Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting
16 hrs. 45 min.
Description
A Robert McKee, a guru of Hollywood screenwriting, offers a systematic approach to “storytelling.” He suggests abandoning the set of plots and creating a dramatic structure: choose a protagonist, among many events find the most important one that disrupts the order of things, move on to overcoming obstacles, drive the matter to a crisis, show how the protagonist decides—maybe on the only truly right step—and starts acting, and then either victory or… final defeat—everyone is free to choose their own ending. This book is a Bible for screenwriters and writers, but it will undoubtedly also be useful to public relations specialists, marketers, and everyone who would like to learn to tell compelling stories and, most importantly, convincingly.
Contents:
Robert McKee. Story of a Million Dollars: A Master Class for Screenwriters, Writers, and More
Part 1. The Writer and the Art of Story
Introduction
1. Contemporary Problems of Screenwriting
The Decline of Story
The Loss of Craft
The Imperative of Story
A Well-Told Good Story
Story and Life
Abilities and Talents
Craft and Talent
Part 2. Elements of Story
2. Structural Variety
Terminology of Story Structure
Structure
Event
Scene
Frame
Episode
Act
Story
The Story Triangle
Archi-plot, sub-plot, anti-plot
Formal Differences Within the Story Triangle
Closed and Open Endings
External and Internal Conflict
One or Several Main Characters
Active and Passive Main Protagonist
Linear and Nonlinear Time
Causality and Chance
Constant and Unstable Reality
Change and Staticness
Story Creation Policy
A Screenwriter Should Earn a Living by Their Work
A Screenwriter Must Master the Classic Form
A Screenwriter Must Believe in What They Write
3. Structure and Setting
War on Clichés
Setting
The Relationship Between Structure and Setting
The Principle of Creative Constraint
Research
Memory
Imagination
Facts
Creative Choice
4. Structure and Genre
Film Genres
The Relationship Between Structure and Genre
Perfect Mastery of Genre
Creative Constraint
Genre Mixing
Updating Genres
Western
Psychiatric Drama
Love Story
The Gift of Patience
5. Structure and Character
Character and Characterization
Revealing Character
Character Arc
Functions of Structure and Character
Climax and Character
6. Structure and Meaning
Aesthetic Emotion
The Concept
Structure as a Rhetorical Device
Governing Idea
Meaning and Creative Process
Idea and Counter-Idea
Moralism
Idealism, Pessimism, Irony
Idealistic Governing Ideas
Pessimistic Governing Ideas
Ironic Governing Ideas
On Irony
Meaning and Society
Part 3. Structural Principles of Story
7. The Substance of Story
Main Protagonist
Connection to the Audience
The First Step
The World of the Character
The Breach
About Risk
Breach in Development
Creative Work from the Inside Out
Synopsis
Characters
Scene
Creative Work Inside the Breach
Substance and Energy of Story
8. Inciting Incident
The World of the Story
Authorship
Inciting Incident
The Spine of the Story
Quest
Inciting Incident Structure
The Place of the Inciting Incident
The Quality of the Inciting Incident
Creating the Inciting Incident
9. Act Structure
Progression of Complications
The Point of No Return
The Law of Conflict
Complication and Complexity
Act Structure
Structural Variants
False Ending
Act Rhythm
Subplots and Multiple Plots
10. Scene Structure
Turning Point
The Question of Self-Expression
Setup and Payoff
Emotional Shifts
The Nature of Choice
11. Scene Analysis
Text and Subtext
Scene Analysis Methodology
Step One: Identify the Conflict
Step Two: Record the Initial Value
Step Three: Divide the Scene into Frames
Step Four: Record the Final Value and Compare It to the Initial Value
Step Five: Study the Frames and Determine the Place of the Turning Point
Synopsis
Climax in the Middle of the Act
Step One: Identify the Conflict
Step Two: Record the Initial Value
Step Three: Divide the Scene into Frames
Step Four: Record the Final Value and Compare It to the Initial Value
Step Five: Study the Frames and Determine the Place of the Turning Point
