Ghassan Shamieh (p. 358-359)

• Classical paradigm is "a term invented by scholars to describe a certain kind of narrative structure that has dominated film production".
• It is a set of conventions which have been widely used and the most popular idea in films.
• It begins with a protagonist and an antagonist. And as the movie proceeds, the actions of the characters reach a climax in which the resolution occurs from there. (see chart on page 360)

In the movie Hardball, staring Keanu Reeves, he starts of the movie as a gambler, and is very much addicted to gambling on sporting events. A friend of his asks him to help him coach a baseball team that is in the "ghetto" of the area. As the movie progresses, Reeves looses his gambling habit after realizing how much the kids mean to him and how much he means to the kids. The movies climax is after Reeves and his team win the game to go to the championship, a child, by the name of "G Baby" is shot on accident by gangs in font of his home. Reeves attends the funeral and gives an emotional speech. After the funeral the team tells Reeves that they want to play because they know G Baby would have wanted them to. They go to the championship game and win, the resolution.

Mark Cash (p. 360-361)

• All Films have what is called a plot line. The plot line is a linear spectrum in which the protagonist in the story follows. It consists of a rising action, a climax, and then a resolution.
  
• Most films begin with the Dramatic question, That "we want to know how the protagonist will get what she or he wants in the face of considerable opposition." The considerable opponent is known as the antagonist.
• The scenes that answer the question create a rising pattern until the protagonist "clashes with the antagonist", which is called the climax. After the climax the protagonist has a falling action which is known as the resolution.
• The resolution varies in different types of films:
• In comedies it ends with a weeding or dance
• A death in Tragedies
• And a return to normal in Dramas

This Plot line is commonly described in the form of a triangle:

The exposition is the life of the protagonist before the story. The Incident is something that happens to the character to change their lifestyle. The rising action are a series of events that lead to the climax, usually many good things. The climax is the tension point where everything comes together and usually the protagonist will clash with the Antagonist. One wins the other loses. The Falling action is a downward spiral of events that tend to ruin the protagonist's life. The turning point is the point at which the protagonist learns what it is he or she must do to better her life. The resolution is the point where the protagonist completes the turning point and returns their life back to a somewhat normal life which tends to resemble their old life before the incident.

∑ Field’s 3 act Structure:
o Story should contain 10 to 20 “plot points”-
o See essential plots points at: goal, consequences, requirements, forewarnings
o http://storymind.com/articles/2004-04-20.htm
o Act 1- Setup/- What is the characters’ goal/problem/conflict
o Act 2- Confrontation/The Maze- includes a major reversal of fortune, complicates the conflict with plot twists and an increasing sense of urgency, showing the main character fighting against obstacles.
o Act 3 – Resolution/Feeling-dramatizes what has happened in climatic confrontation.

Essential Plot Points

Jonathan Ott(Pgs 362-363)
In the previous pages, the plot line has been mentioned and described. Now one of the greatest plots in the history of cinema is The General, directed by Buster Keaton. This movie is a great example of a classical paradigm. In this movie, Kreaton creates a smooth plot line that gradually moves forward to the climax of the story.
The beginning of the film introduces the main character and gradually presses forward to the first chase. After the first chase, it moves on to the climax where he saves Annabelle (the protagonist's girlfriend). From there, the second chase begins, which leads to the battle scenes at the end of the film. The character then wins his girlfriend and the film ends. Therefore, the plot line moves forward smoothly with poise making the audience gradually follow along with the movie.
There were also a series of gag clusters, each involving different props, such as telegraph wires, switched tracks, a water tower, a cannon, etc.



Check out this mad libs style plot generator called- "Plotomatic"