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Video Production

A guide with tips and trips on how to produce a video, from the pre-production process to the editing phase.

The Mechanics Behind Telling a Great Story

The essence of a great story lies in its ability not only to make the viewer care, but also to make them forget. Forget their worries, their problems, even their pain. The story helps the viewer enter a new, magical world that is extremely appealing. 

Storytelling is an essential part of communication. It is the most effective way to learn, digest information, become energized, be influenced, and get carried away.

Although it seems quite challenging to master the art of storytelling, when you manage to understand the main principles of a great story, you are in a position to deconstruct them and build a system off of them.

Below we have provided three essential processes widely used to construct a narrative, develop characters, and to push the story forward in a timely manner.

Storytelling Processes

The 3-Act Structure

The 3-act structure is an old principle commonly used in storytelling today. It can be found in plays, poetry, novels, comic books, short stories, video games, and movies. It is present in the novels of Conan Doyle, the plays of Shakespeare, the fables of Aesop, the poetry of Aristotle, and the films of Hitchcock. It’s older than Greek dramaturgy, and Hollywood and Broadway continue to rely on the concept heavily.

Though relatively simple, the 3-act structure has proven to be a valuable weapon in the arsenal of any screenwriter. Though there are other ways to tell a story, the 3-act structure is a foundational and successful approach.

In a nutshell, the 3 acts are labeled as:

Act I: Setup

Act II: Confrontation

Act III: Resolution

These acts are also referred to as the beginning, middle, and end. The goal of the 3 act structure is to make sure that the story evolves and provide tension and release, which will help ensure that your audience remains engaged throughout the story.

Act I: The Setup

The first act is where all the major characters of the story are introduced, plus the world where they live in, and the conflict that will move the story forward. In Act I, the writer has the freedom to create any setting and reality that he/she so wishes. It’s in the first pages of the script that defines the reasoning and logic of the story.

Act I must also present a strong hook – an exciting scene early in the script that grabs the audience’s interest and hooks them. Part of that hook is the inciting incident that takes place somewhere in the beginning of Act I. This inciting incident often provokes a change in the protagonist’s routine – something new they experience that could either challenge or encourage them.

Act I ends with the first plot point of the movie.

Act II: Confrontation

The second act is by far the longest, encompassing half of the movie and taking place between the first and third acts. For some screenwriters, Act II is the hardest one to design. This happens because after the initial boost of a new story, the writer is left without plot elements to introduce. The story, its characters and conflict are all established. At this point, the writer has created a solid frame for his/her narrative. The writer faces the challenge of keeping the story moving forward and not boring the audience.

One device to accomplish this feat is the creation of subplot. The subplot is a minor story layered under the main narrative. It often adds a three-dimensionality aspect to the characters by allowing them to engage in a behavior that is not necessarily connected to the main plot, but still relevant in the overall narrative and often linked to a central theme.

The second act may be a moment in which the hero leaves their comfort zone, which fuels the writer with another set of possibilities. In the second act, the stakes escalate. If the hero is “on the fence” or confused about what they should do, then something must happen by the midpoint of the script to make their goal clear and to make the stakes much higher than before. This is often a moment of crisis, in which all hope seems lost.

Act III: Resolution

The last act, Act III presents the final confrontation of the movie, followed by the denouement. This act is usually the shortest in length because quickly after the second turning point of the script, the main character is face to face with the villain or just about. Showdown ensues and then conclusion. Act III contains a moment often labeled as mandatory – the confrontation between hero and villain, the clash between good and evil, a duel. The third act is also when the writer ties up any loose ends and offers a resolution to the subplots. The resolution can also give extra information for a more elaborate character arc.

Character Arc

In general terms the Character Arc is the notion that characters must evolve, grow, learn, or change as the plot unfolds. The audience, in general, expects a character to finish the movie in a better position than that in which he started because that is what everyone strives for. Life sometimes allows that, but not always. The arc doesn’t imply that characters will always be richer, smarter, or get the girl or boy at the end. Perhaps a greedy person would end up in jail or an impulsive lover would end up murdered at the hands of an angry husband.

Points to consider when creating the Character Arc.

