Creating a captivating plot for impact

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ObjectivesBy the end of this session CFs will be able to:• Identify and create the elements of a

drama• Identify the underlying assumptions and

values for the story• Identify and create different types of

characters for a plot• Write a plot for a short story

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Climax

Conclusion

Resolve

Drama/ conflict

Drama / Conflict

Devel

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Elements of a Drama

Introduction

Developping the story line and argument

• Create a link with the audience by portraying their lives, showing their fears and anxieties

• Create emotional situations

• Let the story be action oriented

• Use humour

• Provide a twist

A drammatic conflict follows one of the following models • A person (or several) against “destiny” or intangible forces of life

• A person (or a group) against another person (or group)

• A person against themselves

Theory of drama (Eric Bentley)Elements of melodrama

• It is an exagerated version of reality

• It focusses on the emotions of the audience

• It enphatizes moments of tension, conflict, disagreement and suspence

• It seeks to get the audience to identify with the characters

• It revolves around choosing between good and bad

• It uses sensational and exagerated language

• Characters are based on real people but they are types rather than individuals

• There are three types of characters: positive, negative and ambivalent/transitional

• It seeks to create suspence

• It can be supported by music (radio/play)

• Identify the assumptions that you are basing your messages on

• Identify the values for your story, both positive and negative

The values table

assumption Positive value Negative value

Famers are using fire to clear the land without the necessary precautions

Farmers know that if fire is badly used it can have devastating consequences

Farmers are reckless and continue to use fire to clear the land without precautions

• Identify the assumptions that you are basing your messages on

• Identify the values for your story, both positive and negative

The values table

assumption Positive value Negative value

Fishers are intruding in the MPA on a regular basis because the catch is better inside the MPA

Fishers care about their families and want to protect the fish stock for their children so that they will be able to continue fishing when they grow up

Fishers don’t care about the community fish stocks, they just want to catch as much as possible before someone else does

Exercise:In pairs come up with 2 assumptions about intrusions at your site MPAs and the positive and negative values associated with them

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assumption Positive value Negative value

Fishers are intruding in the MPA on a regular basis because the catch is better inside the MPA

Fishers care about their families and want to protect the fish stock for their children so that they will be able to continue fishing when they grow up

Fishers don’t care about the community fish stocks, they just want to catch as much as possible before someone else does

Types of characters

• Positive

• Negative

• Transitional

Positive characters

• Represent the positive values in the table of values

• They are icons/role models for the audience

• Their behaviour is highly positive

• They are nicer and more sensitive than the average person

• They are humble and worry about the world that surrounds them

• They are (constantly) rewarded for their positive actions

Negative characters

• Their actions represent the negative values on the table of values

• Their negative actions are slightly exagerated

• They are regularly punished for their negative actions

• Occasionally they suffer or are sorry for their actions but they don’t change

Who could be an example of a negative character that you know of?

• They swing between positive and negative values

• Their interests, ideas and tendencies enter into conflict with those of the other characters

• They are the most similar to the audience• They are ordinary people struggling

through life

• They are rewarded and punished according to their actions

Transitional/ambivalent characters

Identify positive, negative and transitional characters for a story on intrusions into the MPA

1. Decide who is the target of your story (TA1 or TA2)

2. Decide what will the output be (radio drama, comic booklet, street theatre, short video)

3. Identify 4 key characters in your story (name, character type, values they represent)

4. Provide a few words to describe these characters and what drives them

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Climax

Conclusion

Resolve

Drama/ conflict

Drama / Conflict

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Create the plot !

Introduction

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The plot is just the sequence of events that happen as the character faces problems.

Character and conflict are the heart of your story.

Here are a few things to remember about plotting:

•A plot is based on cause and effect.

•The plot follows the effects of the character's actions and decisions.

•Avoid a series of events. You want a chain of events, each affecting the next.  Each link in the chain should be necessary to your story!

