Now, for both of these examples, let’s apply the two other structures to these scenarios and see how the emotional investment of the audience and reader can and will change.
If we apply the Surprise Structure, we see the events of each example unfold as such:
The Usual Suspects (Surprise Structure)
This is a very simplified list detailing the structure change, but as now restructured, the surprise lies within Keaton’s death and we’d be invested in learning the reason behind his fate and who was behind its implementation.
Memento (Surprise Structure)
While Memento is difficult to break down due to it’s unique structure, these above main story points offer quite a different experience compared to the curiosity structure that the actual film has.
If we apply the suspense structure to The Usual Suspects and Memento, we get yet another different emotional response as the audience or reader:
The Usual Suspects (Suspense Structure)
Memento (Suspense Structure)
Since Memento is a difficult film and screenplay to break down chronologically, we use this special chronological cut in order to offer an idea of how different this story is using the suspense structure.
Again, this is a simplified breakdown as both of these examples offer their own unique narrative structure within the three elements of the Structural-Affect Theory. Regardless, it’s easy to see how different those two films would be utilizing surprise, suspense, and curiosity story structures.
So what did we learn?
Structure dictates everything from tone and atmosphere to narrative perspectives, character arcs, and story arcs.
This theory offers screenwriters three basic but cognitive choices to play with—and those choices allow the screenwriters the freedom to ignite different emotional responses from the audience.
So if one draft of your script seems to be missing something, you can try to shift the pieces of the puzzle—your scenes—to entice a different emotional response… a different read of your script.
These cognitive paradigms could be the answer you’ve been looking for. They could mean the difference between an average script and a brilliant one. All within a mere, but vital, structural change. MM
This post originally appeared on the blog ScreenCraft. ScreenCraft is dedicated to helping screenwriters and filmmakers succeed through educational events, screenwriting competitions and the annual ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship program, connecting screenwriters with agents, managers and Hollywood producers. Follow ScreenCraft on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
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