  • Are these Arcs developing positive or negative changes in the character? (A character arc can also be dark or somber.)
  • What external or internal elements drive the change? What makes people change? What conflict results in change?

It’s important to note that characters (like humans) are complex creatures and their transitions are never clean or black-and-white. Sometimes only one aspect of the character evolves, while others remain the same. With that in mind, don’t always (if ever) write characters who change from wholly evil to wholly good or vice versa because that rarely happens. A subtle transition is sometimes more identifiable for the audience.

The Hero's Journey

The Hero’s Journey follows the archetype called The Hero on their journey to achieve great deeds. All the different points on this journey is what creates the framework. The journey is divided into three parts:

  1. Departure
  2. Initiation
  3. Return

Departure includes the following stages:

The Ordinary World

  • The Hero is introduced. He is shown in his Ordinary World, which is nothing special and a complete contrast to the Special World he will later venture into. He has a sad, boring life that usually gets the reader to sympathize and/or identify with him.

The Call to Adventure

  • Within his Ordinary World, the Hero receives some form of information that shakes up the situation and acts as the call to adventure. The Hero is being prompted to leave the Ordinary World for the Special World. This is where he is beginning a new stage in his life.

Refusal of the Call

  • The Hero experience some refusal to answer the call and turn away from the adventure, perhaps by feelings of insecurity, obligation, or fear of the unknown. 

Meeting with the Mentor

  • The Hero meets a guide or protector or some form of magical helper—often a seasoned traveler—who offer the Hero training, knowledge, confidence, advice, and such that will help the Hero on his journey. The key word is that the Mentor offers help and guidance while the Hero is the one who should complete the journey.

Crossing the Threshold to the Special World

  • At the end of this first part, the Departure, the Hero commits to leaving the Ordinary World and crossing into the adventure and the Special World. This new unknown and dangerous world contains rules the Hero is not familiar with. While the Mentor lead the Hero to the threshold, the Hero has to cross it on his own. The threshold is also guarded by a Guardian or Gatekeeper, which means the Hero must prove to be worthy in order to pass the threshold.

 

Initiation includes the following stages:

Tests, Allies and Enemies

  • The Hero explores this new and unknown world and goes through tests and trials within this unfamiliar setting. He learns new things and skills that will prepare him for the Ordeal that’s to come. The Hero should not succeed at every test, he should know what failure feels like (because this will make him grow). He will also encounter new characters and sort out friends from foes. His new companions will help him with the tests and trials.

Approach to the Innermost Cave

  • The Hero prepares for the major challenge in the Special World—together with his friends—by facing greater challenges and more difficult obstacles and guardians. This is a way to prove himself worthy of greater challenges and the ultimate battle.

The Ordeal

  • The Hero faces his greatest challenge yet, in the form of the Antagonist, with the knowledge and skills he has obtained up until now. He confronts death or his deepest fear. He then experiences death and rebirth (either literal or symbolic).

The Reward

  • The Hero takes possession of the reward/treasure he won by facing his greatest challenge, marking his triumph over the Antagonist. This reward/treasure is what the Hero went on the journey to get (it does not have to be something material, though).

Return includes the following stages:

The Road Back

  • The Hero is driven to complete the adventure by going back to the Ordinary World with the reward/treasure he won. It can often be as dangerous to return from the journey as it was to start it in the first place. There is often a chase scene that signals the urgency and danger of the mission, or the defeated Antagonist may be rallying for a second round.

The Resurrection

  • The Hero is once again tested on the threshold going back to the Ordinary World (this may be brought about by a rebounding Antagonist who must be conquered once more). The Hero experiences a final moment of death and resurrection that’s on a higher and more complete level than the previous one, so that he is pure when he reenters the Ordinary World. This resurrection may either be literal or symbolical, and he wakes to a new world and transformed life.

Return with the Elixir

  • The Hero returns home with some element of the reward/treasure that will help him improve the Ordinary World (it can just as well be a material thing as a greater insight into himself as a person). Usually, the elixir (the reward/treasure) is meant to help someone other than the Hero—what the Hero gained on his journey will benefit others beyond himself.