This article is not about how to write a good screenplay. It is about how to make the best film – from the script you have now – by understanding the key elements that make up a good story.
As filmmaking technology gets better and more sophisticated every year, it has given filmmakers all over the world an opportunity to tell their own stories about the human condition without having to worry about expensive equipment, large crews and big budgets.
Even though filmmaking is not as expensive or complicated as it was several years ago, every filmmaker must understand that the technology you are using today will never guarantee you can make a great film.
While the improved logistical tools and creative techniques of filmmaking allow filmmakers to tell more complex visual stories, the art of good story telling will always remain the same.
It’s a basic fact that audiences everywhere still want to go to a movie and be rewarded for their time by watching a compelling story with believable characters who make them feel something.
What Makes Good Story? – Part Two
(Contributed by Michael Bruce Adams)
- Who is the best character to live out this idea?
Which character’s internal journey is intensified by the physical journey to the best effect? In other words, over the course of solving the central problem of the story, which character will be transformed the most by the journey?
- What is the story world that our hero’s journey moves through?
What are the physical and emotional rules of existence for our hero? Do they have superpowers? Do they have crippling fears? How does their behavior reflect the rules of their life? How does the setting and the culture of the story world create barriers for the hero?
- What is the conflict? Who is the hero fighting and what are they fighting for? There are usually several conflicts in great stories. We want to identify the main conflict first, then secondary ones. The best stories have a series of conflicts with opponents who compliment each other, so that the tension builds from one to the next.
- What is the basic sequence of events, the action path that the hero must take? From the work we have done on the prior questions we can see that the plot of a story is not simple to create. Because we want an organic truthfully, motivated series of events we feel a note of caution before plotting out events. Allow yourself to revise the plot as you go through the last series of questions.
- What is the wound that the hero must heal in order to be successful?
We’re connecting the overarching motivation to the ultimate success of our hero. The backstory event that created our lead’s character flaw is the wound that must be healed. We see evidence that the wound has been healed when the hero overcomes their flaw and succeeds in their goal… or better still; turns their flaw into an advantage that allows them to become successful.
- What is the transformation your hero experiences?
Near the end of your story, the lead character will experience a revelation about themselves and how the world has changed around them as the result of their journey. The revelation should be directly associated with the healing of the wound.
- What is the moral challenge or decision your hero faces at the beginning of the story – and then at the end of the story? Because the hero’s transformation is often internal, the audience needs visual evidence of what has occurred. A moral decision or challenge will show the audience, through the hero’s choice, how he or she has changed. An effective transformation shows our hero making the exact opposite choice at the end of the journey, than they would have at the beginning.
Once we put our story idea through this development process we should have a very deep understanding of who our lead character is and a strong sense of their motivations and goals. Conflicts and action path give us a sense of a possible plotline. The hero’s transformation and revelation give us theme, emotional foundation and story direction.
If any of your answers to these questions seem ambiguous or vague, keep working. Great stories start with good bones… at this stage of the process we want answers with simplicity, clarity and concise language.
