story structure

As I’ve mentioned some posts before I took a storyboarding workshop during summer break. In the first part, I shared an overall impression and experience and described what we did during that day. Also, I slightly mentioned about the homework. So, in this part im going to touch this particular subject more.

So, the week before the actual course, I got an email with a homework assignment and a deadline it must be emailed back to the instructor no later than two days before the class, so he could review it properly. Also, there was a time limit for the assignment- since this task is developed only as a warm-up, it should be done no more than about 45 minutes.

The assignment was given to choose a favourite film, and by using only nine storyboard panels (sound pretty easy!), I should be trying to tell the story of the film. The film could be in any media or genre as long as it is something favourite and it is a story that I know well.

I did not think long and chose the Robin Hood (1973) by Walt Disney studio. This film is one of my all-time favourites, and I really enjoy to watch it from time to time. This is a joyful adaptation of classic English folklore about adventures of anthropomorphic heroic outlaw Robin Hood as a fox and his sidekick Little John the bear who are inhabitants of an animal kingdom in Sherwood Forest.

In the beginning, I truly believed that it would be an easy task. Just nine panels and favourite cartoon what could be more straightforward. That’s how naive I was.

Firstly, I decided to watch the film and break it down into a list of significant events in the story and then draw the storyboard. And right in the middle of the viewing, I started to understand that it is no that simple as it looks. In the end, my list went way beyond nine panels- I wrote sixteen ‘crucial’ incidents which I thought must be in the storyboard. I really wanted to introduce almost half of the characters, and include robbery, taxes, tournaments and all battles and actions. Additionally, a Love Story between Robin Hood and Maid Marian (how even possible to not have this in the boards!)

This was when my challenge began. I had to find a way to reduce the list to nine panels. I read through all notes a couple of times and made the first version of the storyboard. As I still tried to incorporate everything and everyone into drawings, my panels did not look like a coherent narrative, but more like independent illustrations without any sequential progression.

Honestly, I felt stuck. How it is even possible to force an hour and a half storyline into reduced version in nine pictures? At this point, I decided to watch the animation again and made marks in my notes. At this moment, I started to realise that I can divide my list into three several story workflows. One will be about Robin as a hero, another one could be all around Prince John, and another could entirely be concentrated about love and Maid Marian. And instantly, I started to realise what if I will focus only on one main character, I will quickly reduce and resolve my assignment!

So, I decided to concentrate on the main story about Robin, who helped villagers and about his bravery. And here you can see the final result.

And on the day of the workshop, Sam Horton, our instructor, reviewed and commented on everyone’s works.

Altogether, I genuinely think that this is a fantastic exercise that helps think critically about our own story, additionally, build it more efficiently. Moreover, I believe that this kind of activity should be acquired for the Central Saint Martins MA Character Animation curriculum.

As I mentioned in the post about storytelling- the story is a crucial part of filmmaking production. Moreover, each story that is told has a foundation – a structure.

The structure of the narrative is the way how we organise and how we tell our stories. One of the most typical and basic structures has an opening, then it begins, then something happens somewhere in the middle of narration, and it ends. However, the story’s formation can be even more complex.

The prime purpose of structuring the story- is to organising in order all what you want viewers to know about what is going to happen and when it will happen. And it makes the story interesting and helps to make an emotional impact on your audience and how it will respond to the story. Therefore, if the order gets wrong, it could be problematically for the audience to follow the story, and the emotional reaction also will be lost.

Hence, the structure is basically a series of events- the hit points. You just need to find the most essential moments of the narrative to start building your structure.

Additionally, I want to mention a tool that was developed by improvisational theatre instructor Kenn Adams, and which is used a lot by Pixar Studio story artists– STORY SPINE. (pic)

Basically, Story Spine is a practical system that gives a structured approach to get a rough outline of your story. It works as a bare-boned spine where everything already placed in the right spot, and you just need to fill down gaps:

Once upon a time…
Every day…

This is the beginning.

But, one day…

This is an event, something happens.

Because of that… (could be used several times)

This is the middle of the story.

Until finally…

This is the climax.

And, ever since then…

The end.

While working on a story, it crucial to think about what will be the connection between all these individual events. What will be a central theme and moral?

The theme helps all part of the story work together. If there no central idea in the story, it will be unmemorable, that means it will be hard to recite it later. The main idea supports all dramatic events in your story and makes it more persuasive and inspiring.

Indeed, it is good to know the theme before you start, however, it can come across while you write and your narrative progress.

As soon as the theme and rough outline of the narrative are ready, we can start to break it into the acts- larger sections of the story structure. At this stage, the best tool to use is a narrative arc.

The most common is the three-act structure.

The first act is a beginning that includes the first three steps of the story spine, once upon a time, every day and but, one day. This is where we find about our protagonist, about the time settings and the world where everything takes place and how it will work. Additionally, the first act tells viewers what type of story it will be either it is a science fiction, a drama, a romantic comedy, or something else.

This act also introduces the audience someone, or something called the antagonist, sometimes it calls the villain. However, it can be anything and takes any form.

Along with, this part also introduces the incident, it is the Until One Day part of the spine. Generally, this is an event that establishes the rest of the story.

Overall, the first act is the essential setup of the story. It is all about everything the audience needs to know to gets interested in the journey which will follow.

As we organised all the information that the audience needs to know, now we can move on to act two. In the story spine it is the middle part- Because Of It.

The second act is all about obstacles, complications, and challenging decisions for the main character. The hard choices and actions it takes to overcome these escalating barriers. And in this part also happen massive transformations with the character.

This part is about conflict because the narrative with no conflict has no shape, no impulse. Basically, the story needs a series of trials for the character on the journey path, and where it must make a tough decision from which there’s no return.

Along with the conflict, act two must also contain a low point when it seems that everything is hopeless and is lost for your main characters. When the character feels like he completely failed and frustrated, but at the same time, there must be something or someone that will continue to push it forward.

So, at the end of act two, something horrible is expected to happen to the character to force it to face the things that it didn’t wanna challenge at the end of the previous act one.

The third part of the story structure is a final instalment, it is all about an ultimate crisis, the climax and resolution. This part should be the most intense moment of the narrative for the character, who should be in risk of losing everything it valued most, and now it faces a final trial.

In act three, the story should be resolved, and the character and the world return to a calmer place.

The third act is where everything is pulled together, where the theme and the moral are clearly expressed. The character has overcome all obstacles and errors on its way. And he changed and has learned what is most important in its life. This revelation reveals what manifests the theme and the moral of the story. And it should feel like that there was fixed the big problem or resolved character’s personal dilemma with himself, and finally, everything feels in the world is right.

Category: story structure

Storyboarding workshop part 2