Synopsis
Step One: Identify the Conflict
Step Two: Record the Initial Value
Step Three: Divide the Scene into Frames
Step Four: Record the Final Value and Compare It to the Initial Value
Step Five: Study the Frames and Determine the Place of the Turning Point
12. Composition
Unity and Variety
Rhythmic Construction
Rhythm and Tempo
Display of Development
Social Progression
Personal Progression
Symbolic Progression
Ironic Progression
The Principle of Transition
13. Crisis, Climax, and Resolution
Crisis
Crisis Within the Climax
The Place of Crisis in the Story
Crisis Structure
Climax
Resolution
Part 4. The Screenwriter’s Work
14. The Principle of Antagonism
The Movement of Story and Character Toward the Final Point
15. Exposition
Show, don’t tell
Use of Backstory
A Short Retrospective Scene
A Dream Episode
Montage
Off-screen Commentary
16. Problems and Their Solutions
The Problem of Interest
Mystery, Suspense, and Dramatic Irony
If a mystery is introduced into the script, the audience knows less than the characters
When it comes to suspense, viewers and characters have the same information
In the case of dramatic irony, viewers know more than the characters
The Problem of Unpredictability
The Problem of Coincidences
The Problem of Comedy
Structure of a Comic Work
The Problem of Point of View
Point of View Within the Scene
Point of View Within the Story
The Problem of Adaptation
The Problem of Melodramatic Tone
The Problem of Logical Gaps
17. Character
The Worm of Consciousness
Characters are not real people
Multidimensionality of Character
Cast Composition
Comic Character
Three Tips for Creating Cinematic Characters
1. Give the actor room to create
2. Love all your characters
3. Character creation is inseparable from self-knowledge
18. Screenplay Text
Dialogue
Short Lines
Tension in the Sentence
Silent Screenplay
Description
Recreating the film in the reader’s imagination
Vivid action in the present
Image systems
Screenwriter as poet
Titles
19. The Screenwriter’s Method of Work
Creating a script from the outside in
Creating a script from the inside out
A Step-by-Step Plan
Development
Script
Instead of a conclusion
Filmography
Part 1. The Writer and the Art of Story
Introduction
1. Contemporary Problems of Screenwriting
The Decline of Story
The Loss of Craft
The Imperative of Story
A Well-Told Good Story
Story and Life
Abilities and Talents
Craft and Talent
Part 2. Elements of Story
2. Structural Variety
Terminology of Story Structure
Structure
Event
Scene
Frame
Episode
Act
Story
The Story Triangle
Archi-plot, sub-plot, anti-plot
Formal Differences Within the Story Triangle
Closed and Open Endings
External and Internal Conflict
One or Several Main Characters
Active and Passive Main Protagonist
Linear and Nonlinear Time
Causality and Chance
Constant and Unstable Reality
Change and Staticness
Story Creation Policy
A Screenwriter Should Earn a Living by Their Work
A Screenwriter Must Master the Classic Form
A Screenwriter Must Believe in What They Write
3. Structure and Setting
War on Clichés
Setting
The Relationship Between Structure and Setting
The Principle of Creative Constraint
Research
Memory
Imagination
Facts
Creative Choice
4. Structure and Genre
Film Genres
The Relationship Between Structure and Genre
Perfect Mastery of Genre
Creative Constraint
Genre Mixing
Updating Genres
Western
Psychiatric Drama
Love Story
The Gift of Patience
5. Structure and Character
Character and Characterization
Revealing Character
Character Arc
Functions of Structure and Character
Climax and Character
6. Structure and Meaning
Aesthetic Emotion
The Concept
Structure as a Rhetorical Device
Governing Idea
Meaning and Creative Process
Idea and Counter-Idea
Moralism
Idealism, Pessimism, Irony
Idealistic Governing Ideas
Pessimistic Governing Ideas
Ironic Governing Ideas
On Irony
Meaning and Society
Part 3. Structural Principles of Story
7. The Substance of Story
Main Protagonist
Connection to the Audience
The First Step
The World of the Character
The Breach
About Risk
Breach in Development
Creative Work from the Inside Out
Synopsis
Characters
