What if I learn screenwriting theory or can't write a screenplay?
Here to share a simple and easy-to-understand screenwriting method, proposed by Hollywood script agent Scott Meredith, it is very suitable for screenwriters who want to understand the principles of commercial films, if you are a novice, you must read it.
However, there is a saying in the front, the screenwriting theory is just a tool, there are tools and no materials, just like the chef has no ingredients, and no matter how proficient in technology can not write the script. The ability to capture stories is the foundation of creation, which requires listening more, seeing more, and exploring more, which cannot be taught.
The following text.
Taiwan Province Internet celebrity
■ Hollywood screenwriter's mind
"A protagonist who can resonate and pay attention finds himself in some kind of trouble and makes some positive effort to try to get out of it. However, every effort he made would only make him fall deeper and deeper, and the obstacles he encountered along the way would become bigger and bigger. Finally, when things seem to be the darkest and most hopeless, and the protagonist looks like he is about to finish playing, he finally gets out of trouble by his own strength, wisdom, or wit. ”
In short:
1. The protagonist is about to face trouble
2. Try to solve the trouble three times and twice
3, the trouble is getting worse and worse
4. The protagonist is completely defeated and is on the verge of despair
5, with a certain reason, the protagonist reversed the situation and solved the trouble
Isn't it convenient to summarize a movie in a few sentences? Of course, since it is a simplified mental method, some knowledge must be explained.
However, it is too boring to pile up the theory first, and the life of the screenwriter is usually not boring, because there is no money, so let's look at the example first.
1. The protagonist has a dispute with his wife and accidentally accompanies his mother on a train to Russia
2. The protagonist tries to solve these problems many times, including getting out of the car and returning home
3, all kinds of troubles, but also encountered new problems - and the mother quarrel
4, everything is out of control, trapped in the wilderness, almost killed
5. Finally solve all problems, the protagonist wakes up and rebuilds the parent-child relationship
This is the controversial "囧Mom" during the epidemic, the evaluation is polarized, but in any case, it is filmed according to the routine.
Commercial blockbusters in general, especially superhero movies, are also in this form:
1. For some reason, the protagonist obtains special abilities→ the protagonist attracts the attention of the audience
2, trouble arises, the protagonist steps forward→ finds himself in some kind of trouble
3, to solve the small trouble comes the trouble, to solve the trouble comes the big trouble→ sink deeper and deeper
4, the big trouble is too strong, the protagonist is defeated, the life hangs in the balance→ the darkness is hopeless and it will be finished
5, something happens, the protagonist is resurrected in a desperate situation, overcomes the trouble→ relies on his own strength to get rid of the trouble
Beginners who want to write a script, if you have not learned the screenwriting theory such as three-act plays, you may wish to try to apply this formula.
Some people may ask, blindly imitating routines, can you write a good story?
Of course not.
Remember: a dead end. According to the script, it must be hung.
A lot of movies made in the formula of Hollywood commercial films are ugly to death.
So why, also follow the routine, some stories are wonderful, some are very broken?
What's the secret?
■ The synergy between characters and events is a good movie
Encountering trouble, solving problems, getting deeper and deeper, desperate situation reversal, these are all kinds of events, the protagonist encounters problems, due to local thinking, opportunism, eagerness, blind attachment, imposed on others, blamed on outsiders, avoid difficulties, use old methods to solve new problems, take new problems as the cause of events... And so on, these ill-conceived situations, leading him to face the problem in the wrong way, and make things worse, this kind of plot can be seen in good movies and bad movies.
But the script has two key elements: characters and events.
The protagonist encounters trouble more and more deeply, which belongs to the ups and downs of the event, but it is not enough, the characters and characters must be portrayed deeply in the hearts of the people, and the story will look good.
So how do you portray a character? The screenwriter's mind said of the characters: "A protagonist who can resonate and pay attention... By his own strength, wisdom or wit, he was finally freed from trouble. ”
Although there is not much ink in three words, this is precisely the key to whether the movie is good or not. Some commercial films imitate the mental routine but are very ugly, and there is a good chance that the film only imitates the form and has no soul, and this soul is the character in the movie.
■ The influence of good or bad character building is very large
Let's start with the counterexamples:
Remember how netizens commented on the male and female protagonists of "Big Fish and Begonias"? Green tea and spare tires, strange character settings ruin this movie with such beautiful pictures.
