Intro to Storytelling Simon

Intro to Storytelling

Introduction:-

3 Acts

The 3 acts are the main recipe for a film/book made up of these three crucial steps;

1st Act beginning: Is the setup for a strong hook and sets the characters up for what happens next. Also, it grabs the viewers’ attention very quickly.

2nd Act Middle: The middle of the film/book is the longest act with plots, turning points and confrontation. This keeps the story moving and successful.

3rd Act End: The end of the story will always have a resolution. This could be an emotional, fearful or happy ending e.g. E.T goes back home and leaves his friends on earth. This is a sad ending which in turn makes the viewer emotional.

GTA 5 is an open-world game by having 3 main protagonists Trever, Michael and Frankling where they go on missions like robbing banks, killing people and taking people away. The theme of this game is identity, friendship and revenge.

The premise of GTA 5 take risks to get rewards

A premise is a clear message and a description of a film in one sentence. It ensures what you want to say is communicated to your audience. E.g. ‘don’t do this, treat people with respect, look before you leap, be careful what you wish for'. It could be a moral, a warning or a piece of advice.

1.E.T theme: love and friendship premise: if you love someone, let them go.

2.Toy Story theme: identity premise: the best way to win is to work together.

3.Batman Begins theme: triumph over adversity premise: your fears can become your strengths.

Character development:

Character development is when a character in a film/book gets you hooked into their journey and develops a bond with the viewer.   These are some of the types of characters that make a film or book.

Protagonist

The protagonist needs to be likable and, is the main character for the story you are telling. You can have an evil protagonist or the protagonist can be a good person, but they need to have characteristics that people can identify with.

By the end of the film, the protagonist should have learned something new about themselves or the world. The thing they learn is your premise.

In GTA 5 my favourite protagonist is Trevor. He is a unique character who is a madman and does not appear to care about anything. Trevor is likeable by the things that he says, which are very humorous.

Antagonist.

The antagonist role is to be in opposition to the protagonist. They often hold an opposing viewpoint, which may make them question their beliefs. They may force the protagonist into a difficult situation, or present them with problems and challenges.

It is through the protagonist overcoming these challenges that they will learn something new and prove their premise.

In GTA 5 the police are antagonists trying to stop and prevent the trio from robbing and killing people.

Character types

Mentors –  Give advice and guidance to heroes

Allies – provide help and support to heroes. Police are patrolling the streets of Los Santos protecting residents.

Tricksters - bring humour to a film and convey a mischievous point. The three protagonists in GTA 5 are tricksters. They mess around with the law and people to get what they want.

Shapeshifters – characters that change shape, body form, facial features etc., their appearance can take the shape of a human that changes into another animal or into a totally different person.

Character traits

Leader

Children

Betrayer

Eye candy

Dumb Blonde

Genres

Refers to a groups of films such as horror, thriller, action, comedy etc. Each genre has a set of conventions. This can affect people in many ways by experimenting with genres that they may not have watched before.

Conventions – the style of a film and characters such as spies or superheroes, settings, costumes and props etc. which defines the film, and places it in a specific genre.

Subgenre

A category within a genre where a group of films have more specific codes and conventions such as a “slasher movie” subgenre which would fall into the horror genre

Horror subgenres

Psychological

Killer

Monster

Paranormal

Exposition

It occurs mainly at the beginning and introduces important themes of a film. It creates the first impressions for audiences and allows viewers to be introduced to the content. ‘Chekov’s Gun Theory.’

Deconstruction of Friday the 13th 

Shot 1                                                                                                    

4s (Four Seconds)

Wide Shot (WS)                                                                                                               

StaticShot 1 is a static 4-second scene of the moon. This is a wide shot used for establishing the tone of eeriness with dark and dull scenery which represents horror,  and the German Expressionism of horror. The use of clouds going past the moon symbolises a pass of time and the silence of the scene builds suspense and makes the viewer think about what is going to happen next.

