Dan Harmon Story Circle: 8 Proven Steps to Better Stories
Have you ever felt like you’re stuck in a creative loop? You start a script, get halfway done, but because you can’t figure out the ending, you abandon it, then start a new one. And then it happens again. And again. ►► bit.ly/2H4HiFY
So writer/producer Dan Harmon tackled this problem.
He took centuries of storytelling principles and turned them into an easy-to-use guide for building a compelling story.
One circle. Eight steps.
Understanding good narrative structure won’t just make you a better writer.
It’ll make you a better storyteller.
Today, we’re going to look at Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’, a film with a seemingly complex plot, that we can break down into the 8 steps of the story circle.
The theory boils down to three sentences:
(1) A character is comfortable (2) but they see something they want, (3) So they head out into uncharted territory to get it (4) but have to change in order to succeed. (5) When they finally grasp it, (6) they pay a hefty price (7) and return to their original situation (8) having changed inside (and sometimes outside).
Keep watching and see how this applies to Batman!
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Act I - Your get your character stuck up a tree Act II - You throw rocks at him/her Act III - You get 'em down The End
Act II - You set the tree on fire (I like it better, you get more tension this way)
Act III - You shoot a moon rocket at him loaded with rainbows and pony's, then you lure him into the rocket and blast off into another dimension. The End.
That's the easiest story foundation I've ever seen lol but where the actual story telling begins is how you add little things in between to arouse the person watching it or reading it. Thank you for making everything easier.😂
Didn’t Aaron sorkin say this?
Basically making them suffer, risk everything they care about, and then give them what they want at a cost
It looks like Harmon's story circle is a slightly simplified adaptation of Joseph Cambell's "Hero's Journey" which is a narrative framework that pretty much every story ever told follows. If you're not aware of it, I definitely recommend reading up about it, it's pretty interesting stuff, and helpful to keep in mind while writing.
That's exactly what it's supposed to be.
Harmon used that cycle as a basis of developing his. He talks about it in interviews.
I don't think every story is a monolith. It is way too generalizing and simplifying. There are a lot of stories going around, not all are Hero's Journey. And not all have a return to status quo.
big surprise an alcoholic pos stole someone else's work and called it his own
he pretty much jammed the false ending and the low point together, which i think is a good way of looking at the hero's journey since those two beats really go hand and hand.
I think what people in the comments misunderstand is that the story circle isn't just one circle, it's a bunch of little circles throughout every step of the main circle. I guess you should have mentioned that. But that's how it is. It's also worth noting that to make better use of this you have to understand where the "beats" are. A beat is a moment that drives the story forward, and it's scattered throughout the circle.
A lot of the misunderstanding probably comes from the visual which makes it looks like pieces of a pie
Thanks Renz, imma write this down.
@Iraj Islam Dafo Kere a fellow fan. Tyler Mowery is the best at visualizing his explanations
FUN FACT: The Kishotenketsu, an ancient storytelling structure, can actually correspond to the Dan Harmon Story Circle. Ki (Introduction): 1. You 2. Need Sho (Development): 3. Go 4. Search Ten (Twist): 5. Find 6. Take Ketsu (Conclusion): 7. Return 8. Change For centuries Eastern and Western storytelling structures have been at odds with one another, but Dan Harmon managed to create something that makes the best of both worlds.
Lm..n
_David Benioff has left the chat._ _D.B. Weiss has left the chat._
😂😂
The D's of writing
You know D&D actually look at KZhead comments
Could you please tell me who those writers are?
Gabriel Idusogie Game of Thrones
A series where this is applied to hit movies and classics would be awesome
Great idea! Passed it along to our team.
You may find this useful. Writer K.M. Weiland breaks down many movies and books into the classic 3-Act structure in her story structure database at www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com.
@@StudioBinder did it ever come into being?
