Sean Lawrence

A series of act s builds the largest structure of all the Story. A story is one huge master event .....each should have the arc of the film , the great sweep of change that takes life from one condition at the opening to a change condition at the end. The final condition, the end change must absolute and irreversible. STORY CLIMAX : A story is series of acts that build to a last act climax or story climax which brings about absolute and irreversible change .

An Act is a series of sequences that peaks in a climactic scene which causes a major reversal of values, more powerful in its impact than any previous sequence or scene.

a SEQUENCE is a series of scenes-generally two to five-that culminates with greater impact than any previous scene. Setup: Scene One: Scene Two: Scene Three:

A BEAT is an exchange of behavior in action/reaction. Beat by Beat these changing behaviors(modes) shape the turning of a scene.

A Story Event creates meaningful change in life situation of a character that is expressed and experienced in terms of a value and ACHIEVED THROUGH CONFLICT .

Scene is action through conflict in more or less continuous time and space that turns the value-changed condition of a character's life on at least one value with a degree of perceptible significance, ideally, every scene is a STORY EVENT.

Structure is a selection of events from the characters' life stories that is composed into strategic sequence to arouse specific emotions and to express a specific view of life.

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The Hero's Journey Outline The Hero’s Journey is a pattern of narrative identified by the American scholar Joseph Campbell that appears in drama, storytelling, myth, religious ritual, and psychological development.  It describes the typical adventure of the archetype known as The Hero, the person who goes out and achieves great deeds on behalf of the group, tribe, or civilization. Its stages are: 1.         THE ORDINARY WORLD.  The hero, uneasy, uncomfortable or unaware, is introduced sympathetically so the audience can identify with the situation or dilemma.  The hero is shown against a background of environment, heredity, and personal history.  Some kind of polarity in the hero’s life is pulling in different directions and causing stress. 2.         THE CALL TO ADVENTURE.  Something shakes up the situation, either from external pressures or from something rising up from deep withi...

   In the long run, the most influential book of the 20th Century may turn out to be Joseph Campbell's THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES. It's certainly true that the book is having a major impact on writing and story-telling, but above all on movie-making. Aware or not, filmmakers like John Boorman, George Miller, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Francis Coppola owe their successes to the ageless pattern that Joseph Campbell identifies in the book. The ideas in the book are an excellent set of analytical tools. With them you can compose a story to meet any situation, a story that will be dramatic, entertaining, and psychologically true. With them you can always determine what's wrong with a story that's floundering, and you can find a better solution to almost any story problem by examining the pattern laid out in the book. There's nothing new in the book. The ideas in it are older than the Pyramids, older than Stonehenge, older than the earliest cave painting. Cam...

According to Vogler's analysis, the Journey is populated by archetypes—basic functions that tend to appear in every story. They are recurring patterns of human behavior, symbolized by standard types of characters in movies and stories. 1. HEROES Central figures in stories. Everyone is the hero of his or her own myth. 2. SHADOWS Villains, antagonist or enemies, perhaps the enemy within. The dark side of the Force, the repressed possibilities of the hero, his or her potential for evil. Can be other kinds of repression, such as repressed grief, anger, frustration or creativity that is dangerous if it does not have an outlet. 3. MENTORS The hero’s guide or guiding principles, for example Yoda, Merlin, Gandalf, a great coach or teacher. 4. HERALD One who brings the Call to Adventure. Could be a person or an event. 5. THRESHOLD GUARDIANS The forces that stand in the way at important turning points, including jealous enemies, professional gatekeepers, or your own fears and doubts. ...

Its stages are: 1. THE ORDINARY WORLD. The hero, uneasy, uncomfortable or unaware, is introduced sympathetically so the audience can identify with the situation or dilemma. The hero is shown against a background of environment, heredity, and personal history. Some kind of polarity in the hero’s life is pulling in different directions and causing stress. 2. THE CALL TO ADVENTURE. Something shakes up the situation, either from external pressures or from something rising up from deep within, so the hero must face the beginnings of change. 3. REFUSAL OF THE CALL. The hero feels the fear of the unknown and tries to turn away from the adventure, however briefly. Alternately, another character may express the uncertainty and danger ahead. 4. MEETING WITH THE MENTOR. The hero comes across a seasoned traveler of the worlds who gives him or her training, equipment, or advice that will help on the journey. Or the hero reaches within to a source of courage and wisdom. 5. CROSSING THE THRESHOL...

Heroes are introduced in the ORDINARY WORLD they receive the CALL TO ADVENTURE They are RELUCTANT at first or REFUSE THE CALL, but are encouraged by a MENTOR to CROSS THE THRESHOLD and enter the Special World, where they encounter TESTS, ALLIES, AND ENEMIES. They APPROACH THE IN-MOST CAVE, cross a second threshold where they endure the ORDEAL They take possession of their REWARD and are pursued on THE ROAD BACK to the Ordinary World. They cross the third threshold, experience a RESURRECTION, and are transformed by the experience. They RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR, a boon or treasure to benefit the ORDINARY WORLD

http://celfishdotme.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/story-by-robert-mckee.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB_Q1gFsvIw

by Melanie Anne Phillips  creator StoryWeaver , co-creator Dramatica Protagonist drives the plot forward. Antagonist tries to stop him. In the Story Mind, the Protagonist is the Prime Mover of the effort to achieve the Story's Goal. The Antagonist is the Chief Obstacle to that effort. In a sense, Protagonist is the irresistible force and Antagonist is the immovable object. In our own minds, we survey our environment and consider whether or not we could improve things by taking action to change them. The struggle between the Protagonist and Antagonist represents this inner argument: is it better to leave things the way they are or to try and rearrange them? The Protagonist represents our Initiative, the motivation to change the status quo. The Antagonist embodies our Reticence to change the status quo. These are perhaps our two most obvious human traits - the drive to alter our environment and the drive to keep things the way they are. That is likely why...

  Bing Dictionary pro·tag·o·nist [ prō tággənist ] main character: the most important character in a novel, play, story, or other literary work main character in ancient Greek drama: in ancient Greek drama, the first actor who interacted with the chorus leading figure: a main participant in an event such as a contest or dispute Synonyms: character , hero , central character, leading role, good guy

  Bing Dictionary an·tag·o·nist [ an tággənist ] opponent: somebody or something opposing or in conflict with another character in conflict with hero: a major character in a book, play, or movie whose values or behavior are in conflict with those of the protagonist or hero neutralizing agent: a drug that neutralizes the effect of a substance on the body Synonyms: rival , adversary , opponent , enemy , contender , competitor