ITAP lecture-Week 5

Story Development- 3 Act Structure

References; blog.muradqureshi.com, aceshowbiz.com, indiewire.com, sheknows.com

With all films and moving image pieces, there is a basic guide to the order of a moving image piece, which is;

Beginning:Middle:End, or Establish:Crisis:Resolve.

However people adapt and change these structures to suit the context of the film, as well as their style of working.

The example I have chosen is the film “Slumdog Millionaire”, in which I have considered each of the following elements which contribute to the films triumph.

The protagonist in this film is Jamal Malik, who is the main character, who is being questioned by police into attempted cheating in a TV quiz show. He is the one person we follow throughout the story of the film taking us back in time to how certain points in his life affected his life now.

The equilibrium and pace of the film becomes quite steady, but then an event, pinnacle to the story occurs that affects the rest of the film, and this focuses on the part where his mother is killed unlawfully, leaving him to fend for himself and his siblings on the streets, where they encounter drugs, running from the law, amongst other things. This could be classed as a “domino effect”, so as a result of this one event, it disrupts the remaining film and its characters within it.

Additionally, there is an “outer story”, so there are smaller stories happening alongside the main story, so this can result in the protagonist noticing some changes, and these often include an emotional element, which is his romance with Lakita, whom they have known each other since children, and as  she becomes a "damsel in distress" with a violent husband, he rescues her, strengthening their love.

In addition to this, “flashbacks” are featured in this film, with the main character as a child living in the slums of Mumbai, which in turn relates and helps us understand the story, and how the character got to where he is at the point of the film. So this type of structure works very well.

Story Development: The Heroes Journey

References; markreadsharrypotter.buzznet.com, mtv.com, themovieplanet.wordpress.com, forums.superheroetype.com

 In many films, the main character usually undergoes an adventure or task, which is the bulk of the story’s plot.

In this case, I am looking at the Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire and the protagonist is Harry potter, a young wizard. Concerning the mono myth, the main story of the film, which is featured and continued throughout the Potter franchise, is the aim to destroy Voldermort and to find out the truth about the loss of his parents. The first stage, “departure” is continued throughout the film, as Harry is on a task to fight his demons. 

The second stage is “initiation”, which involves meeting with the enemy, so he can become a “champion” in a sense, so his competition he enters from the Goblet of Fire, that entails 3 difficult and risky tasks to win the "challenge cup",unwillingly, is quite a major part of the film, helping him to fight his ultimate enemy, (below).

The third stage is “return” that entails lots of action and adventure, a “race to the finish” with hopefully a happy and successful ending, which in this case is Harry winning the competition, and also his fight against Voldermort.

 This particular principle is key to many films, predominantly adventure and action films. It also entices the audience to follow and become involved with the characters, resulting in a thriving film.