"囧Mom", the male protagonist played by Brother Shan Zheng is too awkward, living like a big mom treasure, and the female friends I know don't like "囧Mom" because of the protagonist.
The stories of these two films are very good, but the protagonists are not good, so the word of mouth can only be regarded as average.
Let's look at the main example:
"Nezha's Devil Boy Descending", the old mythological theme, the ordinary story, many laughs forced embarrassment, but because of the super charm of the protagonist, I was destined by me to create a box office record in 2019.
"People on the Road", the protagonist cheated in marriage, and a little money looks down on poor people like Wang Baoqiang. The same is Xu Zheng starring, one engaged in small three, one did not engage in small three, The Xu boss of 囧途 is much worse than the Xu boss of 囧Mom, but which Xu boss does the audience like
And obviously it's all the same routine - on the road, into trouble, into more trouble, rushing, solving - why are the two movies so badly evaluated?
The key reason is that the character charm does not conform to the mental method - when the protagonist sees that he is about to finish playing, he finally gets out of trouble through his own strength, wisdom or wit.
Boss Xu, who encounters problems and deals with themselves;
囧Mom Xu boss, encountered a problem seconds to become ma bao.
Nezha, my fate is up to me, and I do not recognize my destiny;
Big fish and begonias, relying on anyone can, but can not rely on themselves.
Which character will be loved by the audience? The protagonist is loved by the audience, will the evaluation of the film be worse?
Therefore, the same is the mountain exhausted and there is no way to solve the trouble and more troublesome routine films, some have a good reputation, some have a poor reputation, and the key is in the protagonist.
The general public will more or less blindly worship the people they identify with, so Zhou Shucai will say: "As long as a person can be as famous and successful as Lu Xun, then whatever he says will be praised." ”
If the protagonist can resonate and pay attention to the audience, then the film is basically invincible, and the audience will unconsciously like the movie.
The question is, how does a protagonist who resonates and attracts attention create?
What does it mean to say by his own strength, wisdom or wit?
Seemingly simple screenwriting method, in fact, it is not simple [dog head]
■ Center Action
"A protagonist who resonates and pays attention finds himself in some sort of trouble..."
The reason why the protagonist is attracted attention is related to the trouble encountered.
The so-called troublesome things are called character goals in the screenwriter's book, and I use the term "Coding in the Depths of the Audience's Soul" here - central action.
The central action is the goal pursued by the protagonist throughout the film, such as:
Saving the Plane from Crash – Captain China
Smuggling Drugs to Sell to Patients – "I'm Not a Medicine God"
Rescuing hostages taken by the rebels – Wolf Warrior II
■ The protagonist's behavior and attention level
The central action determines the intensity of the protagonist's attention, and there are two types of central actions that are inherently attractive:
1. Major affairs of the masses
Wolves, Wandering Earths, the Avengers, the central action of these films is to protect a specific group, the larger this group is better, the theme of defending the nation, humanity and the world is inherently concerned.
Of course, you can also write a story of the sunrise mass captain, it is estimated that the audience will not be too much [white eyes]
It is conceivable that the theme of the new crown epidemic will inevitably attract attention, and it will certainly cause a topic after its release. But well... Whether it looks good or not is not necessarily good, and the attention is only traffic, which may not bring good reputation.
2. Selfish desires
Contrary to the general national righteousness, it is also vulnerable to attention if it is a central action that is extremely private and satisfies the original desires of the individual.
What does it mean to have primordial selfish desires?
Survival, sex, protecting lovers, revenge for family, adultery and indulgence of desires are all popular movie themes in Hollywood, such as clown women, strange villains and great heroes, all of which are the main character types that the audience will pay attention to.
However, the clown girl did not resonate with the audience except for the attention, so she pounced on the street...
The central actions that do not belong to the above two categories, the protagonist is more uncomfortable to pay attention to.
Unfortunately, the protagonists of stories written by the average screenwriter are usually difficult to attract attention.
I myself am writing the story of the courier brother, the courier industry is a good subject, but a good theme does not mean that the protagonist can be noticed, because the story of the little people is more difficult to create than the superhero movie. There is a network called "Courier Man", taking the superhero route, is the protagonist of the eye-catching, but after watching this film is really difficult to say...
