🎬 #190 The Geometry Of Story.
Story shape has always really interested me. We don’t tend to think of films or other works of art as mathematical. They’re obviously guided by human imagination and feeling. But films are unique, in that they adhere to a structure in the classical sense and so the shape - the geometry of their stories can be mapped. At least in a rough manner, for illustration purposes. So I took ten of the most highly rated and regarded films from across various different polls and mapped them out so we could get a look at their shape. Obviously, I’d recommend all of the following films - none of which will be a surprise. I wanted to stay with the classics, as they most closely follow a classical structure. Might be helpful for studying or just curiosity.
Happy choosing, happy viewing
Bry
What’s interesting, and granted this is just rough, is that across a wide variety of genres and styles of films - the arc of the story in terms of percentage of film runtime mapped against key story beats follow a roughly, very similar shape. The main story points are summarised as set-up, inciting incident, rising action 1, rising action 2, climax, falling action and resolution.
You’ll also notice how some are remarkably similar to others, like you’d never imagine Schindler’s List and A New Hope would be the most similar looking charts amongst the ten films.
Psycho’s geometry is interesting because the film shattered expectations when it was released and created a new type of genre in the process. And its shape reflects that in some way. It looks quite different to the others. Much more sharp and sudden, even progressive, like the slice of a knife straight up and to the right.
The Dark Knight’s reflects its dramatic feeling when viewing. Steep acceleration through the second act.
Spirited Away looking quite similar to The Dark Knight.
The inflections in act 2 mirror the shifting twists and turns in Pulp Fiction.
The smooth ‘bow shape’ connecting inciting and climax - does seem, for me, to be mirrored by the flawless build and pacing executed by Bong Joon Ho and his team.
That dead straight propulsive line between inciting incident and rising action 2, is like Michael’s rise to become the unlikely, un-wanting leader of the crime family. And finally Casablanca. Angular, simple and straightforward, dramatically speaking.
Hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter, feel free to like and share. Again, just trying different things, exploring new territory. Have a wonderful weekend :)