Exercises

Test your understanding of Story Dynamics tools, structural elements, and ideals, and encourage your use of the worksheet.

Establishing Image

What is the establishing image in PATTON (1970)?
What is the establishing image in THE GODFATHER (1972)? How does it telegraph what the story will be about?
What is the establishing image in JUDE (1996)? How does it telegraph what the story will be about?
How is the function of an establishing image handled in GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) and CASABLANCA (1942)?
Write the opening scene of a movie about the first female president of the United States of America--without using any dialogue. Include the following action:
- a woman exits a building on a major city street;
- she walks on the sidewalk past a storefront travel agency;
- she buys something at a newstand, receiving change in coins; and
- she steps into a taxi cab.
Exploit every potential in this scenario, in terms of images and actions, to telegraph what the story will be about.

Choose two distinct and contrasting zodiac sun signs and assign them to characters. Put them in a hypothetical situation, e.g., boy-meets-girl, husband-wife, employer-employee, predator-prey, etc. What dramatic and matched potential do these astrological characteristics establish?
What are examples of dramatic potential and matched potential in ABOUT A BOY (2002)? How do they play out in the movie?

Consider the diagram used to illustrate the principles of Story Dynamics. What does the diagram remind you of? Where does each of the structural elements fit? Why does the middle section rise? What can you learn about storytelling from your comparison?
What are the launch, narrative question, and climax in GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)?
What are the launch, narrative question, and climax in CASABLANCA (1942)?
Complete the Story Dynamics Worksheet for THE GODFATHER (1972).
What is the launch of MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING (2002)? How could it have been done better?
What is the narrative question in THE FULLY MONTY (1997)? When does the climax occur (at what point is the narrative question answered)? How is the resolution handled?
What story strands could be eliminated from MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING (2002)? How could the story be told better?
What is the major weakness of the resolution in MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING (2002)?