8 - Three Act Structure (Ever After)

The movie Ever After is a perfect example of the three act structure by using an introduction, complication, and resolution structure.

The first act introduces the characters, presents the first conflict that drives the characters on to the second act, and is usually about 30 minutes long. Ever After begins with the Queen of France meeting with the Brothers Grimm to tell them the true story of Cinderella. Danielle, or Cinderella, is left to live as a servant with her step-mother and step-sisters after her father dies. One day, she receives 20 gold coins from Prince Henry after he attempts to steal their horse. Danielle takes the coins to buy back a servant that her step-mother sold. There, she runs into Henry again and to hide her true identity, she leaves him with her mother’s name. This marks the end of the first act. The first conflict being, will Henry and Danielle ever meet again?

The second act consists of the rising action brought by the first conflict and ends with a second conflict. It usually lasts about 30-60 minutes, the majority of the movie. It begins with Henry’s father telling him that he must choose a bride by the ball or agree to an arranged marriage. Henry finds out where Danielle lives and takes her out. They end up staying out all night and begin to fall in love. The next day, Danielle’s step-mother finds out that Danielle has been secretly seeing Henry and becomes enraged. Meanwhile, Danielle meets with Henry to tell him the truth, but he doesn’t listen and she runs off upset. This marks the end of the second act. The second conflict being, will Henry ever know the truth and what will happen to Danielle now?

The third act is usually about 30 minutes long, consists of the climax that answers the questions brought on by the second act, and resolves them with a happy ending. Danielle gets thrown into the cellar and locked away; however she manages to get out and goes to the ball. The climax of the movie is when she is at the ball and her true identity is revealed, leaving Henry upset by her betrayal. Then the falling action begins. Danielle is sold to a rich benefactor; meanwhile Henry decides that he cannot go through with his arranged marriage and goes after Danielle. He finds her as she is escaping and apologizes. They get married and live happily ever after.

Three act structure movies include an introduction, a complication, and a resolution. They are also known as the happy ending structure. Ever After is a good example because it follows the rules perfectly.

7 - TV sitcoms

TV sitcoms have certain characteristics by which they are defined. Usually, sitcoms are defined as episodic, but some become serial after a while. Episodic means that the ideas are not carried on from episode to episode; someone can watch an episode in the middle of the series and they will be able to understand and enjoy it, no questions asked. An episodic sitcom is predictable and follows a familiar plot development cycle. It also ends about where it begins. This means that there isn’t much character development and that the plot idea does not follow over to the next episode. However, some TV sitcoms do have bits of serial concepts mixed in. Serial means that there is character development shown over time. Also, the ideas begin to carry over from episode to episode.

For example, The Big Bang Theory can be described as episodic because there isn’t much character growth from episode to episode and every episode starts with a new idea. This show focuses around the main character Leonard who is constantly looking for a relationship. Penny, his neighbor, and Leonard provide the sexual tension from episode to episode. Sheldon, Leonard’s roommate, supplies the comic relief. Their friend’s Howard, the “lady’s man,” and Rajesh, who cannot talk to women, also provide comic relief. Each episode revolves around some issue that is usually always resolved at the end. However, it can also be characterized as serial because over time, there is character development shown. Slowly throughout the series, Penny matures and Leonard becomes less “geeky.” Also, there are ideas that begin to carry throughout the series. For example, Sheldon gets a “girl friend.” Moreover, Leonard’s and Penny’s on-again, off-again relationship begins to become a reoccurring idea.

Even though episodic and serial are complete opposites, a sitcom can contain components of both concepts. The Big Bang Theory is a perfect example because each episode can stand on its own, making it episodic, but if you look at the episodes together, ideas start to carry over and it becomes serial.

6 - Camera Shots and Their Meanings

In the movie, A Knight’s Tale, there are many different types of shots that are used to give meaning to a scene. In one particular scene, the director uses a variation of low angle and high angles shots, mixed in with close up and medium shots to reveal the relationships between the characters.

