The StructureA Free Workshop

For Indie Film Writers

6/8/2014Creative Commons License

Hosted ByAntonio Bonilla and Lawrence Whiteside

Writer’s Block

VS

Knowing when you

will be finished.

Triforce of Story

Logline

Character Plot

What the story is about.

Who the story is about. Where, When and How it

happens.

(once upon a time) When a TYPE OF

PERSON has/does/wants/gets A, he

gets/does/tries/learns B, only to discover that

C is trying to do the opposite; and he/she

must do something before D.

Logline MadLibs

A - Who is the Main Character?

B - What do they want?

C - What is trying to stop them?

D - What is at stake? What happens if they fail?

Up

A: When a lonely widower is ordered to give up his home due to

urbanization

B: He escapes in his home, lifted by thousands of balloons

headed for Paradise falls in Argentina, to fulfill the dream of his

late wife.

C: Only to realize he has a stowaway, Russell, and lands near

his childhood Idol, an adventurer after a rare bird.

D: And now must risk not fulfilling his late wife’s dream in order to

save the bird and the bumbling wilderness explorer.

Loglines

American BeautyA: When a repressed husband and father living a life of misery and

loneliness.

B: Tries to recapture the joy of his youth.

C: He learns his wife is cheating on him and his daughter’s friend would

find him attracted if he worked out.

D: Only to discover that speeding her route to adulthood, won’t restore

his childhood and he is already free.

Loglines

Seven A: When a rookie detective teams up with a veteran detective on the verge of

retirement

B: They are enlisted to try and solve a series of brutal murders

C: Only to learn that the murderer is killing in the name of the 7 deadly sins.

D: And that they must now see the case through to the end no matter what the

consequences.

Any Questions about Log Lines?

Your Turn

Orphan - An outsider with a question, a goal.

Wanderer - Is searching for the way to achieve

goal or find answer.

Warrior - Battles the opposition to reach the goal,

finds answers.

Martyr - Makes a life or death sacrifice to complete

the goal.

Archetypes

Sociology

1. Economic Class

2. Occupation

3. Education

4. Home life. Parents history

5. Religion

6. Race, nationality

7. Place in the community

8. Politics. Affiliations

9. Amusements. Hobbies

Psychology

1. Sex life. Moral standards

2. Personal premise. Ambition.

3. Frustrations,

Disappointments

4. Temperament

5. Attitude towards life

6. Complexes. Obsessions

7. Extrovert, introvert

8. Abilities. Talents

9. Qualities

10. Intelligence

Physiology

1. Name

2. Gender

3. Age

4. Height, weight

5. Color of hair, eyes,

skin

6. Posture

7. Appearance, shape of

limbs

8. Defects

9. Heredity

10. What do they wear

Building Characters

3 Dimensional CharactersThey are Conflicted From the Inside-Out

Private Conflict - Comes from Psychology

How do they see themselve?

He believes he is _____.

Personal Conflict - Comes from Sociology

How do they see the world?

He sees the _____ as _____.

Professional Conflict - Comes from Physiology

How does the world see them?

The world sees his _____ and

thinks _____.

3 Necessary Characters

in any Story

Main Character/s (Protagonist)Move the story forward through making choices toward the resolution.

Antagonist/sHas opposite goal of Main Characters

Stakes Character/sRepresent what is at risk of the Main Character fails, or if the Antagonist

succeeds.

Any Questions about Characters?

Your Turn

15 questions that hold up the story.

The Plot Outline

3 or 4 Act Structure?

Act 1 - Orphan - Set up what everyone wants.

Central Question.

Act 2 - Wanderer - Show the search, the trial &

learning, the clues to solve the problem.

Act 3 - Warrior - Uses the tools learned to try and

solve the problem, present a solution.

Act 4 - Martyr - Resolution Act, everything comes

to completion. The solution works or does not.

4 Act Structure

Question 1 What is the opening image?

Sets up the world. Establishes mood and tone,

style.

Starts inside of his brain. Pulls back to a gun in

his mouth. Sets up the “kind” of movie we’re in for.

Question 2 What point are you trying to make?

The thematic premise. The moral. The

ideological/philosophical concept behind the story.

Jack thinks he has it all, but still isn’t happy.

“The things you own end up owning you.”

“It’s only after you lose everything, that you’re free to do

anything. “

Question 3 What is the Setup?

Introduce the Main Character(s), Their goal and

The Stakes. What is the A Story?

Jack can’t sleep, so begins going to support

groups for Cancer patients.

Question 4 What happens to upset the

character’s life?

The catalyst. Inciting incident. New arrival.

Sudden hardship. This is where the new reality

reveals itself.

Jack loses all his worldly possessions. Calls Tyler. Moves

in with Tyler. He’s now in Tyler’s world.

Question 5The thematic discussion is brought up from the Main Characters point of view

and the Antagonist’s point of view.

Is there freedom is losing everything? Jack’s not sure.

He’s testing the waters.

What is the central debate?

Question 6The Antagonist usually embodies the other side of the debate. They act,

forcing reaction. We leave the old world for a new one. End Act 1.

Jack and Tyler live together, are best friends, and Fight

club happens every saturday night.

How does the central debate force

the character to act?

Question 7The B,C,D stories. Outside your main character’s

scope things in the world are happening. Make a

full world.

