Glossary

Explanation of the terms used in this blog:

ANTAGONIST
Of a scene: the character who reacts to the scene's protagonist, causing the scene's conflict.
(See below, "PROTAGONIST.") In case you get confused about who the protagonist and who the antagonist is in a scene, remember: the antagonist is the one who was minding their own business, until the protagonist showed up, wanting something from them.

Antagonism does not come from people only, but other forces, as well, e.g. a fire, a swarm of bees, or an internal struggle.

EMPATHY
The audience's feeling of taking a character's side. In a nutshell, empathy is achieved by having the character demonstrate humane values and principles (goodness, compassion, love, honour, etc.), at least compared to other, more unscrupulous villains.

For example, Godfather Don Corleone is a killer and a mob leader. Nevertheless, he has the audience's empathy because, compared to the other mob leaders, he has humane principles: he refuses to get involved in the control of the inhuman narcotics market.

In a film: empathy, usually, lies with the film's main character. If we empathise with the villain more than we do with the hero, the story has an identity problem.

In a scene: depending on what has preceded, the audience's empathy can be with either the scene's protagonist or antagonist.

EXPOSITION
Information that must be delivered to the audience, in order for them to understand the story.

EXPOSITION AS AMMUNITION
The best way to deliver exposition: a character uses the information as arguments in a conflict. The audience is thrilled by the conflict and gets the information, without getting bored by it.

FALSE VICTORY
Self-explanatory: a moment in a scene or story, where a character appears to have achieved a goal, only to find out that there is more, worse trouble ahead.

INCITING INCIDENT
The event that kick-starts a scene, a sequence, or a story. Also called catalyst, point of attack, and button. The violent death of a swimmer is the inciting incident of Jaws. Some may argue that Jaws's inciting incident is the phone call summoning Chief Brody to investigate. I say: let's enjoy the ride of film analysis, without splitting hair.

KILL THE CAT (SCENE)
Just like a Save the Cat scene (see below), the Kill the Cat scene, is also used to establish empathy with the hero. In a Kill the Cat scene, someone does something very nasty to the hero (the cat), early on in the story. This makes us want to follow them and see them get their revenge! Examples are Carrie (her colleagues mistreating her) and Legally Blonde (her boyfriend dumping her because she is not educated). And many more. The term Kill the Cat was introduced by Blake Snyder, in his book Save the Cat.

LOGLINE
The description of a film's plot in a few words.

MAJOR BEATS
Of a story, a sequence, or a scene. I borrow some terms from Blake Snyder, Christopher Vogler, and Joseph Campbell. I also use the "A, B,... H" letters, to associate the major beats with the sequences that usually contain them, in a film.

In some of the analyses in this blog, you will see practical examples of the following major beats.
  • A. SETUP: the story's main characters in their ordinary world, before the changes brought by the story, sequence, or scene happen. A film's opening image often shows a representative situation of this.
  • CATALYST / CALL TO ADVENTURE / POINT OF ATTACK: the inciting incident of the story, sequence, or scene. A door opens to a new world and the characters have a peak inside.
  • B. DEBATE / REFUSAL OF THE CALL: an attempt to close that door, ignore the new world, and get back to the ordinary world, with as little effort as possible.
  • BREAK TO ACT II: the previous attempt's failure and the progress of the story into a whole new world. The characters cross the door's threshold.
  • C. FUN AND GAMES / THE NEW WORLD: where everything works in a different way than the ordinary world. The characters have to learn new tricks, in order to survive in it.
  • D. APPROACH TO THE INMOST CAVE: Getting deeper into the new world, discovering its darker sides, approaching the cave of the beast. The characters realise that it's a little more serious than fun and games.
  • MIDPOINT: a first battle, ordeal, or encounter, which usually results in a victory. The main character seems to have won what they are after. Yet, this is only a false victory (see term, above), as the worst is yet to come.
  • E. BAD GUYS CLOSE IN: the previously mentioned "worst" approaches.
  • ALL IS LOST: the worst thing that can happen in the story happens now. The hero falls into the hands of the villain. This is the moment where Goldfinger has James Bond tied up under the laser ray.
  • F. DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL: The moments that the main characters contemplate on their adventure's failure and their possible death. A very important beat: this is the moment when they are taught their big lesson, which will help them get out of it. They are getting wiser and absorb all the lessons learnt during their quest. Their inner goal is usually about to be resolved, now.
  • BREAK TO ACT III: Some new "thing from the outside" (see term below) appears. It usually resolves the hero's inner conflict, while pointing out the path to the outer conflict's resolution, too. Lesson learnt, the characters jolt back into the pursuit of their goal.
  • G. SPRINT: The previously mentioned jolting back into the pursuit. Things happen quickly, here, leading to...
  • H. FINALE & DENOUEMENT: Yeah! The resolution of the film's outer conflict -or the failure, in some dark, European films.
Bibliography: Blake Snyder, Save the Cat, Christopher Vogler, The Writer's Journey, Joseph Campbell, Hero With a Thousand Faces.

OBJECTIVE
The want. What a character wants to achieve in a scene, sequence, or story.

PROTAGONIST
Of a scene: the character who walks into the scene wanting something.

Of a sequence: the character of whom the want drives the sequence.

The person or force who resists the protagonist's want is the antagonist (see above).

A few things to remember:
  • The protagonist of a scene is not necessarily the protagonist of the film.
  • The term protagonist has no colouration of good or evil. The film's villain may step into the main character's room, wanting something (e.g. to kill him -or just to borrow some toothpaste). In this case, the villain is the scene's protagonist.

SAVE THE CAT (SCENE)
A term introduced by Blake Snyder, in his book with the same name. A Save the Cat scene is one that reveals humane aspects of the hero's character, making us empathise with him. People who share their little piece of bread with a kid, save a cat, or perform similar acts of compassion, make us want to follow them and see them achieve their goals. This scene is usually early on in the hero's setup and it doesn't have to be as obvious as, literally, saving a cat.

SEQUENCE
A group of scenes bound together by an overall desire and conflict. Once this conflict is resolved, the story progresses into the next sequence.

STEP OUTLINE
The scene by scene description of a film's plot.

SUBTEXT
What lies between the lines of dialogue or behind the characters' body language. What is not said, but expresses exactly what the characters want. A couple may be having a dialogue about how wonderful a time they had at their in-laws, where the subtext is: "God, I am so bored in this marriage."

SYNOPSIS
The description of a film's plot in a few paragraphs.

THING FROM OUTSIDE
A factor that comes into a scene, after the protagonist-antagonist conflict has apparently exhausted itself, acting as a catalyst towards the scene's resolution. Deus ex machina? Well, yes. Deus ex machina is a horrible way to end a story, but most scenes end with such a device! Don't take my word for it. Research, dammit!

TURNING POINT
A change from pleasure to pain, or vice versa, in a scene, sequence, or story, through action or dialogue, causing the characters to feel more fortunate or less fortunate after they go through it. The Aristotelian peripeteia.

No comments:

Post a Comment