Novice screenwriters I know all want to write their own stories. Unfortunately, we mortals are a little broken, and those stories that think they are poignant and tragic are not wanted to see at all, unless there is a lot of sexual, violent, and dark plots in them.
In short, if you want to increase the degree of attention of the protagonist, either the larger the central action, or the stronger the desire for selfishness - movies with heroes and beauty like 007 usually have both, and the audience is naturally wide.
If there is no way to get the attention of the protagonist of the small character, then there is no need to deliberately, and reluctantly letting the small character go the way of the superhero will only destroy the story. Some domestic movies are clearly grounded in the theme, but the protagonist is the same as the superhero or the domineering president, but it cannot gain box office and word of mouth.
Besides, there are many movies where the protagonist is noticed but fails at the box office, such as "Shanghai Fortress" - to defend the earth, it must be noticed; the protagonist is an idol star, it must be noticed; so the box office must also be noticed [spitting tongue]
There are also anti-Japanese films, which should be the biggest IP of China's film and television literature, but because of the divine drama, although the protagonist is noticed, this kind of attention is no different from watching jokes. Nowadays, the theme of anti-Japanese resistance is in a very embarrassing situation, you rush into the film and television industry park to ask if anyone wants to resist Japan, it is estimated that no one wants to ignore you...
Therefore, there is no need for every screenwriter to write a film such as Shanghai Fortress Hangzhou Fortress Chengdu Fortress, as long as the ordinary theme is as good as the story can have a box office, the more important key is to make the role resonate with the audience, which is the technology that the screenwriter should master.
The question is, how do you resonate with your audience?
■ Endless circumstances
The characters resonate, in addition to making the audience like the characters, but also make the audience invest in the role, which is the basis for moving the audience.
In this era, the number of movies and TV dramas is explosive, the audience is reading more and more high, the taste is becoming more and more picky, they understand that the movie is made up, it is acted, it is fake, and it is extremely difficult for them to be moved. However, why do some films move audiences?
In this regard, each screenwriter book has a variety of statements: the plot is similar to the audience's life experience, allowing the audience to substitute, trigger empathy, and so on.
The blind spot here is that these screenwriters are right, but the explanations are not in-depth enough.
You can't move the audience, even if it's a big-budget movie like Defend the Earth, the audience won't pay for it.
The mechanism of moving, "Coding in the Depths of the Audience's Soul" is the most detailed explanation, the author Liu Lichun spent dozens of pages to explain the principle clearly, is the absolute essence of the book, very recommended screenwriters to learn, I try to use concise words to explain the essence of this method.
The first concept to understand is called "unending circumstances", which is a term coined by Teacher Liu.
The infinity situation is the negative situation that the character encounters in the story, such as "Young You", and Yi Qianxi and Zhou Dongyu are bullied, which is an endless situation.
Characters suffer from endless circumstances, will stimulate the audience to produce negative emotions, these negative emotions have many kinds, there are very detailed explanations in the code, in a word can be boiled down to two words - grievances.
The audience may not have had the experience of being bullied in school, but they must have felt the grievances of being oppressed. The mountains and rivers are exotic and the wind and moon are the same day, and when the grievances of the characters are connected with the grievances of the audience, the resonance is generated.
In "The Unknown Generation", Chen Jianbin is bent on becoming a policeman, but when he investigates the case privately, he is mistaken for a fangke, and this scene is bumped into by his daughter, who misunderstands him... At that moment, Chen Jianbin was wronged, the audience was also wronged, the resonance was generated, and the audience no longer felt that Chen Jianbin was a strange down-and-out security guard and a failed father, but a stand-in for himself in the movie.
As long as it can resonate, even if it is a story of small people, the audience loves to watch it. Endless circumstances are the way to resonate.
■ Collect more negative situational materials
So, how to create the infinite situation?
People who have not read the code can directly memorize by rote - denied, discriminated against, wronged, betrayed, abandoned, deceived, ridiculed, humiliated, oppressed, lost in love, ambitious, isolated, struggling but defeated...
"Young You", "I Am Not a Medicine God", "Nezha's Demon Boy Descending", or other movies that have touched you have all hit at least one infernal situation.
Adding the above grievance plot to the characters in the story can create an indissoluble situation.
