thoughts on storytelling

In the previous post I covered the basics of the three act structure and the 5 point story structure will build on that. But first I will do a quick run through of the info I've covered before.

Storytelling is natural for humans. It exists in every culture and existed far earlier than the earliest writing. We have told stories since we learnt to communicate and one can argue that the advanced form of communication we have evolved out of our need to tell stories. Storytelling is in our blood.

The pyramids of Giza of which Cheops, the largest, is known as one of the seven wonders of the world, have stood the tests of time and still impress us with their magnificence. Well, this is only partially true. There are several pyramids in Egypt other than the famous ones in Giza, but most of them have fallen and are in ruins. Why? I’m no expert on the subject but I believe it lies in the superiority of the structure of the pyramids in Giza, where each side is of equal size to all the others and is of no more importance, and where each stone holding up the pyramids are equally important as the pyramids themselves.

When I'm on the journey of making film and hit an obstacle, a wall that stops me in my path, the solution to breaking it down tends to always be the same. SIMPLIFY.

Storytelling today seems to only come in two packages. Either they are only about the spectacle, the explosions and car chases, the huge surround sound and the 3D-glasses, the chocks and the provocations. All just attempts of grabbing the audience's attention and distracting them from the total lack of content. They are stories that may be box office hits but still, after a few months, are totally forgotten. On the other side are the stories that are often called artistic, independent or labeled as being very original. These are stories that mainly are about the creator and about the creator being a super intellectual demigod who stands far above the meagre minions that are the audience. There often a hint of a message but in reality these stories tend to be just as shallow as the spectacle stories, just as greedy and even more egocentric.