@@CircumcisionIsChildAbuseof course look up their beatsheat into interstellar it’s great
@@StudioBinderplease?
in step #6 you said "you must push the antagonist to the brink," I believe you meant protagonist
mythosESveritas ye the antagonist has already beeen pushed to the brink its protags turn 😀
Though it can work both ways
Perhaps even the same thing since the antagonist is usually the repressed shadow of the protagonist
Either way protagonist is obviously what was meant to be said in this part of the lesson
clearly, it's the protagonist he meant, no doubt. The video shows batman while he is speaking, also the #6 storyline is talking about Batman being pushed to the brink.
Just when I was having writer's block on a script, this drops in my recommended. Thanks KZhead and StudioBinder!
We're glad you found it helpful! What other content are you interested in seeing?
There is no "script" is there Immanuel?
@@soffmusic9655 Probably not and he also forgot to thank the algorithm, spies and god of coincidence.
@@StudioBinder FUN FACT: The Kishotenketsu, an ancient storytelling structure, can actually correspond to the Dan Harmon Story Circle. Ki (Introduction): 1. You 2. Need Sho (Development): 3. Go 4. Search Ten (Twist): 5. Find 6. Take Ketsu (Conclusion): 7. Return 8. Change For centuries Eastern and Western storytelling structures have been at odds with one another, but Dan Harmon managed to create something that makes the best of both worlds.
This is the most complex way of explaining that movie I’ve ever seen. Lol
Glad you enjoyed it! Did we get your subscription? ;-)
Yes and the bell as well. But not because of this video. Great job with the channel.
Arthur Moore Yeah. I know. Complete gibberish. I can only think Dan Harmon is trolling everyone.
or the best
Tell me, what's a better way to tell a story? Because literally all great stories follow this or a similar structure.
1. you protagonist 2. you need 3. you acts on his need 4. you finds his need 5. you takes 6. some twist happens 7. you returns 8. you change
Thanks 😊
6 can be - You pay the price ... just to keep the "You" theme across all of them
@@inner.inspire found it funny though. Was kinda a twist🤪
Thanks dude
@the_trashman 😐
It should be : 1. You - Bruce/Batman 2. Need - He want to retire to be with his gf, so he need Harvey to succeed. 3. Go - He try to help Harvey, even got the Joker attention in the process. 4. Search - He try to adapt to win, try thinking like Joker only to find that the Joker is just an agent of chaos. 5. Find - He finally got a chance to kill/catch the Joker 6. Take - He catched the Joker, but loose his gf. 7. Return - Joker escape, Harvey turns bad, it’s up to him once again. 8. Change - Bruce don’t want to quit anymore, he must give more to fix everything. Kept Harvey in the light, while still doing what his gf believed. Actually this video got most of them right, but the narrative made it confusing. It tried too much to incorporate all the storylines, while in fact, story circle tends to revolve around the arc of each character, not the sequences.
You are amazing I don't know why people overcomplicate this bruh
Thank you for simplifying. I feel the video did not clarify the distinction between steps 6 & 7.
@@jewelz.a Agreed. I remember Dan Harmon said the main different is : when "take" happen, the character have to pay the price as an exchange too. I think it makes sense, because you don't have to "change" if everything goes your way. :)
I really like this thank you🙂
That approach of applying the circle to one character arc - I think that’s what the poster tried to do but this fell short for me. Nolan is a master of plotting. I was critical going in that his masterpiece could be simplified down like this. I think part of the “problem” is just that Nolan used so much craft in this thing! Bruce doesn’t even have the biggest character arc! And because it’s a thriller through and through, the villain is driving the plot for almost the entire movie - even after the midpoint where the hero typically goes on the offense. Bruce does go on the offense but still gets outplayed in the end. The Joker won - he really did and Batman was effectively benched for eight years after this movie. Harvey was a fallen hero and experienced the biggest arc. A negative one. In fact Nolan said he intended the title The Dark Knight to apply equally to Harvey as much as it did to Batman. So you’ve got so much subversion of tropes going on (in the best way possible). I mean…when Rachel actually gets killed? The whole theater was in disbelief! So yeah - this might not have been the right movie to try to demonstrate this model. There’s just too much going on to be simplified in this manner - and fifteen years later I’m STILL here for it! 😂😂 How awesome is it that it will be back in theaters in September 16 for Batman Day? So awesome! I guess all the other Batman iterations’ invitations to the “Showcase Theater Ball” that night got lost in the mail. 😂😂😂😂
love the little touch of editing on that circle like a timer for each section, and all the editing ofc
Look, in my opinion, people can do whatever they want. They could follow this model or they could not. It all depends on them and how well they do it. BUT, as some people say, "You need to know the rules in order to break them."