Remember, though, that the merits of the infinity situation test the screenwriter's ability. A good infernal situation takes the audience to heaven, and a poor infernal situation takes the audience to the spiritual hall.
Different time and space backgrounds can hit the audience's indissoluble situation is different, Nezha's in-depth situation in China caused wide resonance, but moved to the United States - Westerners are born free, even the epidemic can not shock them, so "fate is destined" This kind of infernal situation does not work for Americans at all, naturally can not resonate.
Remember, after pulling the film, the focus will be on the infernal situation, write down the powerful infernal situation, and cultivate your ability to create the infernal situation.
And, looking more at the world, understanding the common grievances of the general public today, and thinking about what kind of infernal circumstances can hit them, is a lesson that screenwriters must do. Accumulating material for in-depth circumstances is much more important than learning complex screenwriting skills.
Of course, it's not enough to just have empathy. The infernal situation is only the basis of touching, and after hitting the audience, you have to guide them to the road of moving.
■ Privately I invest
Through the in-depth situation to resonate with the audience, the next thing to do is a series of operations that move the audience.
When the audience is connected to the character, it means that the audience regards the character in the play as their own stand-in, and the character suffering is the audience suffering, and the code calls this situation: private self-input.
The audience will invest their private self in the character, and feel the grievances brought about by the endless situation together, which will make the audience depressed. At this point, the story is halfway through.
People feel depressed and eager to get rid of it, and the way to vent depression in movies is to overcome the infernal situation. When the character eliminates the infinite situation, the suppressed emotions are released, the audience is satisfied, and then it is moved.
In "Wolf Warrior II", the Chinese army could not intervene in the civil war of other countries, until Wu Jing was killed, many civilians were killed, and the audience was depressed, and the navy was ordered by its superiors - to open fire!
So the missile was fired, and the audience's long-suppressed grievances were also shot, and the whole catharsis was released. The boiling emotions continued until the scene of the flag being raised, and the audience was satisfied, and could not stop being moved and crying...
■ "Nezha's Demon Boy Descending" can be further enhanced
Li Jing went to heaven and asked Yuan Shi Tianzun to lift the Heavenly Robbery Curse, but did not see Tianzun. I would revise the script to see Yuan Shi Tianzun, but Tianzun did not agree to Li Jing, but instead angrily blamed Li Jing for his vain attempt to destroy the Heavenly Rules and punish him for serving a year's sentence in Heaven. And change the setting of one day or one year, one year in heaven is still equal to one year on earth.
Li Jing suffered grievances in heaven for the sake of Nezha. When he returned home, he was sprayed in the face by Nezha - as a father, he was not at home for a year, and his son was trapped in the boundary and his father was actually indifferent.
Li Jing did not explain why he had disappeared for a year, silently bearing Nezha's blame, and still trying to save him.
Such a plot, Li Jing is extremely aggrieved:
In order to save his son, he was punished by Tianzun - scolded by the leader, detained, unable to save his son
Blamed by Nezha - misunderstood by his son, paid for his family but not understood, and worked hard but was not cared for
When these episodes appear in the movie, the audience will feel aggrieved. As soon as the final transposition came, all the repression erupted with tears—I love you and am willing to suffer anything, even if you don't understand my love.
The original situation of the movie is enough, and if it is strengthened like this, I am afraid that the tears will spray into the sky.
Arrange grievance plots, create in-depth situations, and make the audience resonate. Finally, letting the characters solve the endless situation and get rid of the depression is the way to guide the audience to move.
■ There is no solution to the situation of emptiness
However, having an in-depth situation does not necessarily move the audience.
There is a type of film that is full of in-depth circumstances, but does not solve the dilemma until the end, and this kind of repressed story from the beginning to the end will make the audience have negative emotions - depressed, depressed, sadistic, coded to call touching. The audience may still shed tears, but this tear is closer to the emotions of rabbit death and fox sorrow and cold lips and teeth, which is completely different from the emotion after catharsis.
"The Life of the Abandoned Pine Nut", the protagonist has a tragic life, and he has not solved the dilemma until his death.
These kinds of movies usually have high ratings, but they can't catch up with the blockbusters.
Because most audiences need catharsis, they walk into the cinema not to participate in China's well-suppressed video, but to release emotions to temporarily escape reality, without moving, they cannot form a brush screen reputation, and naturally cannot explode.
