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Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling
Posted on 3/11/13 at 9:46 pm
Posted on 3/11/13 at 9:46 pm
LINK /
After reading this list it's no wonder that Pixar movies are usually incredible.
quote:
1. You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
2. You gotta keep in mind what's interesting to you as an audience, not what's fun to do as a writer. They can be very different.
3. Trying for theme is important, but you won't see what the story is actually about til you're at the end of it. Now rewrite.
4. Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
...
9. When you're stuck, make a list of what WOULDN'T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.
After reading this list it's no wonder that Pixar movies are usually incredible.
3
Posted on 3/11/13 at 9:49 pm to MFn GIMP
there is a lot of sociology in that list
this boils my blood, but it's effective when telling stories to the masses...especially in America
this reminds me of commentary about entrepreneurs v. academics (By an academic) in terms of how capitalists serve society and academics typically serve themselves (and expect society to thank them for it).
quote:
1. You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
this boils my blood, but it's effective when telling stories to the masses...especially in America
quote:
2. You gotta keep in mind what's interesting to you as an audience, not what's fun to do as a writer. They can be very different.
this reminds me of commentary about entrepreneurs v. academics (By an academic) in terms of how capitalists serve society and academics typically serve themselves (and expect society to thank them for it).
Posted on 3/11/13 at 9:49 pm to MFn GIMP
You can see they are getting lazy though. Almost solely prequels/sequels here lately. After being perfect there for a while they are finally coming back down to reality. I'm sure Monsters U and Nemo 2 will be fun, but with those two, Cars 2 and Brave, they are starting to slack.
Posted on 3/11/13 at 9:54 pm to iwyLSUiwy
quote:
You can see they are getting lazy though. Almost solely prequels/sequels here lately. After being perfect there for a while they are finally coming back down to reality. I'm sure Monsters U and Nemo 2 will be fun, but with those two, Cars 2 and Brave, they are starting to slack.
I loathe the Cars series, IMO their only misses. Brave, while not at the same standard as Up (my personal favorite) or Finding Nemo, wasn't a bad movie.
I'm really looking forward to their upcoming, new, movies - The Good Dinosaur and the one about Dia de los Muertos.
Posted on 3/11/13 at 9:57 pm to MFn GIMP
Great link. Thanks for sharing 
Posted on 3/11/13 at 10:09 pm to SlowFlowPro
quote:
this boils my blood, but it's effective when telling stories to the masses...especially in America
Why does this boil your blood, that's just basic storytelling. You care about a character when they take agency over their given destiny. There are an infinite number of possibilities from there and you can define success a lot of ways -- but we care because the character is seizing their destiny. Of course we care about the trying moe than the succeeding. When you start, you don't even know what success will look like, because it can look like, literally, anything. The part after the elipse makes no sense unless it was some passive aggressive swipe at Americans for sucking more than the rest of the world.
quote:
this reminds me of commentary about entrepreneurs v. academics (By an academic) in terms of how capitalists serve society and academics typically serve themselves (and expect society to thank them for it).
That sounds like the kind of self-serving bullshite that you read in poorly written books about "leadership" which sell like hotcakes because everyone thinks they are the next Donald Trump (HINT: You are not). No profession is "better" than another, and anyone who thinks they are and buys into that sales pitch is being taken advantage of by a copy editor.
Posted on 3/11/13 at 10:21 pm to Baloo
quote:
You care about a character when they take agency over their given destiny.
but it's not results-oriented and is basically "try hard" and that's just bullshite. conquering the destiny (which is the part to be ignored) is the important part
quote:
The part after the elipse makes no sense unless it was some passive aggressive swipe at Americans for sucking more than the rest of the world.
no. we just really have an ethos built on valuing trying. it's part of "The american spirit" and is most perfectly seen in Rocky beating Drago. americans always try. americans never give up. that's how we defeat superior enemies
quote:
That sounds like the kind of self-serving bullshite that you read in poorly written books about "leadership" which sell like hotcakes because everyone thinks they are the next Donald Trump (HINT: You are not).
it was written by an academic (who has gone kind of crazy)
quote:
No profession is "better" than another,
it's not about who is better. it's about who serves society more. capitalists/entrepreneurs obviously do
writers/artists/academics often get caught up in what interests them, and not what interests their audience/market
case in point: your favorite andersons
...and the motherfricker who made babel
what Pixar is saying is in many ways anti-art, and i love it. it's saying: serve your audience. they're the ones buying tickets, and there is nothing wrong in giving them good, simple stories that they want to experience
this is in contrast to the "Artist" who makes movies to spur his/her own interests, regardless of whether or not society gives a frick, and auteurs praise them for making shitty movies that nobody really likes...they just say they do b/c they know they're supposed to (like...fricking babel)
Posted on 3/11/13 at 10:21 pm to MFn GIMP
quote:
I loathe the Cars series, IMO their only misses. Brave, while not at the same standard as Up (my personal favorite) or Finding Nemo, wasn't a bad movie.
