Pixar storywriting tips11/2/2022 For this exercise, we will use the movie “Cars,” and you can pick any film that you know well. To get some hands-on practice, we recommend you take a blank page and follow along. “Cars” Film Using the Original Story Spine Tool (Practice Exercise) The famine ends, and his loyal subjects live happily ever after. Simba finds himself crowned as king and realizes his destiny is to bring back prosperity to his once thriving kingdom. And Ever Since That Day…Īfter the eventful climax, this final scene reveals the meaning of the narrative for the main character, anyone else involved that supported the protagonist and the audience. He throws his uncle off a ledge and falls to his death. When Simba forgives him, he tries to kill him also, but Simba is prepared. Scar, his uncle, blames his father's death on the hyenas. It's when the resolution of the story is set in motion. This part of the Story Spine is considered the climax. His new objective is to confront his uncle and get him to admit to the kingdom's subjects that he killed his father. With the help of his friends, Simba gets past his uncle's henchman, but the story does not end here. On the way back, there will be a few obstacles to reaching his uncle, but they make the narrative more intriguing. After years of uneventful bliss, he and his friends bump into a lioness from his kingdom that lets him know how much the people are suffering with his uncle as king.Īt first, he rejects the offer, but Simba's father appears in his dream, telling him to back and take his place as the legitimate king. After being exiled by his uncle, Simba grows up with two friends he meets in the forest and begins a carefree life. If this narrative were a play, it would be the second act, and we get into the meat of the story. In this step, the main character journeys to accomplish an objective. In The Lion King, the pivotal moment is when Simba's father dies, and he must summon the strength to be independent at a young age. It's the critical moment that starts the story. In technical terms, this part of the story structure is called the inciting incident. It's an event that pushes them to change their habits, embark on an exciting quest, strive to achieve a goal, or fight to keep the balance of the world they love. Whether the protagonist's life is going well or they are miserable, at this point, something happens that changes everything. It sets up the scene for how things are at that moment but gives subtle hints that might change if he's up for the challenge. In the movie Rocky, for example, the main character feels unfulfilled as a boxer and unhappy with a day job that will never give his life meaning. Now the characters and setting are set, so you can start by giving details about the world your characters live in and the obstacles they might face. The goal is to write enough to give your audience a taste of what's to come. It is only an introduction, so you don't have too much at this point. Is the protagonist interesting, and who are they? Where is the location, and what period does it take place? An audience will have a few questions to decide if they want to continue watching. For example, the story could take place in medieval times. This step merely reminds us that we have a duty as storytellers to announce our protagonist and setting. You can be original and don't have to start with these exact words. The 7 steps below include the introduction that sets the stage for your protagonist, an occurrence that breaks their daily routine, a mid-point that shows the results of that change, a climax that builds up the story to a final resolution, and then the actual resolution which one hopes is a happy ending.Īnd it all starts with the opening in every fairy tale that we know all too well: 1. What are the 7 Elements of a Story Spine? To them, this method is the basic foundation for any well-constructed story if they intend to use it to engage their audience. It's so effective that Pixar, Disney, and Lucasfilm (Creators of Star Wars) train all its incoming writers to use it on all their projects. The story spine helps with the structure of any movie, broadway play, or narrative. PIXAR STORYWRITING TIPS HOW TOThe playwright writes about this tool in his best-selling book, How to Improvise a Full-Length play – The Art of Spontaneous Theater. Originally created by playwright Kenn Adams, the story spine is a method both writers and performers use to make fascinating stories for any audience. If you purchase Plottr, we do get a small commission from that, but there is no extra cost and every bit goes to the coffee fund. Side note: We recommend Plottr as our top plotting tool to fabricate stories using the Story Spine and many other Story Structures.
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