if I asked you to tell me a story any story I'm sure you'd be able to give me one off the top of
your head Hansel and Gretel what happens in Star Wars even an amusing tale of something
that happened in the Kebab shop late last Saturday night as actors we know or should know hundreds of
these stories they are the life blood of our craft but what is plot how is it different to story and
how can it help us to understand character as well as tell tales that have direction and shape
hello welcome to organic acting story and plot can be confused with each other after all both are
associated with fiction storytelling and both in a sense help us describe the events and content of a
piece however there is one fundamental difference one that has an effect on the shape of our stories
and the arc of the characters within them let's imagine that this story is a set of dominoes
stacked on end you might say that over here you have your heroes or protagonist over here your
villains or conflict your antagonist roundabout here you have the main action of the story while
the whole damn thing is about plot is unique plot deals with cause and effect or rather one event
or decision leading on to the next and on to the next and on to the next because this happens this
happens and because of that this happens etc etc cause and effect let's look at Star Wars as an
example if I ask you to tell me what the story of Star Wars was about you might say Star Wars
is about the Rebel Alliance resisting the evil empire and of Luke Skywalker finding the Death
Star plans and bringing them to the rebels using the force and blowing up the Death Star right
the plot of Star Wars would go something like this Princess Leia evading the Empire Senza
droids and the Death Star plans down to Tatooine because of this Luke finds the plans and takes
them to Obi-Wan Kenobi which in turn leads to the Empire murdering Luke's aunt and uncle
because of this Obi-Wan convinces Luke to come with him to Alderaan and because of this they
meet Han and Chewie and encounter the Death Star on and on and on until the conclusion of the piece
plot falling dominoes cause and effect so now that we understand the fundamentals of plot we can now
move on to one of the most common character arcs in storytelling the want versus need or
more commonly the positive change arc in this arc we are usually introduced to a character in
The first act who is living a lie while directing their lives towards an unfulfilling want most of
these characters are damaged a traumatic event or ghost in their lives influencing them to live in a
selfish arrogant obsessive or just an unfulfilled way they aren't good people at this stage in the
plot in Finding Nemo Marlin traumatized by the death of his wife and children pours his
entire protective attention onto his only son Nemo obsessively shielding him from the outside world
in the MCU's Iron Man Tony Stark left without true recognition and acceptance by his father
lives a life of a selfish arrogant playboy using his skills to manufacture weapons for the military
in Rainman Charlie Babbitt left without a loving upbringing from his father we noticing a theme
here pours his attention into his import car dealership business believing happiness comes
from money wealth and success back to our boy Luke Skywalker an orphan farm boy sheltered from the
galactic conflict once Escape an adventure with the academy but has no wish to use his talents for
the Rebellion or fight the tyranny of the empire these character faults fall under the label of
dramatic tragedy we know the characters are living a lie they live for what they want and that flaw
will lead to a dramatic fall from grace in the first act they may be offered a new worldview or
way of living but they reject it Nemo's teacher planning to take Marlin's son beyond the reef
Obi-Wan offering to take Luke to Alderran and teach him the ways of the force
remember that plot is cause and effect the behaviour of these characters and their
normal world will always invite trouble this is what we call the first plot point this is a
major upset or traumatic event to the situation that will turn the character's life upside down
in Finding Nemo Nemo is taken by a diver while Marlin is helpless to fight back in Iron Man
Stark is severely injured by one of his own weapons in Rainman Charlie discovers his
inheritance has been left to his autistic brother a brother he never even knew existed in Star Wars
Luke returns home to find his aunt and uncle murdered the list goes on in multiple plot lines
Maximus betrayed his family slain Jerry Lane told in World War Z that his family cannot stay safe
aboard the ship unless he goes out to help cure the virus Lightning McQueen marooned in Radiator
Springs after a disastrous detour the first plot point is essential to the ark as it fundamentally
moves the piece in a new direction and allows a protagonist to react to the new status quo
causes such an upset that the character commits to a decision that sets them on a journey and moves
them away from the comfort of their normal world this pushes us firmly into act two so a recap