"Since touching can bring about box office, and touching can only bring repression, why do screenwriters like to write repressed stories instead of guiding the audience to pursue emotion?"
That's a good question
I will write an article in the future to discuss the question of "what the screenwriter is thinking", so stay tuned.
■ Overcome the in-depth situation in order to move the audience
From the resonance of the in-depth situation to the touching of the audience is a very complex operation process, even the in-room situation itself is a concept that is quite difficult to understand, if you still do not understand, it is recommended to watch an unpopular movie "Waste Cardboard Boxer".
This movie is depressed throughout the whole process, and the endless situation is very good, which is worth referencing and learning. It allows the screenwriter to understand what the infinity situation is, and the effect of the indissoluble situation — obviously a slow-paced film, but not boring — because the audience resonates with the protagonist, the wheelchair brother, the little girl's infernal situation.
In addition, "Waste Cardboard Boxer" can also be corroborated: the movie that resonates, the movie is not necessarily good at the box office or necessarily high.
If the box office is high, it must move the audience, and the screenwriter's mental method is like this: "When the protagonist is about to finish playing, he finally gets out of trouble through his own strength, wisdom or wit." ”
The protagonist is defeated, all thoughts are gray, and he is on the verge of despair... In the end, the protagonist is revived in blood by his own strength, in fact, the mysterious power from the screenwriter, overcoming difficulties and winning.
The final climax of commercial films is performed in this way, so that it has the opportunity to move the audience. Conversely, untouchable endings often make three mistakes:
1, did not overcome the indissoluble situation
2, the infinity situation is too weak, the protagonist did not exert the ultimate power, and the indissoluble situation was overcome
3, the machine god - a powerful supporting role suddenly appeared in place of the protagonist to overcome the infernal situation, so why not let the supporting role be the protagonist
■ The stronger the situation, the deeper the depression, and the stronger the emotion
The characters overcome the incomparable situation in order to move the audience. If it is a film with a particularly strong situation, the audience is even more aggrieved and feels more depressed. Once it erupts, the more intense the emotion.
"Avengers IV" carries many endless situations in the previous game, again and again grievances, new hatreds and old hatreds insulted by Thanos, and when Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America are beaten, the audience is depressed to the peak. In desperation, although the US team stood up, the audience knew that he could not win than Thanos, let alone the alien army, and then-
“Cap,it's Sam.Can you hear me?”
Back, everyone is back, the efforts of the protagonists to revive everyone, to bring the grace of the movie, although it has not yet won, but the audience's emotions have long been frozen, until -
“Avengers...... assemble.”
Emotions are completely boiling. At this time, the audience shouted while being moved: "Although I can't do it, I also want to go!" ”
The stronger the repression, and the stronger the strength of the protagonist after resurrection, the stronger the emotions released, and the more moved the audience.
Frozen sister strips, Hokkien, can't help the meaning.
■ Small summary
Regarding the characters, Larilla said a lot, a brief retrospective:
1. Characters must resonate and pay attention
2. The people who are noticed depend on the subject matter
3. The indissoluble situation can resonate with the audience
4. Grievances can create an infernal situation
5. In the end, the protagonist overcomes the endless situation by his own strength
This is the mechanism of moving, and it is also the key to a good movie.
However, there is an extremely important concept that has not yet been said, which is the second test of the screenwriter's ability to perceive human nature and creation after the infernal situation.
It is also "when the protagonist sees that he is about to finish playing, and by his own strength, wisdom or wit, he finally gets out of trouble." The true meaning of this sentence.
It is the connection between the endless situation and the climax, without it, the touch may not be able to happen, the audience will not accept why the protagonist can come back to life, nor will it understand how the protagonist who has been hammered suddenly has great strength and wisdom.
Xu Zheng has also said that this is the concept that he attaches the most importance to and that a good script must have.
What is it?
■ Healing and growth
From resonating with the audience to the protagonist's end, to reversing the victory and touching the audience, there is an extremely important process in the middle.
Because it is so important, any screenwriter's book screenwriting theory will mention it, so a hundred schools of thought argue, and the terminology is different.
