7 PLOT POINTS: BATMAN
You may not believe it, but there was a time when director Tim Burton made movies that didn't feature Johnny Depp OR clay. Weird, I know! But true. And not only did he make clay-less Depp-less movies, he also made the 1989 pop culture phenomenon Batman, the protogen of all superhero movies taken seriously since.
So why do we care? Because Tim Burton knew what he was doing and made this movie like a professional. It was a success for a lot of reasons (Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, freakin' BATMAN!) but one reason is because it was well paced. There is a secret mathematical equation directors use to hit mile markers along the course of a story. We as movie-goers (and readers) have been trained over the course of our lifes of consuming stories to recognize this pacing formula, and we get upset when it's not followed. Ever felt like a movie was "rushed" or "too slow"? This is likely because the director didn't follow the prescribed timeline.
Now, as crazy free-wheelin' creative types, when we hear words like "equation" and "formula" we want to run for the hills. You're probably thinking,"I don't need to follow these rules. I am going to break the mold! I am going to make something original!" Well, slow down there Mr. Creative! Tim Burton is no slouch in this department, and let's all remember: You have to know the rules before you can learn to break them. So let's get down to it, shall we?
Here's the down and dirty. Both movies and novels follow the 7 Point Story Structure. It's not just me saying it. It's a well know and effective practice. With movies, directors and producers and drilled these 7 points down to the minute. Here's the breakdown.
25% Plot Point 1: The THREAT is made known.
33% Pinch Point 1: We first hear from the villain from his own mouth and learn how dangerous they are.
50% Mid-point: The darkest hour, when all hope is lost
66% Pinch Point 2: The villain is back, this time telling us how he's going to finish off our hero and put the final nail in the coffin.
75% Plot Point 2: The hero finds a way to defeat the bad guy. We find hope!
Sound a bit boring and lacking whimsy? Let's see how the whimsical and eccentric Tim Burton measures up.
Batman clocks in at 2:06:15 from opening credits to closing credits, from studio logos, to "No animals were harmed in the making of this movie," or whatever is said at the end of the closing credits. Who watches those anyway? It's not like they had hidden teasers back in those days. Two hours and six minutes. Let's do the math:
25% of 2:06 is 31:30
33% is 41:36
50% is 1:03:00
66% is 1:23:14
And 75% comes in at 1:34:30
Now let's find these plot points in the movie and see where they clock in at.
Plot Point 1: Jack Napier goes in the acid bath at 29:30, creating the Joker.
Pinch Point 1: We see the Joker as the Joker for the 1st time at 38:00. He kills his old boss.
Mid-point: 1:03:50 The whole city has abandoned hygiene products in fear of being poisoned. Even the TV anchors looks like roadkill.
Pinch Point 2: At 1:27:41 The Joker speaks to Gotham via TV announcement, preempting the major and police chief's press release.
Plot Point 2: Joker hosts the parade beginning promptly at 1:36:10. Batman shows up to rescue Gotham with exactly a half hour left in the movie.
Our largest variation from the boring, prescribed, and predictable formula by our crazy-haired, left-brained, wielder of clay and Depp, eccentric director is about 3 minutes. 3 minutes in a two hour long movie. That's not coincidence or happenstance. That is not whimsy. That is precision.
So what do we, as writers for an entire different media, do with this information? Novels are allowed a bit more freedom in the math department. Novel readers are a patient sort and not so prone to put a book down they're already a third of the way through just because they haven't reached the second pinch point. However, these mile markers are real things, and if you don't reach them in a timely manner, your reader will begin to notice.
Now understand, neither movie-goers nor readers are timing movies with a stopwatch (like I did) or counting pages and doing math. But we all have that subconscious entire clock that tells us when a story has gone from exhilarating to "a bit drawn out." So ask yourself, sure you want to be unique and original, but do you really want to be the writer whose book is "too long," "too slow," or just plain "boring"? We owe our readers more. So let's give them what they want!
