RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK RSS

backstory, DO THE RIGHT THING, exposition, flashback, IRON MAN, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK - June 22, 2022

THE VALUE OF MINIMIZING BACKSTORY

“Backstory” is the term for any narrative that occurs in the past within the world of the script, chronologically occurring before the action of the A-story. In cinematic writing, backstory typically takes one of two forms: exposition, and flashback. With exposition, we’re telling the backstory; characters talk about what happened, or perhaps we’re “telling” via stuff like on-screen crawls, photos/images, etc. In flashback, we’re showing backstory; we’re cutting back in time to play out a scene. Backstory is like any other form of exposition: It should be treated like a necessary evil. We give the audience only so much as...

THREE PILLARS

There are three pillars to keep in mind when crafting story in such a way that the audience can engage. These are: Goal, Motivation, Sympathy. Goal is simply an understanding of what the protagonist is trying to do. This should be the engine of the A-story; our story is about the protagonist pursuing the goal. If we don’t even know what the character is doing, then instead of story it’s just incident; stuff happening. There is no plot or momentum. If the audience can’t perceive or understand what the protagonist is trying to do, it’s easy for them to get...

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