Core Elements of Narrative Stories

• Five essential components for any narrative:
  • Protagonist - point of view character we follow throughout
  • Goal - protagonist needs to want something, be trying to achieve something
  • Conflict - obstacle standing in the way of achieving that goal
  • Change - internal or physical transformation, usually to protagonist
  • Meaning - what the story is really about, often revealed through ending
• Stories need causality, not just chronology (“because” not “and then”)
• Great art doesn’t make good points, it asks good questions

Film Types and Narrative Distinctions

• Non-narrative films:
  • Documentary: unscripted, documenting real events
  • Experimental: abstracted relationship between events/time
  • Animated: drawn, not real world/live action
• Narrative films are:
  • Scripted (unlike documentary)
  • Live action (unlike animation)
  • Time and causality focused (unlike experimental)
  • Visual storytelling medium

Short Film Structure and Constraints

• Technical definition: under 40 minutes
• Festival programming preference: under 12 minutes (shorter the better)
• Course target: under 8 minutes
• Structural rules of thumb:
  • Under 10 minutes: room for only one major shift
  • Under 5 minutes: only time for one beat
• Focus on one moment, decision, or emotional shift that represents something bigger
• Short films are full emotional experiences, not fragments of longer stories

Four Effective Short Film Structures

• Moment of change: zooming in on one transformative moment
  • Example: “The Present” - focusing on character accepting disability
• Ironic reveal/reversal: building audience expectation then flipping it
  • Example: “The Cub” - weak girl becomes the one to be feared
  • Example: “Nursery Rhymes” - playing with assumptions about car accident
• Poetic metaphor: small story symbolizing deeper idea
• Build up: mounting tension culminating in satisfying result
  • Example: “Post It Love,” “The Spider”

Key Filmmaking Principles