You may not believe it, but there was a time when director Tim Burton made movies that didn't feature Johnny Depp OR clay. Weird, I know! But true. And not only did he make clay-less Depp-less movies, he also made the 1989 pop culture phenomenon Batman, the protogen of all superhero movies taken seriously since.
So why do we care? Because Tim Burton knew what he was doing and made this movie like a professional. It was a success for a lot of reasons (Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, freakin' BATMAN!) but one reason is because it was well paced. There is a secret mathematical equation directors use to hit mile markers along the course of a story. We as movie-goers (and readers) have been trained over the course of our lifes of consuming stories to recognize this pacing formula, and we get upset when it's not followed. Ever felt like a movie was "rushed" or "too slow"? This is likely because the director didn't follow the prescribed timeline.
Now, as crazy free-wheelin' creative types, when we hear words like "equation" and "formula" we want to run for the hills. You're probably thinking,"I don't need to follow these rules. I am going to break the mold! I am going to make something original!" Well, slow down there Mr. Creative! Tim Burton is no slouch in this department, and let's all remember: You have to know the rules before you can learn to break them. So let's get down to it, shall we?
Here's the down and dirty. Both movies and novels follow the 7 Point Story Structure. It's not just me saying it. It's a well know and effective practice. With movies, directors and producers and drilled these 7 points down to the minute. Here's the breakdown.
25% Plot Point 1: The THREAT is made known.
33% Pinch Point 1: We first hear from the villain from his own mouth and learn how dangerous they are.
50% Mid-point: The darkest hour, when all hope is lost
66% Pinch Point 2: The villain is back, this time telling us how he's going to finish off our hero and put the final nail in the coffin.
75% Plot Point 2: The hero finds a way to defeat the bad guy. We find hope!
Sound a bit boring and lacking whimsy? Let's see how the whimsical and eccentric Tim Burton measures up.
Batman clocks in at 2:06:15 from opening credits to closing credits, from studio logos, to "No animals were harmed in the making of this movie," or whatever is said at the end of the closing credits. Who watches those anyway? It's not like they had hidden teasers back in those days. Two hours and six minutes. Let's do the math:
25% of 2:06 is 31:30
33% is 41:36
50% is 1:03:00
66% is 1:23:14
And 75% comes in at 1:34:30
Now let's find these plot points in the movie and see where they clock in at.
Plot Point 1: Jack Napier goes in the acid bath at 29:30, creating the Joker.
Pinch Point 1: We see the Joker as the Joker for the 1st time at 38:00. He kills his old boss.
Mid-point: 1:03:50 The whole city has abandoned hygiene products in fear of being poisoned. Even the TV anchors looks like roadkill.
Pinch Point 2: At 1:27:41 The Joker speaks to Gotham via TV announcement, preempting the major and police chief's press release.
Plot Point 2: Joker hosts the parade beginning promptly at 1:36:10. Batman shows up to rescue Gotham with exactly a half hour left in the movie.
Our largest variation from the boring, prescribed, and predictable formula by our crazy-haired, left-brained, wielder of clay and Depp, eccentric director is about 3 minutes. 3 minutes in a two hour long movie. That's not coincidence or happenstance. That is not whimsy. That is precision.
So what do we, as writers for an entire different media, do with this information? Novels are allowed a bit more freedom in the math department. Novel readers are a patient sort and not so prone to put a book down they're already a third of the way through just because they haven't reached the second pinch point. However, these mile markers are real things, and if you don't reach them in a timely manner, your reader will begin to notice.
Now understand, neither movie-goers nor readers are timing movies with a stopwatch (like I did) or counting pages and doing math. But we all have that subconscious entire clock that tells us when a story has gone from exhilarating to "a bit drawn out." So ask yourself, sure you want to be unique and original, but do you really want to be the writer whose book is "too long," "too slow," or just plain "boring"? We owe our readers more. So let's give them what they want!