STORY DECONSTRUCTOR

Characters

March 7, 2023March 6, 2023

I, Tonya. Character Introductions Through Interviews

We love frameworks around here, and Steven Rogers provided us with a great one with I, Tonya when it comes to character introduction. In this story, the main characters are introduced with the use of real interviews that were conducted with Tonya Harding, her ex-husband Jeff Gillooly, her mother Lavona

February 14, 2023March 2, 2023

Character Introduction/Characters

Character Introductions. An Inside Out Framework

What’s not to love about frameworks? They help us improve our craft and inspire us to create better stories. At the most basic level, they allow us to face the dreaded blank page. Character introductions are an integral part of any story. Therefore, being able to rely on a practical

Story World

Argentina, 1985. The Evolution of the Story World

November 7, 2023November 7, 2023

At the beginning of the year, I wrote a piece on Joker’s story world and its transformation over time, proposing a five-phase framework. I was curious to see how this model would apply to the more subtle story world evolution of Argentina, 1985 written by Santiago Mitre and Mariano Llinás. First, let’s review the framework. The Joker’s Framework As the story world evolves, it will journey through various phases, with each one of them playing a distinct role in the story. The Initial State Stories start within a particular world defined by a set of characteristics like the time period, the

Hidden Figures. Setting the Story World and Introducing the Main Characters

October 25, 2023October 25, 2023

In Hidden Figures, written by Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi (based on the book of the same name by Margot Shetterly), there is this 5-page long scene that introduces the main characters, all while setting up the story world. A multipurpose scene that is a pure joy to read, and of course, worth deconstructing. Character Introductions By page four, we have been introduced to Katherine Goble as an 8-year-old, a math genius, but we have yet to meet her adult self, as well as the other major characters. Katherine Goble Since the previous pages were all about Katherine, we already

The Art of Repetition. The Shawshank Redemption.

February 21, 2023March 3, 2023

Needless to say, Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption screenplay is a masterpiece. Many lessons can be drawn from it, and one of them is the art of repetition. Darabont teaches us how repetition can be used to show a character’s evolution, a change in societal norms, the passing of time, as well as mislead the viewer regarding outcomes. A Character’s Evolution Changing and growing is part of the human condition. Time and experience have a tendency to cause transformations. An interesting way to show that shift is through the use of repetition. In The Shawshank Redemption, Red had served twenty

Joker’s Story World. A Transformation

February 7, 2023March 2, 2023

Every story belongs to its own unique world and just like any character, the story world can never remain static. It is challenged through a series of events, constantly evolving, and ultimately morphing into a new state, never to return to what it was. In this post, we will explore the story world that Todd Phillips and Scott Silver created for Joker. But first, let’s dive into the framework. The Framework As the story world evolves, it will journey through various phases, with each one of them playing a distinct role in the story. The Initial State Stories start within

Dialogue

The Shawshank Redemption. Building Danger in a Scene

Published on January 31, 2023May 1, 2023

Great dialogue is simply a given in The Shawshank Redemption screenplay written by Frank Darabont. In today’s post we dive into one scene in particular, one that is perfect for the study of building danger in a scene. The Scene At this point in the story, Warden Norton needs a few men

Story Structure

Gravity and The Everything Goes Wrong Structure Model

Published on February 28, 2023February 28, 2023

Story structure can often be a struggle, so searching for new configurations one can easily adapt to different stories is a never-ending endeavor. I recently read Gravity by Alfonso Cuarón and Jonás Cuarón and was taken aback by its simplicity, as well as its effective delivery of a story that succeeds in keeping the viewer

Miscellaneous

Top Gun. The Elements of an Impossible Mission

Published on May 1, 2023October 25, 2023

Who doesn’t love impossible missions? Well, maybe not in real life, but in films they are quite enjoyable. Witnessing characters succeed against all odds is exceedingly satisfactory. For today’s deconstruction, I thought we could explore the elements that turn a mission into an impossible one and Top Gun: Maverick written by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie (story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks) seems like the perfect screenplay to delve into. In this post, we will consider three Elements of Impossibility and their Exacerbators. Although these are not official screenwriting jargon, I thought they fitted nicely into

More