B: Marla and Tyler are having sex. C: Bob has joined

fight club. D: Jack’s boss is noticing the changes. E: the

cops are investigating Jack’s apartment fire.

What else is happening the the

world?

Question 8What is important and exciting to you about your

idea. What have you set your audience up to want

to see.

Show them.

Jack and Tyler commit ironic criminal acts, and reside as

leaders over Fight Club.

What is the promise of your

premise?

Question 9In response to the experiences thus far, the main

character makes choices for better or worse. The

world flips upside down, again. End Act 2

Tyler Burns Jack’s hand with Lye to make him face his

death. Jack stands up to his boss. Jack helps Marla

check for Breast Cancer. Fight Club gets corporate

sponsorship.

What’s the midpoint of the story?

Question 10

Tyler leads Project Mayhem to commit destructive acts.

How powerful is the Antagonist?

“Bad guys close in.” Stakes raised again as one side of the debate grows

stronger.

Question 11The All is Lost Moment

Bob, The first man Jack ever cried with, is killed by police

while committing a terrorist act. Tyler disappears, leaving

Jack alone.

What is the worst thing that could

possibly happen to the characters?

Question 12Dark night of the soul. Then new resolve makes it

them or me, all or nothing stakes.

Jack searches for Tyler, and tries to find out what Project

Mayhem is up to.

How does your characters react to

the worst thing?

Question 13Here the A story and B,C,D stories converge in order to help the main character

discover the solution to their problem. End Act 3

Jack discovers that he is Tyler Durden. He blew up his

Condo, he’s fucking Marla, and he is the leader of project

Mayhem. All he has to do is stop Tyler, himself.

What is the solution to the story

problem?

Question 14How does the Main Character Act to use the solution they have just learned?

Do they win or lose? Resolve the B/C/D stories in the 4th act.

Jack/Tyler Breaks up with Marla, tries to confess to the

police, fights Tyler to try and stop the bombs, turns the

gun on himself.

What is the finale of the story?

Question 15A coda before the credits roll gives a moment to settle down. Use it to

describe the new world after the final conflict is resolved. End Act 4

Jack and Marla stand hand in hand and watch the

buildings fall. Jack is letting it slide.

What does the world look like now?

Final Image.

The Outline Board

ACT 1

ACT 2

ACT 3

ACT 4

1

98

52 3

1110

4

7

6

14

1312

15

The Scene Card

Location

Crisis: Where are we, who is present and

what is in the character’s way?

Change: What changes, who wins/loses?

Conflict: What do they all want? What is

opposing them?Climax: What happens when they try to get what

they want.

List Characters & the Mood.

Scene # / Story A/B/C/D

Example from “Fight Club”

Characters: Jack, Tyler

Mood, Comedy, Continue the last scene of them stealing fat to make soap.

Crisis: Tyler is teaching Jack how to make soap. He gives him chemical

burn.

Conflict: It burns, Tyler won’t let go. Tries to escape into his mind. Tyler

keeps him present.

Climax: Tyler shows Jack his own scar. Gives him the antidote.

Change: Jack learns that someday he’s gonna die.

Quotes: “It’s only after we’ve lost everything, that we’re free to do anything.”

Scene Prompts

Crisis: Is informed by the previous scene’s change.

Conflict: Used to reveal character in a way that’s

interesting to watch. Think about text as well as sub-text.

Climax: The highest point of the scene conflict, resolves. If

you know it, you can write towards it.

Change: As a direct result of the Climax something in the

story changes.

15 to 40 scene cards.

Write 1 scene card a day.

Think about your character’s and how real people (you)

would act.

Aim at the Climax to get from Opening to Conclusion of the

scene.

Ask yourself, what would real people do? Audiences can

smell bullshit.

Fill in the corkboard. The more information (black ink) on

the index card, the more ripe the scene becomes.

Any Questions about Scene Cards?

Your Turn

Our best practices to finishing a

scene absolutely every time you sit

down to write.

Do you have any to add which have helped in your process?

Remove All Barriers to Writing

Work at your highest daily energy

point in the day. Do not avoid a

planned session due to low energy.

Energy:

Accountability:

Agree to e-mail someone your

scene at the end of the session.

They don’t have to read it for it to

work.

Write simultaneously with

someone. Or work together on 1

piece. 1 at keyboard, 1 moving,

talking.

Proof:

Remove All Barriers to Writing

Copy your scene card questions

into a script file. One file for

every scene.

Organize your space. Remove

distractions.

Preparation:

Urgency: 1-2 hours is all you need to write

1-5 pages and finish the scene.

Set a final deadline that relates to

the real world like a contest.

Remove All Barriers to Writing

Print out what you’ve written.

Post it up in a space that you see

all the time. Cement the ritual

with a celebration.

Celebrate

immediately

afterwards:

Don’t look

backwards:

Don’t reread old scenes. If you

need to, don’t criticize. Trust the

outline and move forward.

Scenes on the wall are unavoidable.

Post them up and celebrate accomplishment!

This is your progress bar to completion.

VICTORY!

Fuck

Writer’s Block

To Recap

Knowing when you

will finish a draft is

way better!

Thank you!

We are

Antonio Bonilla

Lawrence Whiteside

cinemasetfree.com

There are filmmakers sitting next to you. Say hello to each of them.

This presentation is available at our website.