Beyond the Hero’s Journey: The Architecture, Structure and Strategy of Narrative Paul Rissen @r4isstatic
A presentation at World IA Day in February 2017 in London, UK by Paul Rissen
Beyond the Hero’s Journey: The Architecture, Structure and Strategy of Narrative Paul Rissen @r4isstatic
my hope for this session is that it gives you a chance to consider storytelling craft and technique, and thus it’s things you can take back to your work, to help you become more skilled as a storyteller, especially in the digital world. and that you get to appreciate the skill and craft of deploying these techniques to achieve certain effects.
There will be spoilers. And we’re going to get very geeky about storytelling.
Hello, I’m Paul • Now: Product Manager at Springer Nature • Previously: Ten years at the BBC • Led several R&D projects around storytelling and narrative • Worked across iPlayer, BBC Bitesize, UX&D and News
Introduce yourselves… • Name • Where you work/role • Your favourite dramatic moment in a film or TV series @r4isstatic
This afternoon… • A definition of Storytelling • Narrative Events • Narrative Statements and Narrative Enigmas • Forms of Narrative • Asymmetry of Knowledge • Putting it all together @r4isstatic
STORY T E L LI NG - So, storytelling, that’s a thing. - the recent vogue for ‘storytelling’ is lacking specifics over what that means, and thus makes it hard for us to know, how do we get better?
What I don’t mean… ‘drama = conflict’ ‘the hero’s journey’ ‘save the cat’ ‘three act structure’ ‘video on the web’ ‘branching narratives’ @r4isstatic Most conversations around storytelling tend to talk about the following. These are important and relevant but not what I’m interested in. I want to talk about poetics, about the craft - about techniques you can use to achieve certain effects when telling a story.
“I decree that history shall be rewritten. This time without any punctuation, so that it is all one long sentence, joined together by the phrase ‘and then what happened was..’” The League Against Tedium, aka Simon Munnery @r4isstatic Which obviously isn’t storytelling. So, a vital thing is that..
Storytelling = the revelation of connected information over time @r4isstatic Here it is. Three important elements - revelation, connections, time.
the order in which the things in the narrative, and their connections, are revealed, is a form of information architecture @r4isstatic Storytelling is revelation. Revelations of connections. The order in which you reveal things fundamentally changes how people experience a story, and the message you are trying to convey. (Adam Curtis does this…, Westworld example) Things and connections are revealed, mainly, through events.
Narrative Events The core of any plot-driven story (which is most, but not all, stories). But a story isn’t just ‘and then what happened was’ - there are connections, either explicit or implicit, between the events, and/or the characters/places etc. One of the key skills of any storyteller is knowing when, and in what order, to deploy each event - to elicit certain feelings or responses in the audience also to keep them engaged, keep them guessing, give them satisfaction etc. which brings us on to…
Kernels • Key events that shape the whole plot • Turning points https://www.flickr.com/photos/rob1501/2261116094 @r4isstatic Seymour Chatman coined these terms.
Satellites • Inessential to the plot • Provide texture, tone and character richness • Create a deeper connection with audiences https://www.flickr.com/photos/noaaphotolib/5187402041 @r4isstatic Gilmore Girls, the Wire.
Try to make it tricky for them! @r4isstatic
Kernels/Satellites: Review Remember: what you consider a satellite, might be a kernel to someone else.. How did it feel to downplay a kernel and overblown a satellite? Notice the difference between what you reveal & how you reveal the kernels & satellites. Why might storytellers use this? To shape experiences. Of course, the audience can have a say in this too - seemingly satellite events can be deemed to really be kernels in new stories that the audience tell (fan fiction etc). A satellite to the business might be a kernel to the users
Chekov’s Gun: When Satellites become Kernels …is a great example of something that is a kernel, disguised as a satellite. Which leads us on to…
the order in which the things in the narrative, and their connections, are revealed, is a form of information architecture @r4isstatic So, the order in which you choose to reveal your kernels and satellites is crucial.
@r4isstatic Thursday, 16 August 2012 A story is a Web - but di!erent parts of this Web can be revealed to the audience at di!erent times.
VLADIMIR PROPP • FABULA - “The raw material of a story.” (Chronological order) • SYUZHET - “The way the story is organised.” (Narrative order) @r4isstatic This is where your skill as a storyteller really comes into play. Choosing which events to deploy, which connections to reveal, and in which order, is the hallmark of an interesting story.
@r4isstatic
Narrative Statements vs Narrative Enigmas when we talk about whether we ‘care’ about a series, we are typically referring to whether we are curious about filling in gaps
Whether Kernels or Satellites, Narrative Events can be used as Statements and Enigmas @r4isstatic
Narrative Statements A fact is established There is little or no ambiguity Sets the constraints of what’s possible @r4isstatic
Narrative statements are designed to lead to Anticipation Hypotheses aka, ‘What might happen next?’ They engage people in speculation about the future @r4isstatic Cliffhangers! “Serial narratives thrive by creating narrative statements that demand the next bit of information, inspiring our anticipatory hypothesising about what might happen next, to sustain us through the structured gaps between episodes.” Why is that interesting? - self sustaining, addiction, plays into real life/twitter etc. - also something to do with the skill and deliberate use of gaps in delivery of information.