I used to call it the principle of maximum pain
"The Story" is called - character arc
"Save the Cat" is called the deepest darkness before dawn
"Coding in the Depths of the Audience's Soul" – A Moment of Grace
I've also seen the producers call it the Redemption of the Protagonist
Pain, arc light, darkness, grace, redemption, actually refer to the same thing, can you believe it? Do you feel like punching someone？
Inconsistent vocabulary increases comprehension disorders. The screenwriter's task is to write a screenplay, not a film review or an academic paper, and going around in terminology will only waste everyone's time.
Later, I heard the audio "My Film History" by Brother Shan Zheng on the Himalayas, and one of the elements of a good script in Xu Zheng's mind was whether the characters healed and grew up - that is, the redemption of arc grace.
Because Boss Xu's words are concise and clear, I will call this concept "healing and growing" in the future.
■ The meaning of character growth
The two most important elements of a story—the characters have to grow, things have to have ups and downs—are only going to be good for a movie to be good.
Healing and growing means:
When things seem to be the darkest and most hopeless, and the protagonist looks like he is about to finish playing... The protagonist begins to introspect himself, digging out the pain hidden in his heart. Then he understood that if he still used his previous attitude and methods, he would never be able to solve the problem, let alone achieve the goal.
Thus, the protagonist grows up, and he changes inside and out like a different person: from naivety to maturity, from cowardice to bravery, from stupidity to wisdom. In the end, he used his reborn strength to defeat his enemies, achieve his goals, and embrace the beauty.
■ The best Xu boss in 囧途
"People on the Road", Boss Xu and Wang Baoqiang drove over, could not go home, and could only celebrate the New Year in the wilderness. Wang Baoqiang praised Boss Xu as a successful person, and Boss Xu replied: "Am I successful? ”
He looked back on his life and found that he was not a good boss, a good son, a good father, a good husband, a good lover, nothing, and he fell into this field, and he deserved it.
Through Wang Baoqiang, and this journey, Boss Xu wanted to understand many things, healed, and grew.
At the end of the story, Boss Xu returns to the family, breaks up with Xiao San, and sends someone to give money to Wang Baoqiang, so that Wang Baoqiang mistakenly believes that he has succeeded in collecting debts. Did Boss Xu do these things instead?
Xu Zheng has played the boss in many movies, and although boss Xu of 囧途 is a scumbag, he is the best boss Xu in my opinion, and I believe that the audience also feels the same way.
■ Marvel heroes also need to be healed
Even marvel movies that have been criticized for not being movies before are made according to this mental method, but the plot of healing and growth is scattered throughout the series of movies, and the audience is not easy to detect.
In fact, the US team and others, in addition to defending peace, have been exploring themselves: why join the reunion? Is becoming a superhero something they want to do? Is it worth sacrificing everything for this?
Thor once gave up on himself. Hulk freed himself to go to the alien planet. Black Widow chose to jump off a cliff. Iron Man once withdrew from the reunion, but carried the banner of the endgame. And the US team did not cross back in the end...
After losing themselves, they each explore different answers, heal themselves, and move towards different endgames.
Superheroes are also human beings, and there are times when they are crushed by trouble, and they also need to heal and grow. It is precisely because of these bridges that Marvel's superheroes are very real and full, not ordinary hero monster movies.
So, why do characters grow up to move the audience?
■ Character growth can heal the audience
The film is made for the audience to see, healing and growing, at first glance it is healing the protagonist, but it is actually healing the audience.
Most of us have a terrible mediocre life, from small to large, and there are countless flags to give up. Not working hard enough, not persevering enough, not brave enough, let us achieve nothing at every stage of life. After I understood things, I found that I had no difficulty in moving forward, and I had to do my best to live.
In reality, I only promise, and in the movie, I strike hard. Healing and growing is actually the salvation for the audience. The audience resonates with the characters, the characters become stand-ins for the audience, and when healing and growth happen, the audience heals itself. I didn't work hard before, and I gave up when I encountered difficulties, but I finally had a chance to turn into a butterfly and stand in the C position.
When the audience enters this state and is moved by the ending, they not only cry for the characters, but also cry for themselves. The power of this emotion trumps everything, and after leaving the movie theater, they will share the screen everywhere, as if they are telling their own success.
This is the true meaning of the phrase "when things seem to be the darkest and most hopeless, and the protagonist is about to finish playing, through his own strength, wisdom or wit, he finally gets out of trouble", ostensibly the protagonist overcomes the predicament, but in fact the audience overcomes himself.
