Lesson 1

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • “Stakes” from “Pixar in a Box: The Art of Storytelling,” Pixar Animation Studios, Khan Academy, 2017

Optional

• • “Pitching” from “Pixar in a Box: The Art of Storytelling,” Pixar Animation Studios, Khan Academy, 2017

Materials

Tools

• Telling Stories with Film: Culminating Task Checklist

• Telling Stories with Film: Filmmaking Glossary

• Movie Character Tool

• Telling Stories With Film: Movie Concept Tool

Editable Google Docs

• Telling Stories with Film: Culminating Task Checklist

• Movie Character Tool

• Telling Stories With Film: Movie Concept Tool

Activity 1: Read – Discus – Write

We will review the Culminating Task checklist to understand its expectations. We will also look at the definition of a pitch packet and its components as outlined in the Filmmaking Glossary.

Step 1

Review the Culminating Task Checklist for this unit. Read, annotate, and discuss the task description, noting what you will need to produce and do to be successful.

Step 2

Reread the definition of pitch packet as outlined in the Filmmaking Glossary as your teacher reviews each component—the title, concept, logline, character description, and three-act synopsis.

Individually, organize and review the planning materials you have developed so far, including the following:

• your movie planning notes in your Learning Log

• your Movie Concept Tool from Section 2

• your story spine outline or storyboard from Section 4

• your Movie Character Tool and sketch, which you completed for the Section 4 Diagnostic

Consider the following questions as you plan how to turn your ideas into a final pitch packet, taking notes as needed:

1. What do I already have that I can use to build my pitch packet (concept, central character’s arc), and what do I still need to develop (title, logline, other characters, three-act synopsis)?

2. Do all my ideas for my movie’s concept, character arcs, and story spine align to form an interesting and unified movie? If not, what do I need to do to make them work in a more integrated way?

3. What other characters will be important in my movie’s storyline (antagonists, supports, or cohorts for my central character)?

Activity 2: View – Discuss – Read – Write

We will view another short pixar video about character development that focuses on the choices and stakes that characters face within a movie’s storyline.

Step 1

View the Pixar video "Stakes," considering the following questions:

1. How are the choices a character makes related to stakes that might change the character’s arc?

2. How do the Pixar animators define and distinguish stakes that are external, internal, and philosophical?

As a class, briefly discuss the video and how the character development concepts of choices and stakes fit into a character’s arc and a movie’s story spine.

Step 2

Review the three-act sequence of beats you have outlined for your movie’s story spine and the character arc you have described in your Movie Character Tool. Identify places in each of these sequences in which your character makes (or needs to make) choices.

For each of these places in the storyline, make notes about the stakes involved, and indicate what kind of stakes they are (external, internal, philosophical).

Think about how adding in these notes expands or changes the storyline for your movie.

Activity 3: Discuss – Write

With our peers, we will workshop our movie’s storyline and character arcs.

In pairs or small groups, summarize your thinking about your movie’s storyline, including your central character’s arc, the character’s choices and stakes, the character’s interactions with other characters who play important roles, and the development of your story in three interconnected acts.

Discuss how to improve your movie plan, focusing on the need to develop additional characters.

As your partner or each member of your group shares their ideas, write down anything that seems confusing to you, anything that seems uninteresting, and anything that seems exciting, intriguing, interesting, or funny. Share your responses with your partner or group.

Make notes in the Movie Planning section of your Learning Log about feedback that comes from your partner or group. If you find your peers’ feedback helpful, use it to refine your thinking about your characters and their interactions, and about ways to make your movie less confusing and more exciting.

Activity 4: Write

For homework, we will use the Movie Character Tool to develop character profiles for other key characters in our proposed movies.

For homework, make a list of other key characters you need to develop for your movie, including their role in relation to your central character (antagonist, foil, family member, colleague, friend and supporter, etc.).

Select at least two key characters from this list to flesh out using the Movie Character Tool.

For these key characters, briefly complete the Character, Traits, Conflicts, and Arc sections of the tool, focusing on traits, conflicts, and plot events that relate to the central character’s arc and development. Think about how these new characters interact with the central character and what the effects and results of those interactions are.

For your two new characters, write a brief character sketch—a more concise version of what you did for your central character in the Section Diagnostic. Review and revise the character sketch for your central character, so that it is ready to be used in your final pitch packet.

Be prepared to submit your three Movie Character Tools for teacher review during the next lesson.