I'm really looking forward to their upcoming, new, movies - The Good Dinosaur and the one about Dia de los Muertos.
No I liked Brave too. I just wasn't blown away like I've come to expect there for a while. Also I forgot about FREAKING PLANES. I'm getting mad just thinking about it.
The Dinosaur movie should be awesome. I hadn't heard anything of the Mexican holiday based one, but when read about it there will be one that comes out before it. An untitled movie about the inside of the mind. That sounds legit. I'm just happy that they are all original ideas they have in line.
Posted on 3/11/13 at 10:22 pm to Baloo
quote:
Why does this boil your blood, that's just basic storytelling. You care about a character when they take agency over their given destiny. There are an infinite number of possibilities from there and you can define success a lot of ways -- but we care because the character is seizing their destiny. Of course we care about the trying moe than the succeeding. When you start, you don't even know what success will look like, because it can look like, literally, anything. The part after the elipse makes no sense unless it was some passive aggressive swipe at Americans for sucking more than the rest of the world.
Seriously, a character that always succeeds is not interesting. The character needs to struggle and fail at getting to their goals a few times until they finally get it. Plus a character that is always incredibly successful is almost always a douchebag and probably would need to redefine his success in some way in order for us to root for him. I guess Tony Stark would be a good example of this.
Posted on 3/11/13 at 10:25 pm to OMLandshark
quote:
Seriously, a character that always succeeds is not interesting.
what about always writing movies where the character succeeds? that pretty much always happens in these movies
the results DO matter. it's more than just "trying"
Posted on 3/11/13 at 10:32 pm to SlowFlowPro
quote:
this is in contrast to the "Artist" who makes movies to spur his/her own interests, regardless of whether or not society gives a frick, and auteurs praise them for making shitty movies that nobody really likes...they just say they do b/c they know they're supposed to (like...fricking babel)
Well, the greatest artists are generally artists' artists
Posted on 3/11/13 at 10:33 pm to LSUlunatic
i think the best artists are those who mock self-indulgent artists, like Banksy creating Exit Through the Gift Shop and trolling the contemporary art industry
Posted on 3/11/13 at 10:35 pm to OMLandshark
quote:
Seriously, a character that always succeeds is not interesting.
Slo doesn't like it when characters face conflict in a movie, and then really hates for viewers to root for a character simply because they strived greatly.
Posted on 3/11/13 at 10:36 pm to SlowFlowPro
Also, what's the alternative to #1? Effort creates conflict and conflict is generally the basis of all narratives. Right?
Posted on 3/11/13 at 10:39 pm to SlowFlowPro
History doesn't agree with you..the greatest artists are generally geniuses that see the world in a much different light and can do things that no one else can
Posted on 3/11/13 at 10:40 pm to SlowFlowPro
quote:
what about always writing movies where the character succeeds? that pretty much always happens in these movies
the results DO matter. it's more than just "trying"
These are primarily movies for children.
I think it's ok for the hero to win, and a character building message. Can Pixar wait til their teen years to hit them with how much life sucks?This post was edited on 3/11/13 at 10:42 pm
Posted on 3/11/13 at 10:43 pm to DanglingFury
quote:
Slo doesn't like it when characters face conflict in a movie, and then really hates for viewers to root for a character simply because they strived greatly.
conflict is not the same concept as having a character that keeps trying
Posted on 3/11/13 at 10:43 pm to LSUlunatic
quote:
Effort creates conflict and conflict is generally the basis of all narratives. Right?
effort doesn't create conflict
#1 says that when faced with conflict, effort is all you need to overcome the conflict. that's bullshite
Posted on 3/11/13 at 10:44 pm to LSUlunatic
quote:
the greatest artists are generally geniuses that see the world in a much different light and can do things that no one else can
Posted on 3/11/13 at 10:44 pm to SlowFlowPro
quote:
it's not about who is better. it's about who serves society more. capitalists/entrepreneurs obviously do
writers/artists/academics often get caught up in what interests them, and not what interests their audience/market
I disagree strongly with this point of view. An exceptional writer can help change a society for the better (or worse) with the force of their ideas. An academic doing basic research can discover things about our universe that change our understanding of reality.
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