The scene goes back and forth between high angles (A) of William, Heath Ledger, and low angles (B) of Jocelyn, Shannyn Sossamon, and Count Adhemar, Rufus Sewell. A high angle is used to take away power and a low angle is used to give power. In this scene, the high angles of William and low angles of Jocelyn and Count Adhemar help to show the characters status in the movie. William is a born peasant, and even though the characters are not aware of this, Adhemar still views William as a “poor country [knight]” which are a “little better than peasants.” Because of this, William is shot with a high angle to show this inferiority.  In contrast, Jocelyn and Adhemar are shown with low angles because they are of noble birth and have a higher status that William does.

A        B

The scene also uses a variety of close up shots to better show the relationship between the characters. Close ups are used to show the feelings and emotions of the characters. When William (C) and Jocelyn (D) are conversing, their close ups show happy expressions of flirtation; however, when Adhemar starts to talk to William, his expression changes from flirtation to frustration and hatred. While William’s (E) close up shows that he is upset, Adhemar’s (F) shows arrogance and superiority. At the same time, Joceyln’s (G) close up shows pity and sorrow; she feels bad for William.

C D

E F

G

Finally, the scene shows a medium shot of Adhemar and Jocelyn at the end of the scene. Medium shots are used to show the relationship between the characters in the shot. In this medium shot (H), you can tell by their expressions and direction of vision that Adhemar wants to win over Jocelyn, but Jocelyn is not interested at all; she is giving him the cold shoulder.

H

Overall, the different types of shots in a particular scene are there to give meaning. In this scene, the director uses high and low angle shots along with close up and medium shots to show the relationships between the characters in the movie, A Knight’s Tale.

5 - Production and the Star System

I think that the most interesting aspect of the vertical studio system was the production side, particularly the star system. To become a star, you first had to be discovered by one of the top 5 major movie studios, which included MGM, Paramount, 20^th Century Fox, Warner Brothers, and RKO. Then, you were contracted to that studio for a certain amount of time. This meant that you could only work for that one movie studio. Once you became a star, you became the face of the movie studio. People were so obsessed with stars that they would go to the movies just because their favorite star appeared in it.

The star system also affected the studio system by giving each studio a genre for which they would be known for. For example, Judy Garland had a consistent set of character traits, mainly her singing, which the audience fell in love with. MGM saw this and, to make more profits, began to write more movies where Judy Garland sang, even if it was just one song. 

Another MGM star was Gene Kelly.  Because of his singing and dancing ability, MGM utilized his talent and featured him in musicals, such as Singing in the Rain. Soon, because of the star system, MGM became known for its musical genre.

Conclusively, I believe that production, more specifically the star system, is the most important and interesting aspect of the studio system because it made the studios identifiable and gave them their own genres to profit on by focusing on the actors star talent (instead of trying to come up with many different genres through one actor).

4 - "All in the Family" VS "Life Unexpected"

“All in the Family,” was a show very typical of the 70s, just as “Life Unexpected” is in today’s society. The show, “All in the Family” shows a typical family of the time: a husband and wife, and their daughter and her husband. It dealt with issues such as sexual orientation and stereotyping people, which were strong issues in their day and age. “Life Unexpected” shows a ‘typical’ family in today’s society. This family, however, is different from the typical family of the 70s; it consists of a mom and her boyfriend, a single dad, and a daughter (Watch this preview to get caught up). “Life Unexpected” deals with issues such as relationships, family, parenting, and maturing.

Both “All in the Family” and “Life Unexpected” deal with issues relevant of their time; however, it’s these issues that make the two shows so different. In the 70s, sexual orientation was a controversial issue. The older generation was still against homosexuality and was prejudice towards them. In the episode, “Judging Books by Covers,” Archie judges Michael’s friend based off of his appearance and his interests. He also misjudges his own friend just because he appears macho and acts ‘manly.’ “All in the Family” is a perfect example of how people judged others in the 70s. Today, family and relationships are the issues that we tend to emphasize. Nowadays, there is no such thing as a typical family structure. So many people have children out of wedlock or get divorced (etc). Because of this, many television shows, such as “Life Unexpected,” are based off of ‘dysfunctional families’ and their relationships with each other. The whole concept of the show deals with an orphan girl who is put back into the custody of her birth parents who had her in high school and have the maturity level of teenagers (that’s pretty dysfunctional if you ask me). All in all, these two shows are alike in the way that they both deal with issues from their time, yet, at the same time, it’s the issues that set them apart.