Notes

and Research
on story and screenplay Using A Crash Course in Screenwri:ng by David Grith

Logline
You should be able to write down the basic idea for your movie in one or two sentences, showing who the lead character is, what they want, what they are forced to do, and what happens. These statements are called log-lines and are a bit like TV lis:ngs. There is of course no right way to write a log- line but they usually include the following elements:

Sidney Stagehand is a theatre technician tasked with preparing the stage for a concert. Clarence the Conductor feels that his job preparing the orchestra should take precedence, and the two men become embroiled in noisy conict.

1 The name of the lead character Clarence the Conductor 2 The sePng of the movie: Concert hall orchestra pit 3 An idea of what they want: to get ligh:ng ready for concert asap 4 What or who tries to stop them: Sidney Stagehand, the maintenance man 5 What challenge they will have to complete to try and get what they want: a baUle of sound between instruments and power tools

Character
The key to all good stories is to populate them with fascina:ng and engaging characters. But how do you decide what makes a fascina:ng and engaging character? As weve said almost all popular stories are based around a lead character who at the start of the story thinks that s/he wants or needs one thing, but by the end of the story discovers that something else is more important to them, or that they must change their aPtude in order to succeed. But its clear that characters do not operate alone otherwise it wouldnt be a drama. You therefore need to think not only about who your lead character is (and why they are the perfect character to be in your story), but also the other characters. To help you think about your cast of characters try grouping them in the following way.

Who is my lead character? Clarence What is the worst possible thing that can happen to this par:cular character and how will this adversity make them change? He is scared he wont get the music ready on :me and that makes him more pushy than normal What will s/he be forced to do to get what he wants? To be asser:ve What is his/her moral weakness or character aw? An antagonis:c streak, and hampered by inferiority complex Who is his/her main opponent? Sidney Stagehand How does the opponent aUack his/her weakness? Ac:ng superior and using horrible noise How does the story end? Clarence will win overall and con:nue to prac:ce

suspense
SETUP Who is my lead character? Clarence What do they want? To prac:se with his orchestra How can I show what they want? By showing orchestra playing What do they need to learn about the world or themselves in order to get what they want? That you have to be asser:ve/pushy How can I demonstrate visually what they need? By repeated use of orchestra and audio

Aristotle believed that suspense is created when the drama makes an audience feel a powerful sense of pity for the heros undeserved suering, because only then can the audience truly sympathise (and iden:fy) with the hero, and fear for what might happen to him next. From the moment you start introducing your characters and giving them desires and ambi:ons, you put them into conict with the people around them. The natural arc of any situa:on is for it to become more complicated, un:l the conict reaches a climax and the situa:on is resolved.

CONFLICT Who opposes them? Sid the maintenance man How do they aUack the lead character and expose their weaknesses? Con:nous noise assault from hammering, drills etc Why is the lead character resistant to change, reluctant to confront their weakness? He thinks the music is more important than the repairs How does the level of conict increase? Increasingly loud instruments vying with increasingly loud tools What makes the conict personal? Dirty looks, and sid puPng the lightbulb in the tuba

RESOLUTION Why does the lead character come back for one last aUempt to defeat their opponent? Determina:on, and he s:ll needs to prac:se Do they s:ll want what they did at the beginning, or are they beginning to understand that they will never win unless they change their goal or their aPtude to life? S:ll wants the same thing, but has become more asser:ve What moral choices that they have to make in the nal struggle will nally externalise their inner struggle between what they want and what they need? Chooses to react and get even

Aristotle was the rst to suggest ways in which Poets and Drama:sts might best structure their stories. He believed that, at its most basic level, every good story has not only a Beginning, Middle and End, but also involves two main plot phases: COMPLICATION and UNRAVELLING.

Beginning, Middle and End the 3 Act Structure

Clarence is Trying to prac:se

Sid gets noisy drill

BaUle of noisier instruments And bigger drills

Sid puts lightbulb in tuba

Clarence puts sid in tuba

All instruments play

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