protagonist with a ghost living a lie offered a new perspective with an inciting incident they
reject first plot point that shatters their world and sends the protagonist on an adventure and into
act two it is here in the second act where we see the character chase after the thing they
want however they soon come to realize the old rules of their normal world no longer apply they
are at the mercy of the antagonist or the conflict no matter how hard they push the antagonist pushes
back Marlin ignores the advice from the fish to go through the trench not over it and decides to take
the path that seems the safest sending himself and Dory into the middle of a jellyfish swarm Charlie
having kidnapped his brother must get them across country as quickly as possible he tries to force
Raymond onto a plane which results in Raymond having an emotional breakdown the pushback at
this point the cause and effect is the writer's way of showing the character that their want and
old life are no longer effective ways to operate in the world this all leads to a significant
moment in plot structure the midpoint the midpoint in Act 2 is where the character begins to see the
truth rather than what they want what they need to live a better life they finally become less
of a reactionary character and take firm action to overcome the antagonist or force of conflict
although they do not completely reject their lie they accept the appeal of the truth there
is a better way to do things Marlin is rescued by the sea turtles and sees how they trust their
children to look after themselves they don't need to be frightened of the world around them
only through taking risk do they grow Marlin resolves to swim on through to Sydney through
a dark hazy ocean of peril Charlie discovers a trauma in his brother's past and finally connects
with him he sees not only is Raymond a human being but one with feelings talents and a unique outlook
on the world Charlie realizes that he himself is a brother a part of the Babbitt family and has
a responsibility to those around him this turning point in the plot is a big shift for the character
the dominoes are plot are creating change momentum inciting incident first plot Point midpoint
the second half of the second act is where the character firmly shifts out of the reactive phase
he presses on against the antagonist and starts to take control of the conflict himself he has
recognized the truth and the glory of the thing he needs but he hasn't totally given up his grip on
the lie he thinks he has a handle on things but his want the lie means he is still half blind
Marlin charging into the EAC swallowed by the whale can't quite trust dory's instruction to just
let go Charlie Babbitt realizing how special his autistic brother is races them both down to Vegas
to count cards and save his failing car business and lo and behold from the protagonist's actions
cause and effect the conflict or the antagonist pushes back one final time and we have a crisis
moment this is the third plot point at the end of act two this moment is the most important
point in any plot it is where all seems lost and the character can either give up or rise again
to win the day in terms of the positive change arc it is where our hero is faced with what he
wants versus what he needs the entire crux of his story is where his old life his old beliefs
must be rejected he must fully embrace the truth embrace the thing he needs only with this truth
can he rise again and confront his Nemesis in act three in Nemo Marlon thinks his son dead
straight after their reunited Nemo is caught in a fishing net he realizes he can let go he trusts
his son to look after himself and motivate the fish to swim down and get out of the net
he relinquishes his need to control his old lie he embraces risk belief understanding and the joy of
life in Rain Man Charlie takes Raymond to his home ahead of the custody battle Raymond hurts himself
and almost sets fire to the house Charlie chooses to let Raymond go back to his care home and not
fight the custody battle he lets go of his old want to win to control to earn a quick book at the
expense of other people he embraces his need for family responsibility and to be a caring brother
we see this time and time again in the positive change Arc as we head into act three in the
conclusion Obi-Wan Kenobi dies Luke joins a rebellion and uses the force Jerry narrowly
avoids the Jerusalem swarm in the plane crash sacrifices himself to save mankind
Lightning McQueen ripped From Radiator Springs is lost back on the race circuit he realizes
he can no longer work solo and embraces others he needs friends he needs teamwork
so there you have it plot positive change the want versus need arc I urge you to keep an eye
out for it in all story and plot not just film of course but in prose plays all fiction it will turn
up far more frequently than you think of course this isn't the only type of plot device out there
what do you think would happen in a negative change plot arc? hmm interesting if you did find
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essays click on one of these videos here I've been Chris and I will see you next time bye-bye.