3. Elements of Storytelling in cinema .pptx

Animation and gaming

1. ELEMENTS OF STORYTELLING

2. Storytelling is the easiest way to communicate complex ideas. It’s also the best way to share information that emotionally connects your audience to your insights and knowledge – and, most importantly, connects people to you. A story well-crafted can do that in one-to-two minutes. Nothing else has that potency, not even a compelling piece of fact. The Elements of Storytelling – sometimes referred to as narrative elements – are the essential moving parts of every story, regardless of the form it takes. An understanding of the elements of storytelling helps you tell better stories. Whether in creative work, such as filmmaking, digital storytelling, or fiction writing; or in more practical activities such as business communication. You can keep in mind and apply the basic elements of storytelling in planning your story while actually creating or delivering it.

3. The 5 Key Story Elements 1. Characters I’m talking believable  characters who feel knowable. Your main character is the protagonist, also known as the lead or hero/heroine. The protagonist must have: Redeemable human flaws Potentially heroic qualities that emerge in the climax A  character arc   (he must be a different, better, stronger person by the end) Resist the temptation to create a perfect lead character. Perfect is boring. (Even Indiana jones suffered a snake phobia.) You also need an antagonist,   the villain. Your villain should be every bit as formidable and compelling as your hero. Just don’t make the bad guy bad because he’s the bad guy. Make him a worthy foe by giving him motives for his actions. Villains don’t see themselves as bad . They think they’re right! A fully rounded bad guy is much more realistic and memorable. Depending on the  length of your story , you may also need important orbital cast members. For each, ask: What do they want? What or who is keeping them from getting it? What will they do about it? The more challenges your characters face, the more relatable they are. Much as in real life, the toughest challenges transform the most.

4. 2. Theme Plot is  what happens  in a story, a  theme is  why  it happens —which you need to know  while  you’re writing the plot. So, before you even begin writing, determine why you want to tell  this  story.  What message do you wish to convey?  What will it teach the reader about life?  Resist the urge to explicitly state your theme. Just tell your story and let it explore your theme and make its own point. Give your readers some credit, they’re smart. Subtly weave it into the story and trust them to get it. Don’t rob them of their part of the writing/reading experience. They may remember your plot, but ideally you want them to think long about your theme. Theme can be, for example, about resilience – and how your characters (and you as the storyteller) have the will to overcome adversity. Or about consequences – such as the power of words to deceive, as in ‘the boy who cried wolf.’

5.  3. Setting This may include location, time, or era, but it should also include how things look, smell, taste, feel, and sound. Thoroughly  research details  about  your setting , but remember this is the seasoning, not the main course. The main course is the story itself. But, beware. Agents and acquisitions editors tell me one of the biggest mistakes  beginning writers  make is feeling they must begin by describing the  setting . It’s important, don’t get me wrong. But a sure way to put readers to sleep is to promise a thrilling story on the cover—only to begin with some variation of: The house sat in a deep wood surrounded by… Don’t. Rather than describing the setting, subtly layer it into  your story . Show  readers your setting, don’t  tell  them. Do this, and what things look and feel and sound like subtly register in the theater of the readers’ minds while they’re concentrating on the action, the  dialogue , the  tension , the drama, and  conflict  that keep them turning the pages.

6. 4. Conflict Conflict is the engine of fiction  and is crucial to effective nonfiction as well. Readers crave conflict and long to see what results from it. If everything in your plot is going well and everyone is agreeing, you’ll quickly bore your reader—a cardinal sin. Are two characters chatting amiably? Have one say something that makes the other storm out, revealing a deep-seeded rift in their relationship. What is it? What’s behind it? Readers will keep turning the pages to find out. Conflict can be emotional or physical, internal or external… as long as it provides tension that makes the story interesting. And conflict can start as soon as the protagonist comes up with a goal. The character doesn’t even have to know what the conflict is yet (though they often do). The protagonist must have a conflict, whether with their environment, other characters, or themselves. The best conflicts have emotional and moral dimensions, too, as well as emotional and physical stakes. 

7. 5. Plot Plot is the sequence of events that make up a story. It’s what compels your reader to either keep turning the pages, or set the book aside. Think of  plot as the storyline of your novel. A successful story answers two questions: What happens?  (Plot) What does it mean?  (Theme—it’s foundational) Writing coaches call  story structures  by different names, but they’re all largely similar. All story structures  include some variation of: An opener An inciting incident that changes everything A series of crises that build tension A climax A resolution (or conclusion) How effectively you create drama, intrigue, conflict, and tension, determines whether you can grab readers from the start and keep them to the end.