I learned how to juggle as a kid and I find it a great metaphor for this philosophy as a writer. There are a handful of rules you learn to keep 3 balls in the air -- each hand does the same thing scooping from outside to inside and tossing up at eye level toward the other hand, one and then the other. Keep the objects about at eye-level and in the same plane. Now, breaking these rules becomes a juggling trick like going in a circle, tossing straight up etc. But you have to be competent with the standard rules first.
@@aaronlittle5478 Good comparison. Do you still juggle for the fun of it?
Learn the Rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist.
I agree. The movie ‘House’ (1977) comes to mind. It doesn’t just break the rules, it exist in a completely different universe where it follows a completely different set of laws of physics. To call it an “experimental film”, is missing the point. This movie tortured my mind.
I agreed 👩🚀
"this circle can make you a better writer" Me after watching: "OK SO MY CHARACTER IS NAMED MR PEANUT BUTTER"
And he needs some jelly
Why do I imagine mr. Peanut butter looks like professor poopy butt hole from Rick and morty lmao
Aleksandra Mohorko I thought of the same thing with mr poopy butthole but without the Professor part omg
They managed to get people to cry over a Raccoon called “Rocket”, mourning his friend, the talking tree. Mr Peanut Butter is not outside the realm of possibility of a successful character if done properly.
Aleksandra Mohorko cause Dan Harman
This is really handy for stories where the focus is on a singular character as a protagonist, but I'm curious what happens when you have a secondary and tertiary protagonist mixed in...
Just use the same framework for each character separately but you should also use the story wheel for the characters collectively so each story ties into each other.
Agreed, I see a similar transition for Harvey as well as Bruce. I think a broad plot circle is full of character circles each reaching fulfillment in different parts of the story and providing the momentum to move the story along. I believe this can be applied but as part of a larger wheel. Thanks for this.
@@adams3079 Correct. Nolan said that he intended the title ‘The Dark Knight’ to apply equally to Harvey and Bruce. TDK is the second act of The Trilogy. I believe that the overarching theme of the Dark Knight Trilogy is something along the lines of : ‘in order to cope with deep grief and the deaths of those we love, we should honor what they stood for but we must also live our lives to the fullest, in the present. If we lose loved ones to violence, we should seek justice - not vengeance because that poisons our souls and imprisons us and dishonors the dead. First and foremost- we must not get stuck in our grief; rather we should embrace life, and seek love and happiness. It’s okay to move on. Side characters and subplots are often used to play out different aspects of and/or the opposite of the overarching theme. Ra’s AlGuhl sought vengeance for his wife in his backstory which foreshadowed Talia’s quest for vengeance against Bruce in Rises. Each of the three movies shows Bruce and his nemesis dealing with deaths of significant others. In Rises Bruce suffered the symbolic death of Alfred when he leaves him to try to make him retire. The hidden driver of plot in that movie is Talia and her goal is vengeance. She suffers same fate as Harvey - death. The message is clear. In TDK, the Nolan’s really go for making Harvey Two Face a cautionary tale. They point up the theme by playing out it’s opposite I.e. Harvey seeks vengeance (like younger Bruce did in Begins). Meanwhile, we see Bruce’s growth because - in stark contrast to Harvey - Bruce truly honors what Rachel believed when he saves The Joker from falling to his death. He intends for the Joker to be punished and this is him seeking justice and not revenge. This calls back to the scene in Begins when Rachel is lecturing Bruce in the car about the difference between justice and vengeance. When you consider that Harvey and Bruce suffered the exact same loss - the love of their lives, their different reactions make Bruce that much more heroic. As for The Joker, yeah…this story circle tries to account for him as an oh by the way we had the Joker in this - when there are those that would argue that it is Joker’s desire line that drives the plot more than Batman/Bruce’s does. At the very least they are running parallel and almost equal - which might explain why you come away from this film not quite feeling like Batman was the outright STAR of this movie. He was the HERO yes - but his actions did not drive the plot the way they did in Begins. What kind of gives