Five Dramatic Truisms

The idea of Story is both a highly complex and extraordinarily simple thing. And whilst there are a 1001 bullshit books dictating precise steps to Hollywood success (all of which bastardise and mis-quote or mis-attribute Aristotle in some way) I’m going to attempt to offer up something more succinct to help with effective storytelling :

Here’s my take on 5 simple ideas about engagement with audiences through story. No formula, no set structure, no character defaults or prescriptive sign-posts; just 5 things for story-tellers to keep in mind. The most complex chemical structure is built from the simplest elements.

1) Knowing
A crucial question to ask at a scene by scene level is “what does the viewer know?” And in particular what does the viewer know compared to the character(s)? Does the audience know Only what the characters know? Or does the audience know More than the characters know? The difference is huge and will determine the nature of the drama being constructed. Be it tension exerted by the unknown or anticipation in waiting for the known to happen.

We may see this dichotomy at work most evidently in horror films. If the viewer knows the slasher is lurking behind the door but the character doesn’t then the drama is in the anticipation of the character encountering what the viewer already knows to be there. If the viewer only knows what the character knows then the drama is in the surprise; we jump when the character jumps.

The role of the director and editor is to clearly articulate what the viewer knows in any given scene. If the filmmakers are clear about which of these 2 options is intended then the scene can play out with dramatic clarity.


2. Worry
There’s really only one reason we watch/read stories - we Watch because we like to Worry.

Regardless of the type, tone, style or structure of the story, irrespective of its traits and topics, one thing is consistent - if we are going to be engaged we must be made to give a shit. If you as a storyteller fail to make us care then all the great dialogue, descriptions and details in the world won’t save ya.

Of course this simple notion begs the question ‘how do you make a reader/viewer give a shit?’ The only way we can care is to empathise. So invariably we must like the character; no matter how flawed they are. So, make a character I like and then attack them. Hit them with everything. Batter them till I want to scream at the storyteller “leave him alone”.

3. Trapped
Here I am going to borrow directly from Howard Suber and his outstanding book ‘The power of film’. In it Suber declares that all good films can be aptly titled ‘Trapped!’ and the statement’s simplicity belies a profound observation.

If we watch because we like to worry - and the more worried we are the more engaged we are - then the idea of Trapped tells us so much about drama.

A character in a room is not ‘trapped’ until 2 conditions are met a) He wants to get out and b) he is prevented from getting out. Whilst the idea of action and obstacle is well known in drama the prism of Trapped is far more acute. It implies not just a desire and an obstacle for a character but something more - no way around, no foreseeable exit, compelled, cornered, inevitable. Trapped is not just something an obstacle in the way but a state of being beset on all sides and robbed of choices.

In all good stories the characters are beset on all sides - circumstance, bad luck, bad choices, fate, action, inaction, internal pressures and external forces. The more Trapped a character is the more engaged we’ll be to see how or if they escape, triumph, succeed or fail.


4. Argument
Drama must be Argued and, as in its traditional context, a Good argument is not one-sided but rather teeters back and forth like a tug-o-war rope.

Invariably a story will choose a winner, the philosophical premise of the filmmaker will come to rest at the films conclusion one side of the tug of war pit or the other. But the crowd will only be satisfied if the victory was hard fought, if the conclusion was earned. Just as when we go to a football match; seeing your team win 100-0 is not nearly as satisfying a narrow hard fought victory in the final seconds. The argument is more important than the result. In the end the audience may or may not care what the filmmakers point was - depending on the film - but they will care about the fight, the struggle, the argument. Often films that are predictable are so simply because the filmmakers have failed to present a counter argument to their central idea. The drama is unbalanced and the viewer can see the end position a mile off.


5. Emotional Expectations
An audience may enter a film not knowing what will happen but they do go in with specific emotional expectations. They expect to feel a certain way and their enjoyment of the film will be shaped by how well those expectations of feeling are fulfilled, exploited or subverted.

This idea is self evident every time you stand with your friend or partner in the cinema foyer or dvd store deciding what to watch. “Hey what about (insert movie here)…?” “Na I don’t feel like a (comedy, thriller, scifi, horror) tonight”. We make decisions about what to watch based on how we wish to feel. So for the storyteller, what is fundamental, is to know how you want your audience to feel?

Summary:
So Storyteller…. Here’s what you gotta do:
~ Make a character I give a shit about and make me worry about their fate
~ Trap them in a ‘place’ they can’t get out of but Must escape.
~ Surprise me when you surprise them
or
~ Give me foresight and show me what they don’t know
~ By all means have a point but argue it rather than deliver it.