Development Of Ideas And Structure In Moving Image

ITAP
Lecture 5
02/11/10

Development Of Ideas And Structure In Moving Image


Key Principles

• Story Development (Three Act Structure)
• Story Development (The Heroes Journey)

Jean Luc Goddard 

' Every movie needs to have a beginning middle and an end. But not necessarily in that order' 

Having a beginning, middle and end is the usual sequence in which a film is put together however this can be changed around given the structure, more freedom is created to play around and have fun. The notion of flash back turns it around and makes it more interesting creating a furthermore intriguing perception.

Beginning : Middle : End

      Establish :  Crisis  : Resolve  

Beginning, is where the scene is set, the world and set up os portrayed, the characters are introduced and usually showing the normality of the life the characters have.

Middle, is usually when a crisis breaks out, this could be in the form of a challenge, problem, journey etc. However it isn't necessarily bad, it is essentially the change in the story when something new happens and occurs.

End,is when the problem is resolved and normality is somewhat bought back. The characters may have also changed, due to previous encounters.

Movies are usually broken down into sections of 30 : 60 : 30 minute film structure

This is because the structure and basis of the film doesn't take long to portray however breaking up takes time. (argument, fighting,sex,battles etc) It is the crisis that intrigues us in as viewers, which is why more time is dedicated to it in order to dramatize the crisis n problems the main character is undergoing.

Three Act Structure

In order for a film to have a three act structure you have to have a protagonist, the protagonist is the main character the person which the action is centered around. At the end of Act 1 the protagonist makes a commitment that leads to the main action of the movie. Act 2, 3 characters begin in a state of equilibrium, the normal scene some sort of balance. A status quo anti something happens that disturbs equilibrium, starts a scene of events. End characters come to rest in a equal equilibrium. It is when your back to normality which is different but somewhat comfortable and the situation is resolved.

Within the three act structure the external changes are often accompanied by an inner story, there is the big picture within the film then little physiological stories, this may be the main character falling in love (romance) or discovery of themselves, the protagonist grows throughout the film. 

The Heroes Journey

Monomyth

The notion that there is one underlying fundamental story that we can detect, then it begins to vary and elements are changed and switched up. However we see common elements thats resinate with us as the viewer.

Joseph Campbell - the hero with a thousand face (1949)

synopsis from:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1323594/

Departure:
A mysterious criminal mastermind has stolen one of the pyramids in Egypt, 
sparking a fit of jealous envy in evil genius Gru (Steve Carell), who hasn't managed to make headlines since he and his minions swiped the Times Square JumboTron years back.
 Ever since Gru was a little boy, he dreamed of going to the moon. Now, if Gru can just build a rocket and get his hands on a powerful shrink-ray, he can cement his reputation as the greatest thief who ever lived by stealing the Earth's satellite right out of the sky.


Initiation:
 But immediately after Gru heists the shrink-ray, the cunning super-nerd Vector (Jason Segel) swoops in and snatches it right out of his hands. Now, in order to claim the moon, Gru must first reacquire the weapon from Vector. Armed with the knowledge that his nemesis has a mean sweet tooth, Gru adopts cookie-selling orphans Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Agnes (Elsie Fisher), and Edith (Dana Gaier) and commissions a new line of cookie robots from the evil Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), his personal weapons specialist. But as Gru and his diminutive yellow minions prepare to carry out the biggest heist in history, something strange happens. Gru discovers that the three little girls who have come into his life are much more than simple pawns. They actually seem to care about Gru, and it turns out the scheming evildoer makes a pretty good father.


Return:
 When Gru realizes that his upcoming moon mission clashes with a ballet performance by the girls, he must decide what's more important -- being a present parent or cementing his nefarious reputation once and for all.