@r4isstatic They can also create expectations - think about the online shopping experience - and how delighted and/or disappointed you can be with substitutions. It’s all about expectation setting - and playing with setting those expectations.
the time between episodes leads to an explosion of anticipation hypotheses
When might you use Narrative Statements? Set, and/or subvert expectations Get users thinking about future possibilities and implications Encourage sharing of ideas @r4isstatic Pause for a bit of discussion/group work here, if needs be.
Narrative Enigmas Events that are (initially) unexplained Create uncertainty and mystery Used deliberately to incite intrigue @r4isstatic They invite speculation about who/what/when/where/why/how - questions about the past they’re useful as beginnings, or as interruptions/changing up the status quo
Narrative Enigmas Designed to lead to Curiosity Hypotheses They encourage forensic examination All about trying to make sense of what has been revealed @r4isstatic Typically used in detective stories, murder mysteries All about explaining, making sense of what has been revealed “if A, B and C are true, how do you explain X?”
When might you use Narrative Enigmas? @r4isstatic Events can be both Statements & Enigmas An event might make statements, establishing facts/truths, but in turn, pose new questions both about what’s happened before, and what might happen in the future. - they’re interesting because they engage the viewer. - they invite the viewer to keep a tally of facts and questions - and to constantly assess the importance of said facts/questions (will they be kernels or satellites?) - all of which is to guess where the story will go next. - if it goes in a different direction from that which is expected, is that satisfying, or inconsistent/annoying? Which are more popular/prevalent? Statements or Enigmas? “Most programmes predicated on such central narrative enigmas fail to live up to their concepts, as demonstrate by the failure of numerous enigma-driven programmes such as ‘FlashForward’. Instead, the majority of serial plots focus more on questions about future events triggered by narrative statements, rather than focusing on enigmas from the narrative past.” (so are enigmas more just triggers, like in a detective plot within a serial narrative, or the focus more for ’special’ event episodes?) What else is interesting about all this?
Creators have to tread a fine line between keeping people surprised whilst not making it feel implausible. “The ideal surprise is followed by a viewer thinking ‘I should have seen that coming’” (or indeed, realising only seconds before the revelation, about the truth). “Hypothesising is a cognitive process enacted by individuals in the act of viewing, but such ideas and potential answers to narrative questions are frequently articulated within fan communities, turning internal hypothesising into the cultural practice of theorising.” (Again, this can be applied to real world - people discussing fiction, but also about news events)
Break!
Story time Discourse time Narration time @r4isstatic The most fundamental technique we can play around with is time - the ordering of the revelation. There are three types of time to be aware of - they exist in parallel, but can be used for effect, too. Story time = chronological time within the story world = history, what you look back on at the end. Whether it ‘makes sense’ or not can be a strength and a weakness.. Discourse time = “temporal structure and duration of the story as told”, reordering of events to tell the best story, flashbacks, flash forwards etc. (utilised often in fiction but also journalism…we’ll come back to this) Narration time = “temporal framework involved in telling and receiving the story” - screen time, reading time - has a great effect on the experience, but also isn’t fully under the author’s control. It can be harnessed, though, in the release of narrative - cliffhangers to maintain suspense, return visits, and so on.
Forms of Narrative
Anthology/ Episodic @r4isstatic - Explain what anthology and serials are Draw this out on the whiteboard/flipchart Serial
@r4isstatic - Black Mirror - Anthology
Tom and Jerry - Anthology
24 - Serial
Eastenders - Serial
Fargo - Complex (leaning towards Anthology)
True Detective - Complex (leaning towards Anthology)
Buffy - Complex (changed over time, leaning towards Serial)
Doctor Who - Complex (arguably right in the middle
Serial Complex Narrative Service Design First time users Regular users No context Lots of context Uber Amazon Facebook Netflix Reddit? reddit is a good example of something where the value is only revealed if you’re a regular user and have all the history etc. think about the user’s context when they’re coming to use your product - does it need more on boarding or is it clear from the start
Asymmetry of Knowledge All about disparity of knowledge and communication between the players, in order to rectify that disparity (or to maintain it!) draw the diagram and spend a bit of time explaining each and the fact that you can exploit these to achieve certain effects
Storyteller Character Audience @r4isstatic - Viewer to Storyteller = frustration (better memories, unacknowledged fan theories) Viewer to Character = suspense (horror staple, anticipating the moment of revelation) Viewer to Viewer = spoilers (pride in knowing more than others, pleasure in seeing how it was done, annoyance if ‘spoiled’)
How might you take advantage of, or mitigate the effects of, each asymmetry? @r4isstatic Split into groups, and each group discusses one of the aspects
Putting it all together
What we’ve covered • Storytelling is the revelation of connected information over time • Information is revealed through events: Kernels and Satellites • The order in which information is revealed is crucial • Narrative Statements provoke Anticipation Hypotheses • Narrative Enigmas provoke Curiosity Hypotheses • The connection, and gaps between Episodes can be exploited • As can the asymmetry of knowledge between Storytellers, Characters and Audiences @r4isstatic
Putting it all together Your turn to be a storyteller. In your groups, tell us a story. • Tell us a story • Pick your key events • Carefully decide when to deploy satellites and kernels • Think about the order in which you’d reveal those events and connections • What hypotheses might someone have during the storytelling? • How might you break up the story into episodes? • What might you do about spoilers?
Further Reading • Complex TV: The Poetics of Contemporary Television Storytelling - Jason Mittell (http://mcpress.mediacommons.org/complextelevision) • Poetics of Cinema - David Bordwell (http:// davidbordwell.net/) • http://acraftofstorytelling.com @r4isstatic
