This video is a continuation of the Story and Learning Lesson. An author uses words to tell their story, a video person or movie maker uses a different medium (video) for that purpose. The needs are the same, but the tools are different.
For many of you this will be a new topic. Creating/inventing stories is not the same thing as learning about the elements of story. The former describes the list of the elements of a story. The story creation process is when you can actually create one that has all the elements in it.
This lesson introduces you to the elements of storytelling from a movie maker or videographer’s perspective.
Watch the video and then do the activity below.
Click on the video to play it. Notes are provided below for you to follow along:
Story structure and design described below is based on the works of Joe Lambert & Bruce Block
Story and Visual Structure
- Visual structure is controlled by the principle of Contrast and Affinity
Construct:
- Beginning -Exposition (EX)
- Middle - Conflict/climax/rising action (CO, CX)
- End - Resolution (RS)
Principle of Contrast and Affinity
- CONTRAST = GREATER VISUAL INTENSITY
- AFFINITY = LESS VISUAL INTENSITY
- Writers use words to create story intensity
- Musicians use notes
- Film producers, videographers use space, line, shape, tone, color, movement, and rhythm
- Once we understand the story’s intensities, we can arrange the basic visual intensity.
Visual structure has a resolution also..
Also varies by production type:
- Advertisement/commercial
- Documentary
- Found footage
- Video Game
- Internet
- Single vs Multiple cameras
- Animation
References:
Here is a short excerpt from Bruce Block's book: The Visual Story: