TELLING TALES - an interactive workshop
From Sophocles to Spielberg, storytelling has adhered to elemental organic form over centuries. Existing within a set of tenets dictated by nature, stories continue to find echoes deep in the human psyche, particularly through film.
Seeking a definition of storytelling via the medium of film, Telling Tales provides the participant with a fundamental understanding of what makes a story work, or the reverse.
Ideal for aspiring writers (screen or stage), those who would critique film, or most importantly – those who LOVE film and performance art, Telling Tales examines through practise the meaning, structure, and telling of a primeval art increasingly relevant in a contemporary world.
Workshop Objectives and Outcomes
Delivered by award winning and critically acclaimed screenwriter and playwright, Darren Markey (THE UNLIT), Telling Tales provides the participant with a greater understanding of what makes a story work, looking through the prism of film. Through examination of existing titles such as JAWS, CAST AWAY, FINDING NEMO, ROCKY, STAR WARS, BLUE VELVET, THELMA AND LOUISE and others, the learner will recognise the structure and components necessary to a complete film story, as well as identifying why some don’t work.
Telling Tales will also provide the participant with an understanding of the practise of contemporary storytelling, placing the art in the context of a modern world and the habits of screenwriters.
Telling Tales will ask participants to complete several practical written exercises – identifying structure, archetypes, forces of antagonism etc. in film samples the learner has provided. Participants will also be proved with extensive written notes summarising the learning materials..
TOPICS - by week
Week 1 - TALES ON SCREEN
Week 2 - STRUCTURE ON SCREEN
Week 2 - STRUCTURE ON SCREEN
Where do stories comes from and why are they important? An examination into the history of storytelling and the role it plays in shaping the collective consciousness.
Week 2 - STRUCTURE ON SCREEN
Week 2 - STRUCTURE ON SCREEN
Week 2 - STRUCTURE ON SCREEN
What makes a screenplay? Discusses the concept of the screenplay and how stories come to the screen through the building of a screenplay. An examination of the classic three-act structure.
Week 3 - GOOD VS EVIL + ARCHETYPES ON SCREEN
An examination of protagonist vs antagonist. How the forces of antagonism drive a story forward. Who is our Hero – and what do they want? What is a character? The role of characters in conveying a screen story. Examines orchestration of characters and role of archetypes, and Carl Jung’s theories on the origin of archetypes.
Week 4 - JOURNEY ON SCREEN
An examination and comparison of popular theories on story structure. The Hero’s Journey – where does it begin and end? Analysis of several theories on screenwriting – The Hero’s Journey vs Save the Cat.