FILM WRITINGMuhammad Irawan Saputra, S.I.Kom., M.I.kom.

FINDING NOT CREATING

• “we’re not free to invent plot points or character arcs and instead must find them in the raw material of real life”

• Our stories depend not on creative invention but on creative arrangement, and our storytelling must be done without sacrificing journalistic integrity

• Story begin from idea, hypothesis, or series of questions

• Better understand with story, will be stronger visual shoots, waste less time filming

• documentaries should demand their active engagement

• challenging them to think about what they know, how they know it, and what more they might want to learn

GOOD DOCUMENTARY

• confounds our expectations

• pushes boundaries

• and takes us into worlds—both literal worlds and worlds of ideas—that we did not anticipate entering

DOCUMETARY STORIES NEEDED:

• www.Sundance.org

• http://discovery.com

• www.channel4.com

• www.neh.gov

STORY BASICS

• a story is the narrative, or telling, of an event or series of events, crafted in a way to interest the audience, whether they are readers, listeners, or viewers

• a story has a beginning, middle, and end.

• a story has compelling characters, rising tension, and conflict that reaches some sort of resolution

STORY BASICS

• engages the audience on an emotional and intellectual level

• motivating viewers to want to know what happens next.

STRATEGIES OF STORYTELLING:NARRATIVE (ARISTOTLE, 350 BCE)

• Exposition

Exposition is the information that grounds us in a story: who, what, where, when, and why

• The narrative spain, or train

• Theme

STRATEGIES OF STORYTELLING:NARRATIVE (ARISTOTLE, 350 BCE)

• Arc

the way or ways in which the events of the story transform your characters

• Plot and character

• Who (or what) the story is about

STRATEGIES OF STORYTELLING:NARRATIVE (ARISTOTLE, 350 BCE)

• What the protagonist wants

• Difficulty and tangibility

• Emotional impact and audience participation

• A satisfactory ending

THREE-ACT STRUCTURE

Three-act, or dramatic, structure is a staple of the Hollywood system

• Act one

¼ the length of film

Introducing characters, and problem

By the end of Act One, the audience knows who and what your story is about

• Act two

½ the length of the story

conflict introduced

the story’s pace increases as complications emerge

unexpected twists and reversals take place

Emotional peak

the tension at the end of the second act greater than the tension at the end of first Act.

• Act three

Less than ¼ the length

the character is approaching defeat

he or she will reach the darkest moment just as the third act comes to a close

the tension at the end of the third act greater than the tension at the end of Act Two.