Exercises
- Go through the Premise of Jackie Chan Adventuresto number and list all the beats (or
scenes) that will be needed. Keep it concise. Add or combine scenes as necessary. Change
the order of the scenes if that seems to make a better story. Now look at the sample
outline and compare. Would you have written the outline differently? Why do you think
that the writer wrote his outline as he did? You might want to discuss this in class. - Watch a half-hour cartoon on tape or DVD. What’s the basic structure: hero and goal,
villain, catalyst, game plan, turning points, major crisis, critical choice, battle, climax, and
resolution? Watch it again, and break it into story beats. - As you’re watching TV, break up the narrative into beats. Any program with a story will
do. This is only practice. Don’t try to write it down. - Take a short story or joke from a joke book and break it up into story beats. Use the
master scene format, numbering each scene and starting it with a slug line. - Using the story in exercise 4, add transitions between scenes.
- Break the project premise that you wrote earlier into beats and write a TV episode outline
or a treatment for your film. - Develop your game concept proposal into a walkthrough, and start collecting your assets.
- How can you create anticipation and suspense in each of your story beats so that the
audience must watch to find out what will happen next? Use examples from animated
films to discuss this in class. - What are some of the ways that you can make your outline or treatment an exciting or
funny read?
The Outline 151