Tuesday 29 January 2013

it's all in the story....

I've been to a few lectures recently, where they have really hammered home that everything is telling a story. A life drawing session with Alex Woo really emphasised this, "what is the pose telling?". So i figured I'd like to write about getting into the mood for writing a story, whether it's for a 2 second animation shot, or a short story or whatever it may be! My dad has always talked to me about this, about every little project i've done since I was young, how everything has a story, a punchline, a pay off. But you've got to find the things you want to tell and it's all about searching for the ideas.

There's a few personal ways I like to do this, or at least attempt to. Keeping a sketchbook of ideas, brainstorming (I especially like a big blank wall and post it notes for this) and looking at inspirational material. It's always good to be up for trying new ways to find ideas, I believe, as you never know where the next new idea might sprout from.
 
Anyway, so when I first started collecting blogs visually (bookmarks just don't cut it anymore, I can never remember what's on where, who posted what etc.), I came across Emma Coats, a storyteller, on various different social platforms. For a time, Emma ran a little challenge which was called "next five", she would pick a photo from flickr and ask people to storyboard what they thought the next five shots in the story would be. It was a really great exercise, it made you see pictures differently, and how each frame tells a part of the story. Also, seeing how other people interpreted it was a great experience. I really recommend this little exercise, it helps your brain get into gear, I found.

Emma also has a blog "Story Shots", where she often answers questions and gives out story telling tips and tricks, so it's definitely one to watch.

Below is a list of story basics that she picked up from her time at Pixar. 
#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.
#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
#8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.
#9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.
#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.
#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.
#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.
#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.
#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
#17: No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on - it’ll come back around to be useful later.
#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?
#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?
#22: What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

I think this fab post below, from Emma's blog, rings true to what I'm trying to explain in this post :D
"What holds you back from creative endeavours?
What I work on won’t be any good. It won’t be worth the time invested. It will suck.
  • It’s not any good yet, as long as it doesn’t exist.
  • Do your best, it’s all you can do. Your best today is not going to be your best in a year - UNLESS you don’t do anything between now and then, UNLESS you don’t learn from your mistakes.
  • You’re investing time in making your project great, but big picture you’re investing time in YOUR skills. You will do better next time. 
Scheduling - hard to find the time to do what I want to do.
  • Finding time when you have a family or a fulltime job (or both) is really difficult. An hour here or there can make all the difference.
  • If you don’t have a family yet, think about whether creating something is more important to you than watching TV? Video games? Hanging out with friends? Sleeping?
  • A quiet writer buddy can help keep you on task: you both show up to the same place at the same time and work on stuff. As long as you feel self-conscious about goofing around on the internet while she (or he) is being productive across the table from you…
I don’t know where to start. I procrastinate.
  • Make a list of what steps you need to take to start. Make a stupid-detailed list. Like, “1) find a pen. 2) find a reference picture of a snowy forest. 3) sketch the rough. 4) do the thumbnail value study. 5) etc”  —- if each step is trivial enough, it’s not difficult to start. Once you get a little momentum, it’s not difficult to keep going."
"....Sleep is very attractive when a project isn’t going well, or when the next steps are overwhelming. Time to make a ridiculously long detailed list of trivial steps…"

Find her on twitter here @lawnrocket
Her IMDB
Her Google+ - usually where she posts the "next five" challenges

And whilst we are on the subject of story, a few years ago I attended the Pixar Masterclass, when it came to London. It was made up of two classes, animation and story telling, with Andrew Gordon and Matt Luhn. Their notes were phenominal and here are the points that affected my work the most:

- Can you describe your story in one sentence?
- What story are we telling?
- What does the protagonist long for?

They seem simple, but they really helped me think about things from different angles. 

I hope these particular story notes are helpful in creating your own stories. If you missed it I posted a video below, John Cleese On Creativity. It's a superb lecture about creativity and definitely worth a watch. 

Get writing!

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