Scene
Creative Work Inside the Breach
Substance and Energy of Story
8. Inciting Incident
The World of the Story
Authorship
Inciting Incident
The Spine of the Story
Quest
Inciting Incident Structure
The Place of the Inciting Incident
The Quality of the Inciting Incident
Creating the Inciting Incident
9. Act Structure
Progression of Complications
The Point of No Return
The Law of Conflict
Complication and Complexity
Act Structure
Structural Variants
False Ending
Act Rhythm
Subplots and Multiple Plots
10. Scene Structure
Turning Point
The Question of Self-Expression
Setup and Payoff
Emotional Shifts
The Nature of Choice
11. Scene Analysis
Text and Subtext
Scene Analysis Methodology
Step One: Identify the Conflict
Step Two: Record the Initial Value
Step Three: Divide the Scene into Frames
Step Four: Record the Final Value and Compare It to the Initial Value
Step Five: Study the Frames and Determine the Place of the Turning Point
Synopsis
Climax in the Middle of the Act
Step One: Identify the Conflict
Step Two: Record the Initial Value
Step Three: Divide the Scene into Frames
Step Four: Record the Final Value and Compare It to the Initial Value
Step Five: Study the Frames and Determine the Place of the Turning Point
Synopsis
Step One: Identify the Conflict
Step Two: Record the Initial Value
Step Three: Divide the Scene into Frames
Step Four: Record the Final Value and Compare It to the Initial Value
Step Five: Study the Frames and Determine the Place of the Turning Point
12. Composition
Unity and Variety
Rhythmic Construction
Rhythm and Tempo
Display of Development
Social Progression
Personal Progression
Symbolic Progression
Ironic Progression
The Principle of Transition
13. Crisis, Climax, and Resolution
Crisis
Crisis Within the Climax
The Place of Crisis in the Story
Crisis Structure
Climax
Resolution
Part 4. The Screenwriter’s Work
14. The Principle of Antagonism
The Movement of Story and Character Toward the Final Point
15. Exposition
Show, don’t tell
Use of Backstory
A Short Retrospective Scene
A Dream Episode
Montage
Off-screen Commentary
16. Problems and Their Solutions
The Problem of Interest
Mystery, Suspense, and Dramatic Irony
If a mystery is introduced into the script, the audience knows less than the characters
When it comes to suspense, viewers and characters have the same information
In the case of dramatic irony, viewers know more than the characters
The Problem of Unpredictability
The Problem of Coincidences
The Problem of Comedy
Structure of a Comic Work
The Problem of Point of View
Point of View Within the Scene
Point of View Within the Story
The Problem of Adaptation
The Problem of Melodramatic Tone
The Problem of Logical Gaps
17. Character
The Worm of Consciousness
Characters are not real people
Multidimensionality of Character
Cast Composition
Comic Character
Three Tips for Creating Cinematic Characters
1. Give the actor room to create
2. Love all your characters
3. Character creation is inseparable from self-knowledge
18. Screenplay Text
Dialogue
Short Lines
Tension in the Sentence
Silent Screenplay
Description
Recreating the film in the reader’s imagination
Vivid action in the present
Image systems
Screenwriter as poet
Titles
19. The Screenwriter’s Method of Work
Creating a script from the outside in
Creating a script from the inside out
A Step-by-Step Plan
Development
Script
Instead of a conclusion
Filmography
00:14
00-00-istoriya-na-million-dollarov
1:20:26
01-01-avtor-i-iskusstvo-istorii
1:39:38
02-02-strukturnoe-mnogoobrazie
32:19
02-03-struktura-i-setting
58:34
02-04-struktura-i-zhanr
26:56
02-05-struktura-i-harakter
57:27
02-06-struktura-i-smysl
1:23:28
03-07-materiya-istorii
1:12:58
03-08-pobuzhdayuschee-proisshestvie
1:00:57
03-09-struktura-i-ritm-akta
51:04
03-10-struktura-stseny
1:00:28
03-11-analiz-stseny
37:57
03-12-kompozitsiya
30:28
03-13-krizis-kulminatsiya-i-razvyazka
30:48
04-14-printsip-antagonizma
33:23
04-15-ekspozitsiya
1:14:57
04-16-problemy-i-ih-resheniya
35:05
04-17-personazh
54:51
04-18-tekst-stsenariya
20:06
04-19-metod-raboty-stsenarista
03:45
05-vmesto-zaklyucheniya