8. MORE Story Elements

9. Controlling Idea The controlling idea or hypothesis of a story is more specific than its theme. The theme often can be expressed quite broadly, in non-specific terms. The controlling idea of a story is the main specific point that your story addresses, which needs to be expressed in concrete terms. It could be a point of theory or one of observation. It does not have to be a moral message or lesson, though it may be. You don’t need to have an answer at the start of your story, but you do need to have resolved the controlling idea – the question it poses – by the end of your story.  Stakes The story needs investment for the protagonist, which goes beyond their own personal needs and expresses the universal human condition.  This is usually reflected in the form of what the protagonist has to lose. The stakes must be something significant – the stakes need to be high enough for us to care. For example, if the hero does not complete a mission, someone close to them will be killed. 

10. Tension In storytelling, tension is what builds interest in the story, as well as suspense. Tension usually arises from conflict.  Passive tension is when the potential for conflict exists, but it’s not yet clear if there will be a conflict. The reader is unsure of what’s going to happen next. Active tension means that conflict has already happened, and the reader/viewer knows it. Still, they don’t know what will happen as a result. The reader/viewer can be wondering what will happen or worried about what might happen.  A lack of tension in a story is a bad sign. Without tension, the reader/viewer is unlikely to continue.

11. Prose Prose is the language of the story – how it’s written – including parts of speech and sentence structure. Prose is also the texture of the story/text: the words on the page. The rhythm and sound of the text. Prose can also be used to reflect mood or tension in the scenes or the characters. In modern storytelling, prose reflects the tone of the story. Prose can be a combination of sentence length, sentence structure, and the rhythms of words. But more than this, the language of prose is linked to the story’s movement. Verisimilitude – Truth In a good story, told well, ‘truth’ in storytelling is something that is felt because a story seems real; captivating. We believe in the story and in the characters. This has nothing to do with ‘scientific’ or ‘objective’ truth. The word verisimilitude is based upon the latin for “likeness to truth.” Written as vērī similitūdō ; from vērī , the genitive singular of vērus (“true, real”), + similitūdō (“likeness, resemblance”). Truth includes what seems inevitable – it’s based on what readers might expect to happen in the particular story (in terms of the plot). Or it’s based on the ‘truths’ that the readers believe about the world.

12. Point of View Determining your story’s point of view is a crucial decision. Often, the point of view you write from will determine the writing style you use. For example, the story’s point of view can be first person, second person, or third person. Or it could be omniscient if you’re writing from the point of view of a particular omniscient character or god-like being. First-person – the story is seen through the ‘eyes of one of the characters. The whole story is from the perspective of the first person ‘I.’ Second-person – the story is seen through the ‘eyes of one of the characters. But the ‘you’ is addressed to the reader. The whole story is from the perspective of the second person, ‘you.’ Third-person – the story is seen through the eyes of a narrator who may or may not get involved. The story is from the point of view of the third person ‘he’ or ‘she’ or ‘it.’ Omniscient is god-like : the reader can see into the minds and ideas of all the characters. Of course, this kind of omniscient POV can also interpret the story as a character who is telling the story.

13. Pacing Pacing is one of the essential elements with which you can play as a story creator. Pacing is about the speed at which the story moves, and the rhythm of the story.  Pacing is the rate at which a narrative goes forward. It is related to the rhythm: long, slow scenes that discuss feelings and motivation give the story a slow rhythm; action-filled scenes will do the opposite. A steadily slow story will not hold the reader. A steadily fast story will bore the reader and leave him feeling that they don’t understand the characters or why they are doing what they are doing. Pacing can affect tone and how the reader/viewer experiences your story. If the story is going too slow or too fast, you will likely be alienating parts of your audience. Rather than drawing them into the world of your story. One of the main concerns of the storyteller is to develop the tension at the right moment. This is the essence of storytelling: building tension, then releasing it, building it again, releasing it – in a way that will keep the reader’s attention. So, naturally, pacing will play a significant role in this.

14. “ You’re a storyteller. Dream up something wild and improbable," she pleaded. "Something beautiful and full of monsters." “Beautiful and full of monsters?" “All the best stories are.” ―  Laini taylor ,  strange the dreamer

15. THANK YOU