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Ensemble films are structured totally differently from one hero films 

11/10/2012

9 Comments

 
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Hello everyone.  I hope you've all recovered from this year's fantastic London Screenwriters Festival.  And I hope you  like my new streamlined website and blog!

I've just been running some videolectures from London to students at the Netherlands Film and TV Academy in Amsterdam on how to structure ensemble films, and thinking as I planned my lectures just how very complex the planning and plotting issues are in these films.  So it was an interesting coincidence when a very pertinent question and lots of answers appeared on the Linked In Screenwriting forum about how many characters you can use in these sorts of films.  If you follow this blog, you'll know that I responded.  The most recent question asked about TV, so I replied to that too.  I've put my response in here, below this post, and you can see the other responses on Linked in. 

What is all boils down to really is that  you can't approach ensemble films as if they are rather unruly 'one hero on a single journey' films.  They are structured in a completely different fashion, as a series of separate stories, with all kinds of particular problems, particuarly with backstory and interweaving (you must interweave in such a way as not to be repetitive, and you have so many story strands, often about unfinished emotional business that your head sometimes spins)  So the apparently odd question of 'how many characters...etc' is not odd at all.  It's absolutely pertinent.  What's scary about the flim industry at the moment is that so many people across all fields believe that you absolutely MUST have only one protagonist. Which wrecks lots of ensemblefilms (in which all of the characters' have stories).

Anyhow, I'm delighted that we're all talking about this stuff now, difficult as it is.

Here's what I wrote in Linked in  when someone asked how many characters in TV series

Usually TV series use about six, because there is only sufficient time to handle that number of characters taking the limelinght in your max 50 minute time slot, and people devising TV series agonise about how many and who.  For more info on TV writing see my ebook TV Writing The Ground Rules of Series, Serials and Sitcom http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Television_Writing.html?id=8j1AYBJKWvQC   Regarding Ensemble films, they use different structural plans from one-hero films because they are running multiple stories. It's a different set of rules and a different mind set.

The question about 'how many characters are too many'  goes to the heart of ensemble screenwriting in both film and TV because of the time restrictions on you as you try to tell but control all those stories/story strands. You don't have time for unlimited character numbers unless you use special forms and some of those forms permit more characters than others.

Why the time problem? Well, for example if the characters in your film know each other you can have huge amounts of backstory to sneak in about their past interactions and unfinished emotional business as you also try to tell the main group 'adventure'. You can have 17-20 story strands to run. Yes, there are ensemble forms in which you can use more characters (40 I think in Magnolia - although this is a film that has problems with its meaning and closure) but you have to quarantine them in stories or you'll get characters in search of a plot.This is a fascinating but huge topic!   Anyhow, if you're interested there's a little video interview I did in Sweden on this sort of stuff on the home page of my site www.lindaaronson.com




9 Comments
Charlie
12/10/2012 01:40:56 pm

Hello Linda,

I am in a really strange situation. I feel I have made some really important discoveries, but I am not a writer, and to convey so much information to people it would require me to either write a non-fiction book or a story that uses this information in a dramatized story.

Either of these would be a struggle for me, but from my perspective I would be more capable of writing a dramatized story. Preferably a graphic novel -- something I could produce and market myself, online possibly.

The way this story unfolds is more like a documentary. It would require approximately 3 biographies in addition to another story that runs throughout and jumps around in time between 3 distinctly different eras.

You wouldn't happen to have any science knowledge would you? I am wondering If I could somehow find someone to work on this with me. It's a tough situation though because I worry about who I can trust to share this information with and without making it public it makes it tough to get anyone's attention.

Any insights or suggestions would be great.