A story without conflict or drama

Martha is a midwife who lives in a rural community. She leads a very busy life. She spends most of her time trying to convince young people to take part in a family planning scheme. She is an inspiration to everyone who knows her. She has done a lot of good to the communities she has visited.  The story follows Martha through a typical day in her life whilst she advises people on family planning matters.

A story with conflict and drama

Martha is a midwife who lives in a rural community. She leads a very busy life. She spends most of her time trying to convince young people to take part in a family planning scheme. In her private life she is also very busy as she has to look after her two kids and her husband who is very sick. At the same time an older midwife in her village is always speaking badly of her in the village. The older midwife believes that modern medicine is a bad deamon.

There are times where Martha thinks of giving up her job, even though the community members she has worked with have been grateful for her help. The story follws Martha through her moments of hapiness and sadness: the death of her husband, the eventual cooperation with the old midwife, and the support she will get from her children.

Guide to engage the audience

1. Introduce few characters at a time

2. Get people’s attention right from the beginning (first chapter/episode)

3. Avoid overfilling the story with the message

4. Repeat the most important part of the message in different ways

5. Find ways to get the audience to respond

6. (Provide a summary of previous chapters/episodes)

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•Demonstrates a few key conservation messages;

•Demonstrates people's dependence on the land/wildlife

•Includes conflict, change, and resolution and leads to a happy ending with a positive message;

•Shows how one person can make a difference

•Shows how people can be proud of their special wildlife;

•Shows that if people look after nature, nature will look after them;

•Demonstrate the balance of nature—how everything is linked;

•Keeps things simple.

Additional tips in writing for conservation

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With the characters you developed write a brief plot for a short story

Makes sure you include-introduction-development-conflict-climax-resolve-conclusion

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A few additional slides not covered in class

Module 3, Unit 3, Sub-Unit 3, Session 3

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SMOG Test(Simplified Measure Of Gobbledygook)

http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/campaign/SMOG.html

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http://www.niace.org.uk/misc/SMOG-calculator/smogcalc.php#

Online SMOG detector

Simplified Measure Of Gobbledygook

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gobbledygook

Gobbledygook was coined by former U. S. Representative Maury Maverick, then working for the Smaller War Plants Corporation, in a 30 March 1944 memo banning "gobbledygook language".[3] It was a reaction to his frustration with the "convoluted language of bureaucrats."[4] He made up the word as an onomatopoeic imitation of a turkey's gobble.[3]

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SMOG Test(Simplified Measure Of Gobbledygook)

Story boarding

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Why do a story board?

• Creating a storyboard will help you plan your TV ad/PSA/music video out shot by shot. You can make changes to your storyboard before you start filming instead of changing it during filming, which could cause misalignment between the different shots or delays in filming.

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The storyboard can lay out

• What characters are in the scene and how are they moving?

•  What are the characters saying to each other, if anything?

•  How much time has passed between the last scene of the storyboard and the current one?

•  Where is the “camera” in the scene? Close or far away? High or low? Is the camera moving or following a specific character?

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There are two very important points to keep in mind when writing a script for TV purposes:

(1) does it get your message across clearly and quickly?

(2) is it entertaining?

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Things to consider when writing a storyboard

• Location: Where do the scenes take place? Inside or outside? In a particular location? What items should be seen in the background of these locations?

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Things to consider when writing a storyboard

• Actors: How many actors do you need to play different roles? Do you need actors that don’t say any lines but do actions? Do you need actors at all?

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Things to consider when writing a storyboard

• Movement: How will the actors interact with one another? How will they interact with their surroundings? Will they be moving from one location to another?

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Things to consider when writing a storyboard

• Timing: If you are doing a TV commercial or PSA, you will be limited to 30 or 60 seconds. Once you’ve written your script out, you should read it through several times with different people acting out the various roles and time how long it takes. Factor in any silent pauses you may need to add for dramatic effect.

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