Shot 2                                                                                                                                  

(One Second)

Mid Shot (MS)                                                                                                                  

Static Shot 2 is a 1 second static shot of a sign showing the location for the upcoming shots. The lighting of this shot is still dark to give an eerie atmosphere but has included a bright light coming towards the viewer. This leaves the viewer in suspense as something dramatic might happen. The music in this scene is creepy by having high pitched tone, also the use of the voice before the next scene is very powerful as this introduces the character and next scene.

Shot 3                                                                                                                              

(Two Seconds)

Mis shot (MS)                                                                                                                    

Movement Shot 3 is a 2-second movement shot of a character standing trying to cover his eyes as the lighting is too bright. The lighting is still very dark and has a contrast of colours where the characters yellow costume stands out against the black background. This makes the viewers' eyes drawn to the character, making you want to focus on that character. The use of the shadow is effective as it slowly reveals the face into the next shot.

Shot 4                                                                                                                                 

(Four Seconded)

Continuous Shot (CS)                                                                                                      

Static Shot 4 is a 4-second continuous static shot. The audience gets to see a clear shot of the whole face of the man which is to get a feel for the first impressions of who this character is. The man isn’t tense. He is more relaxed and has an open body language. This gives the impression to me that he could be the killer because he seems too relaxed for a horror. The use of his tone when he speaks seems calm, to match his body language.

Shot 5
Wide Shot (WS)

Shot 5 is a 2 second shot, that is a wide shot of a body of ocean, with a character in the middle of the sea. This makes the viewer uneasy for the next scene to follow. The reason why this scene makes the viewer feel uneasy, is that the person in the water appears to be fighting for his life, with no help and she is surrounded by water, and the noises of the water and birds add a sense of how alone she is in the ocean.

Shot 6
Close Shot (CS)

Shot 6 is a two second shot of a close up of the girl drowning and struggling in the mass of water. This again makes the viewer feel worried for the character. The use of a close up is to dramatically intensify the feeling of helplessness that the character is feeling. The viewer can hear the water splashing, which adds tension to the scene.

Shot 7
Mid Shot (MS)

Shot 7 is an 18 second shot of a boy and a girl together, in a dark cabin, wearing bright yellow polo shirts. The yellow dramatically contrasts against the dark background. This scene may have had explicit content from the words that the guy is saying "We weren't doing anything”. This seems a weird thing to say because there is a boy and girl together, because it hints at sexual overtones.

Shot 8
Close Up (CU)

Shot 8 is a 5 second shot of a woman who is eagerly wanting to get away from something terrifying. This grips the audience to pay close attention, and creates suspense, The viewer can hear footsteps and rustling of the leaves around the character. This keeps the viewer engaged, adding tension and makes the audience curious as to what is coming next.

Shot 9
Extreme Close Up (ECU)

Shot 9 is a 1 second shot of a woman, who is lying on the ground face down. This creates tension for the viewers as they wonder whether the woman is dead or alive. This is a dramatic shot as the camera is at a high perspective looking down, which gives this impression that she is small and weak. In this shot, you can hear the woman scream and the impact of her falling on the floor.

Shot 10
Close Up (CU)

Shot 10 is a one second shot of a character holding a dagger in the right hand. This is a close up that makes the viewer focus on the dagger, and makes the viewer feel unsettled, and curious as to if he is the killer.

Summery

Whilst doing this deconstruction I have learnt that many horrors start with dark lighting to set the tone of horror, and the use of bright costumes on characters encourages the viewers’ attention to quickly focus on the character. I have also learnt about the different camera shots/ techniques, such as using wide shots to show the viewer a more panoramic view of what is happening. The use of bright lighting in dark scenes make it dramatic for the viewer adding contrast between extremes of colour.    When I film my horror project I will use dark lighting to set the tone. I will consider using bright lights every now and again to build suspense and drama.