Thanks for your time,

Charlie

Reply
Linda Aronson link
12/10/2012 02:00:32 pm

Dear Charlie
What you're describing would be a challenge even to a very experienced writer.What I'd suggest for your first step is to get hold of my book entitled The 21st Century Screenplay (which you can get on Amazon) because the structure you're describing could be a complex form of what I have isolated and named 'fractured tandem' (the form of films like The Hours, Babel, 21 Grams' etc) . The three biographies in your project make me feel that you could valuably study the film The Hours (which I've analysed in depth in 'The 21st Century Screenplay'). The hard thing for you will probably be how you jump between all of these stories, and how you manage the unfolding mystery that flashback will give you. So it will be very hard.
But, theoretically, the structure you describe is do-able either as a film or a piece of fiction. You would need to hasten slowly. It's not a task that I personally would undertake (although thank you for asking) , and I think because of its complexity it's not something that many other writers would want to take on. One possibility fo ryou would be to self publish on Amazon Kindle or another such platform.

I hope this is useful.
Best wishes
Linda Aronson

Reply
Charlie
12/10/2012 03:10:51 pm

Linda,

Thank you so much for the fast and detailed response. I will definitely get your book. There is something I feel I should make known because of the importance of this and because I get the impression from you that this isn't something you would be tempted to use in your own work, which is a concern with many others.

The first part of this is that this information would have an impact that would change the world if I am right and I am convinced I am. The other aspect is that I spoke to a relative of a famous deceased scientist who pioneered a related field. This relative said they thought I was miles ahead of anyone they had heard of with these discoveries.

I fully understand if you still aren't interested. I just make that known in case it might sway you to look deeper. I feel if others look into this deeply they will be convinced. But getting someone to look deeper.. and someone I can trust is the tough part.

Also, the "fractured tandem" format reminds me of The Godfather 2 which I had recently read about in another article discussing non-linear story telling. Someone also mentioned a book called CHIEFS by Stuart Woods to me because my story bridges different eras with like minded people, as does the book.

Thanks again,

Charlie

Abi
12/12/2012 05:53:45 pm

hi linda,

i work in a production house, and i decided to pursue my love in the film industry, so i enrolled in a film school in london, upon graduation, i discovered that i love writing so much that it makes me happy. i am back at work now, and i have been writing. i am supposed to write for features,but the comments, i am getting on my pieces are that they are very novel like. i want to know the difference between writing for screen,and writing a book, and which i should stick to. thanks in anticipation.

Reply
Linda Aronson
2/3/2013 08:02:54 am

Dear Abi
This is hard to answer because there are many differences between writing a novel and writing a screenplay. It could be that you are not moving the story fast enough, or that you are writing a lot of what is going on in your characters' minds in acting directions, or it could be that you don't have enough plot or enough of a 'point' at the end of the film. My motto for the difference between fiction and film might help. It's this. Fiction is about the journey, film is about the destination. Check out my book The 21st Century Century Screenplay for more details.

Reply
windows8-upgrade.com link
7/29/2013 09:11:40 pm

To be frank, I am really fed up of these superhero movies. See those Hollywood movies. I think these days, it's getting more and more irritating. Every movie has almost the same theme. Some faiths and in the end the superhero kills the villain with his superpowers. That's it!

Reply
Zarina Maharaj link
9/22/2013 02:17:57 am

Hi Linda

I've just responded to the 20 Sept 2013 announcement of the video of you giving a talk at the 2011 LSF. Please check it out. I look forward to your reply. Thanks, Zee Maharaj

Reply
phd dissertation proposal link
10/10/2013 04:00:46 pm

Once the actors are aboard the Protector, they finally realize the truth, but Sarris prevents them from leaving, so they assume their television roles in order to save the Thermians, who do not understand the concept of deception or fiction. Thank you.

Reply
Elsa O'Toole link
1/13/2014 08:58:38 am

Dear Linda,

I'm new to your blog & would be grateful for a pointer as to where I can find your views on 'structuring ensemble film scripts' please?

Reply



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    Linda is a screenwriter, novelist and playwright. As well as teaching and mentoring writers around the world, she regularly consults on screenplays at the highest level in the US, UK and Australia.

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