Story Structure
In this lesson, I learned that story structure is not a strict rule, but a way to organise change. Different models show different ways a story can develop, but all of them focus on transformation.
The Three-Act Structure helped me understand the basic flow of a story: beginning, middle and end. A character should not stay the same. Even in a short animation, there needs to be a clear difference between the start and the finish.
The Hero’s Journey focuses more on the character’s inner growth. The idea that a character leaves a familiar world, faces challenges, and returns changed made me think about emotional development, not only events. Vogler’s 12 steps show that internal struggle is as important as external action.
Freytag’s Pyramid and the Five-Act Structure helped me see how emotion rises and falls during a story. The highest point is not always success; sometimes it is the character’s lowest moment. This changed how I think about pacing and tension.
Dan Harmon’s Story Circle feels more practical during creation. Its simple steps make it easier to check whether the character has a clear journey and meaningful change.
Kishōtenketsu gave me a new perspective because it does not depend on conflict. Instead, meaning comes from a shift in understanding. This showed me that stories can be quiet but still powerful.
Overall, I started to see story structure as a tool to guide emotion and change, rather than a fixed formula.
Assignment1: Hunter to Prey(Final)
Based on last week’s feedback, we adjusted the camera movement in our sequence. We changed the original continuous movement into a combination of one static shot followed by one moving shot. This contrast makes the rhythm clearer and helps control tension. The static shot creates focus and pressure, while the moving shot adds energy and direction.
For the character introduction, we removed several unnecessary shots. Before, the entrance felt slightly repetitive and unclear. After simplifying the sequence, the character’s appearance became more direct and easier for the audience to understand. The visual focus is now stronger and the storytelling is more efficient.
Regarding the theme “Hunter to Prey,” at first we understood it as a simple relationship: one character chases and the other is chased. After reconsidering the theme, we developed it further by adding a role reversal. The hunter eventually becomes the prey. This change adds another layer to the narrative and makes the conflict more dynamic. It also strengthens the idea of shifting power and unpredictability within the story.
Assignment2：Heavy object&Change of mind(Planning)