discussion on structure and step outline

[steve hyde]

... I'll plant this seed and see what grows.

I have been reading the book "On Film-making" after Evan Kubota recommended it last week in a different thread. It's a great recommendation.

http://www.amazon.com/Film-making-Intro ... F8&s=books


In the chapter on dramatic construction he writes about the importance of step outlines and also makes the point that step outlines are never a good starting point for a script. Instead step-outlines are good for illuminating the structure of a screenplay after advanced drafts have been completed.

For student filmmakers, or anyone who wants to better understand the structure of a screenplay, writing step-outlines can be a great exercise that offers insights into a screenwriter's process and into the craft of screenwriting more broadly.....

I'm rushing this post since I'm on my way out the door, but here is a step outline I wrote last May on Joshua Marston's "MAria Full of Grace" and a link to the script I used for this little project.


http://steve-hyde.com/StepOutlineMaria.pdf

http://www.mariafullofgrace.com/screenp ... _grace.pdf

[Evan Kubota]

I have to admit, I haven't read the entire book. I'm going to buy it now. From what I remember, the chapter where he brilliantly reimagines the King Solomon story was the core of the book's instruction and probably one of the most valuable, detailed, and comprehensive overviews of *how to write drama* that I have read.

I like step outlines. When I write a feature (eventually...) this will be the first step in writing. I can't imagine trying to come up with a successful feature-length script without an outline (or some other form of notes/sketch, basically to get an idea of the structure and overall movement before you fill in specific scene details).

[steve hyde]

...well an outline and a step outline might actually be two different things. Mackendrick actually warns against attempting a step outline as a starting point.

pp. 51, 2004, hardback

The problem with using the outline form as a blueprint for an original story idea is that though it may provide an idea for structure, it is a skeleton with out flesh and blood. It is a dead thing. Plot in itself (when divorced from character and theme) is lifeless material, mechanical narrative with no creative vitality. So use the Step Outline (which is, in the context of narrative structure, a purely analytical approach) for study purposes only. Use it as an instrument for dismantaling, vivisecting and exploring the structure and engine of an already existing dramatic structure. (emphasis original)

This makes sense to me and I totally agree that creating Step Outlines of already existing dramatic work is a good learning exercise for what might be thought of as some kind of archaeological excavation of dramatic structure.

Steve

[Evan Kubota]

I don't think of it as 'attempting a step outline' but more as writing a step outline once you've already come up with the idea and the general movement of your story. It helps to concretize the structure before you write individual scenes. My friend's feature screenwriting class and one my brother is in both seem to involve step outlining at an early stage.