Conversely, if there is no healing and growth, the power of emotion will not only weaken, but may also make the audience not accept it. Why is it that my life suffers only setbacks, and the protagonist can reverse the situation without growing up without changing, too false, bad reviews!
Therefore, healing and growth, as the link between endless circumstances and emotions, is not inferior to the infinite circumstances.
■ Give the character untouchable pain, in order to have healing
How does healing and growth work?
This side takes the method of "Coding in the Depths of the Audience's Soul":
"Arrange for the protagonist to be forced to face an inner and most important apparent change. We use a specific condition to let him touch on the pain of the past and let him re-examine himself. ”
1. Arrange a character who does not want to touch the old pain that they do not want to face
2. When the character is completely defeated, give the conditions to launch and let him face the pain
3. After the ideological struggle, the protagonist overcomes the pain, is no longer confused, and regains a new life
In "The Mortician", Masahiro Motogi's pain is abandoned by his father, making him resist anything related to his father all the time. After working in the funeral work, he encountered a new situation: he was abandoned again without being understood by his wife.
Later, he sent off his mother-in-law in the bathhouse, and Ryoko Hiromi participated in the whole process, and he was forgiven by his wife.
Between relatives, there are always unsolvable knots, and the people who pay the most attention always hurt us the most. In a long life, even if it is only a moment to get the understanding of our families, we will cry.
At the end of the movie, Masahiro Honki sends off his father, and he finally forgives his father. In fact, instead of forgiving his father, he released himself, let go of the pain buried deep in his heart, he healed himself, and the audience was healed.
To change the style, the manga is a movie on paper, take a look at the black page master Eiichiro Oda's "One Piece".
Every time Before Ruf was ready for a major counterattack, he would enter the black page. For example, in the Battle of Justice Island, Robin, who is bent on death, sees ThatRouf, desperate to save himself, turns on the mode of memories and touches on the pain that he does not want to remember.
Ruf then declared war on the world government, giving Robin the courage to resist and shouting "I want to live". Robin is healed, she takes off the mask of death, faces her heart, and decides to fight for survival.
At this time, the Straw Hat Pirates have not yet overcome the infernal situation, but the reader has been moved to the point of not being able to do it.
■ Pseudo-emotions and inner needs
Giving the protagonist untouchable pain, and finally healing brings growth, there are still some processes that need to be supplemented.
When healing and growth occur, the protagonist realizes that he has been wearing a mask and deceiving himself.
At the same time, he will find his real needs - disgusting his father is a false need, wanting to be loved by his father is a real need; asking for death is a false need, and wanting to live is the real need.
When the characters let go of their pseudo-emotions and face themselves calmly, the audience's mask also begins to peel off.
The screenwriter's book calls this concept "inner needs", and the character can only perceive that he has an inner need when he is in a desperate situation, and the choice of the character will show his nature.
The above terms do not understand the fine, anyway, three words and two words are not clear, and will be discussed in detail in other articles later.
Anyway, remember that healing and growth is the real test of the screenwriter's skill, because the theory is that the dead are alive, even if you understand the principle, the lack of insight into the ability to understand human nature or can not be created, or bluntly added to the healing plot, but there is no connection with the main line of the story, it is better not to heal.
Therefore, Xu Zheng's original words in "My Film History" are as follows: "Whether the character has healed and grown, there are more details here." ”
Boss Xu knows very well that healing and growth is not as simple as arranging a plot of the protagonist's introspection, but the whole movie must take healing and growth as the core to show the fullness of the characters, which is an extremely difficult work.
On the other hand, if the healing and growth of your script is very well written, don't hesitate to go to Boss Xu quickly, maybe he will invest in your script
■ Review summary
This article is 10,000 words, in order to avoid everyone looking dizzy, let's summarize it.
A protagonist who can resonate and pay attention finds himself in some kind of trouble and makes some positive effort to get out of it. However, every effort he made would only make him fall deeper and deeper, and the obstacles he encountered along the way would become bigger and bigger. Finally, when things seem to be the darkest and most hopeless, and the protagonist looks like he is about to finish playing, he finally gets out of trouble by his own strength, wisdom, or wit.
