a sense of nostalgia (e.g. a grown up telling a story from childhood).
- Multiple points of view: For example in Citizen Kane
- Collage narrative: Can include multiple documentary and fictive elements, only making sense on an individual level. Movies with multiple skits loosely joint together are included in this.
Kernel movements 'initiate, increase or conclude and uncertainty': they are major events. Satellite events 'accompany kernel events' and prolong, retard, or maintain a sequence. Even though it is usually said that any non-essential elements of a story should be removed, satellite events still are useful to flesh out stories and are often purposefully used. This is also the case for digressions, which some directors/ writers stylistically use in their films.
At the end of a story, multiple characters are either left embracing or one single character is left alone.
