Hero's Journey
The hero commits to the adventure and enters the unknown.
What is Crossing the Threshold?
The protagonist who embarks on a journey, facing challenges and ultimately undergoing transformation.
What is The Hero?
At the start of a scene, this indicates whether the scene is interior or exterior (INT./EXT.), the location, and the time of day (e.g., INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT).
What is Scene Heading?
The protagonist achieves both their external goal (what they wanted) and undergoes the necessary internal transformation (what they needed)
What is The Happy Ending?
Starting a scene or story in the middle of the action without introductory exposition.
What is In Media Res?
The stage where the hero hesitates or resists accepting the challenge due to fear, doubt, or other reasons.
What is Refusal of the Call?
What is The Mentor?
A description of what happens on screen, written in simple present tense and focusing on what the audience can see or hear.
What are Action Lines?
An ending in which neither the external goal (want) nor the internal need is fulfilled.
What is a Bitter Ending?
Introducing a detail early in the story that becomes significant later.
What is Planting and Payoff?
The moment when the protagonist is presented with a challenge or opportunity that disrupts their ordinary world.
What is Call to Adventure?
A companion who supports the hero on their journey, providing companionship, strength, and encouragement.
What is The Ally?
The words spoken by characters, formatted with the character's name above the text.
What is Dialogue?
"In this film, Michael Corleone transforms from a reluctant outsider to the ruthless head of his family's crime empire. Demonstrating the Bitter End"
What is The Godfather?
The underlying meaning or emotions behind a character’s words or actions, often revealing what they truly feel or intend.
What is Subtext?
What is The Resurrection?
A character or force that stands between the hero and their goal, testing their resolve and forcing them to grow.
What is The Threshold Guardian?
A brief instruction for how dialogue should be delivered or directed, placed in parentheses below the character's name and before the dialogue. Used sparingly.
What is a Parenthetical?
In this 2010 film, the founder's meteoric rise to power through a revolutionary social platform is underscored by a bitter-sweet ending.
What is The Social Network?
The methods characters use to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals. Examples: deception, persuasion, flattery, or force.
What are Tactics?
The hero confronts their greatest fear or challenge.
What is The Ordeal?
The hero's antagonist or inner darkness, representing the forces that oppose the hero and can also be a source of strength or transformation.
What is The Shadow?
A transition instruction used to signal an abrupt change of scene or a jump to a different location or time, and it's generally used when you want to emphasize the shift or when the change isn't immediately obvious from the scene header.
What is CUT TO:?
The character does not achieve the external goal they initially pursued, yet they grow or change in a way that satisfies their deeper emotional need.
What is a Semi-Sweet Ending?
Any challenge or force that prevents a character from achieving their goal. Can be physical, emotional, or psychological.
What is an Obstacle?