1. Focus on mental methods
(1) The character resonates with the audience, and there must be healing and growth
(2) Things get worse and worse, and you can wait for the characters to grow up before they can reverse the victory
2. Endless circumstances
When trouble causes the protagonist to be wronged, the protagonist falls into an in-depth situation, and the audience will also feel aggrieved and resonate.
3. Touched
The protagonist overcomes the infinity situation through his own strength and wisdom to bring emotion, and the deeper the repression of the infernal situation, the stronger the touch.
4. Healing and growing
When the protagonist is almost finished, he must experience healing and growth, and then overcome the infernal situation with the strength of rebirth, and the touch is effective.
If you've never learned any screenwriting skills, start with this mental set.
Let's see if your story can have layers of trouble. If not, you should do more homework and collect more materials first.
Then think about what kind of infernal situation these troubles will bring to the protagonist. Abandoned? Betrayed? Giving sincerity but being wasted? Has it hit the pain points of the general public?
The protagonist faces these troubles, what will heal and grow, will you be moved yourself?
After doing the basic idea and then writing, it will not be lost more and more like the old husband stream screenwriting method.
■ The mental method is only a tool, and it can only be practiced by practicing pen and writing
Now you understand the concept of the script, but it is still far from completing the script.
Someone asked me, should I buy more books to read? Should I spend money on class first?
That's a good question [a flash of inspiration]
I suggest you do two things first.
First, write something according to the mental method, and then you will find that there are so many problems: how to write the outline, no; how to write the scene, no. How the villain is arranged, no.
At that time, you will go to school or sign up for online and offline courses.
If you want to buy books to read, you can read the articles that I have written books. There are many online courses, Zhihu and WeChat public accounts. Offline courses are almost non-existent if you are not in Beijing
Second, as I said before: "The screenwriting method is just a tool." ”
Screenwriters should spend their energy and time capturing stories. The lack of understanding of the world can only write an ivory tower script, empty of gorgeous themes, but the plot is hollow.
On the other hand, if you collect materials with enough blood, you can't write a story of tens of thousands of words.
I used to write a book, spent more than a year reading and interviewing to digest the idea, started writing a month after writing, and gave it to the publisher to publish directly without revision, which is the power of doing enough homework.
Unfortunately, the film and television industry is very severe, a script is written for a year or two, and it is starved to death before it is finished, so people who want to be screenwriters are best to have mines at home [dog head]
In short, if you are a novice, don't rush to class everywhere, and don't think that the first script will be able to get through. First develop the habit of collecting materials, and then start practicing from the basics in a down-to-earth manner in order to go farther.
■ Summoning
Finally, I would like to share my thoughts on the profession of screenwriting.
The most important trait that screenwriters need to have is not to give up.
It can be said that writing a script is the easiest and easiest job, and the real pain is after writing the script. All the insults to the screenwriters— allow me to use the word insults — happen after the finishing of the manuscript.
Not only the screenwriter, the director and the actors are also the same fate, the taste, you can go to see "I am a passerby", the story of the Hengdian Dragon Set, and the real world is a hundred times more cruel than the movie.
Therefore, not giving up is the most important condition for survival in the film and television industry.
I taught a few friends to write scripts, and without exception they gave up, not even touching the industry ticket.
But giving up is a blessing, they have now lived a happy life after changing careers [spitting their tongues]
If you want to get into this business, first evaluate whether you have personality traits that you don't give up.
If you grew up and didn't insist on accomplishing anything difficult, if you habitually withdrew when you encountered problems, if you wanted to be a screenwriter just because you wanted to do freelance work, if you didn't have a sense of mission to dedicate your life to the film industry - give up, it is not good to lie in bed and dream, do you have to jump into the fire pit.
On the contrary, despite the hardships, but you still want to break through the rivers and lakes, then congratulations, at this moment, you have accepted the call.
There is a sentence in Marx Weber's "Scholarship as a Cause":
"The thousands of years before you came have passed, and the next thousands of years will still be waiting in silence."
When you pick up a pen and start creating, you will find that the past and the future are out of reach. You are called, but you don't know where to go. Shout out to the Buddha, turn back to the shoreless.
You can only reach the other side if you take screenwriting as a kind of career.
Good luck.
If you like what I wrote, just like and forward it three times! After that, there are also screenwriting teaching texts, and it is expected to write fifty articles, remember to pay attention to me.
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