Screenwriters who want to think outside the conventional narrative box can learn a lot from neuroscience studies of monkeys.
Huh? Yes, that’s the subject of a lecture to be delivered in Sydney on July 30 by writer, director, actor and educator Steve Vidler.
His keynote talk at a StoryCode event at the Academy of Information Technology in Ultimo is entitled ‘What monkeys can teach us about screen story- or how I learned to stop worrying about 3 act structure and love neuroscience.’
Vidler, who has a PhD in screenwriting at Macquarie University and lectures at AFTRS, will ask attendees, “How many screenplays have you read, and how many films have you seen that suffer from the same problem? Screen stories that are conventionally ‘properly’ structured, and yet are devoid of meaning.
“The big problem shared by most approaches to screen storytelling is that they’re based on the assumption of some kind of ideal external form: 3 act structure; 8 sequence structure; the Hero’s Journey; and Truby’s 21 steps.
“There is another kind of map available to us, a non-structural map. But it takes a little more mental effort to learn and a little more creative thinking to apply. This map lies in the evidence from the sciences.
“Studies from a range of sciences reveal that beneath and beyond conventional structure there are four core principles that drive our engagement with, and understanding of, story.”
Vidler names this quartet as immersing character and viewer in a specific environment; character engagement; how to ensure audiences derive meaning from stories; and satisfying audience’s desire for a coherent structure.
He will quote from three studies that scientists conducted with monkeys, illustrated with clips from the movies Midnight Run, As Good As It Gets and Bridesmaids.
“These principles free us from the tyranny of the package deal, and give us clear, specific and highly flexible tools we can work with in our chosen form,” he says.
“This is good news for those of us looking to work in story forms that don’t easily lend themselves to the package deal structures: including multiplatform, interactive, transmedia, games and even episodic television.”
The keynote will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A with Vidler, multi-platform executive producer Nathan Anderson, artist and interactive media producer Michela Ledwidge, TV screenwriter and story producer Chris Phillips and games designer Samuel Jensen.
Founded in New York as a transmedia meetup, StoryCode has evolved into an open-source global community dedicated to exploring and building storytelling.
With the team from Digital Storytellers, Ester Harding (who now works for Jamie Hilton’s See Pictures) started the Sydney chapter, which launched at Hub Sydney on July 31 last year.
Highlights from the past year include co-presenting with the Australian Writers' Guild the Platform X transmedia writing workshop and pitch session; a build-a-game workshop with Serious Business; a transmedia for good event; a free screening of These Final Hours; and a keynote presentation from Soap Creative about its transmedia experience The Countdown.
WHAT MONKEYS CAN TEACH US ABOUT SCREEN STORY:
Or how I learned to stop worrying about 3 act structure and love neuroscience
July 30 at 18:30–21:30
AIT – Academy of Information Technology
Level 2, 7 Kelly Street, Ultimo, NSW