Today as I was watching ‘Maiden Voyage’ by Denton Welch,is about a young teenager that finds himself in a stable that decides to explore the countryside even though he is advised not to do so. The opening lines of this passage establish the typical rebellious nature of an adolescent.  The character mentions ‘I hated to be dependent on other people. They would never want to do what I wanted to do’. This type of characteristic is mainly present in a teenager who doesn’t get enough attention. I realised how the director of the show used the “framing contexts” technique to help tell a story, which I found very interesting, as this was what we had just learnt in the class exercise. Everyone can be a storyteller — they tell narratives about their experiences and the meanings that these experiences have for their lives. According to Schirota and Yell (2000), I learn that a story or a narrative combines either real or imagined events that connect in such a way to provide a chain of events that are recounted to others.

The psychologist and narrative scholar Dan McAdams notes that people expect a story to have a number of features. All stories or narratives have a setting, which is usually made clear early on. When the setting is unclear, the listener or reader of the story may feel confused or bored.

The second element is characters — the players in the action. As the story proceeds, we learn certain basic information about the characters in the story — what they look like, how old they are, their dreams, wishes and so on.

Thirdly, we expect a story to have at least one plot — actions which have consequences and reactions to these consequences by and for the characters. Within this basic story structure, there are numerous variations that can enhance a story’s tension. As tension builds across episodes, we desire an eventual resolution of the problem faced by one or more of the characters.

Plot Point I :

• The Main Character
  Exactly who is your main character? What are his/her strengths? What are his/her weaknesses? What are his/her wishes and dreams? Whatever sense of normality your main character has is about to be torn apart.

• Location and Mood 
  Where does your character reside and how are the conditions?

• Genre
  It should be clear if the film whether is an action flick, a romantic comedy or horror film.

Plot Point II :

• Focus the main character to take action in attempt to solve the problem created by the inciting incident.

• Focus the main character on their ultimate goal.

Plot Point III :

• The climax is the biggest scene in the movie, the final battle between right and wrong, good and evil. Main character will save the day and resolve their problems in a miracle dramatic way.

 

 

In sum, I realised in order to create a masterpiece and impressive film; it will need to make an equally impressive start a writing project. I also understand that we must begin with a main character whose life is about to be turned upside down.

 

Reference:

May 15, 2009 – Schirato, T. and Yell, S. “Signs and Meaning.” Communication and Cultural Literacy: An Introduction. Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 2000, 18-33. Viewed on 10 August 2015.