credence to The Joker almost being a protagonist level character of this movie was that he was actually right about many things including about Harvey whose code (adhering to the law) was indeed a bad joke and dropped the second HE was the one that suffered injustice. The Joker even made Batman break his one rule 😩 albeit not out of wrath or vengeance but to save an innocent. Even the Ferry Boat social experiment subjects were perilously close to blowing each other up. The citizens (society) voted to do it by vast majority but no one could actually bring themselves to pull the trigger. That’s not the same as the idea being dismissed out of hat. And on the other boat, it was the one criminal (symbolically Batman / vigilante?) that took it upon himself to make the decision for everyone else on his boat when he threw the trigger out the window. What gave the criminal the right? The copycat Batman asked “What gave Batman the right “ too. Batman acted on Gotham’s behalf and it resulted in escalation. Did he make things worse? It’s a question raised in the movie. So brilliant. But back to our boss criminal - when under the guise of volunteering to pull the trigger - he tells the law (the guard) to cooperate with him and he was given the trigger! Was that appropriate? Probably not. The question this installment in particular poses is which world view is closer to being universal - Bruce’s or Joker’s? This is not humanity’s best showing in this movie because Joker is not as far off the mark as Bruce seems to believe. He has placed faith in the people of Gotham when the truth is that most of them were easily manipulated to contemplate murder and some even attempted it (if the accountant isn’t dead in one hour…I blow up a hospital”. Bruce and Gordon really are exceptions rather than rules. As far as usefulness of this story structure, I don’t know. You can paste this story circle on top of TDK’s plot after the fact and I guess it lines up? But there’s no way this would have been sufficient by itself to PRODUCE the plot on the front end. TDK was the wrong example. There are layers on top of layers going on here. Maybe Iron Man would have been a better choice as it was much more simply plotted. No disrespect to anyone intended.
I look at Harmon's "Story Circle" or Campbell's "Hero's journey" as guidelines with many good ideas within. I, personally, don't see The Dark Knight neatly fall into a structure like this, but it simply contains elements of it. "Paying a price", for example, is a key element in Batman's growth as a character and I would say it's a defining characteristic. The irony that a silver-spooned billionaire chooses to subject himself to mental and physical anguish is about overarching outward goals (Save Gotham) and inward goals (Save himself from grief) throughout the trilogy. It's raw and relatable. So, yes, one of the "Circle's" elements are essential, but not sequential. It's just present. Thanks for the presentation. Kudos to the designer!
This just helped me with my D&D campaign...Thank You!
I was thinking the same thing!
Exactly what I'm currently using it for! Also implementing the therefore; but principle used by creators of South Park and the Witcher 3 side quests. :)
lol That's exactly why I came to! (Though I do need to write more often just for the sake of writing.)
@suny123boy1 It works well in a D&D campaign if the group is more story centric. A campaign depends on the type of D&D group for it to be sucessful. A good dungeon master knows his groups well.
suny123boy1 Ugh, who cares
Need more breakdowns like this. The way they do storylines for anime/manga is amazing.
Correction at 5:22 - "You have to push your *protagonist to the brink." Amazing work here! Thank you.
This has to be the best channel I have recently found I can’t thank you and your team enough! I just wish I would have found the channel earlier this week has been so helpful since I’ve subscribed
I don't know how many times I've watched videos about Dan's story cycle and other videos about how good The Dark Knight is but I enjoy it every time. Thanks.
Thank you guys, your channel has really helped me become a better writer and this technique has made me feel so accomplished just for writing a story circle
Dan Harmon's system is pretty much the Syd field paradigm with Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey but simplified into really easy to remember points. Very nice!
This video is so perfectly edited and mad and described and just everything about this break down is immaculate
Thank you for making this video! I struggle with writer's block because I can't find the right words to describe my scene. But thanks to the chart, I may have found a way to move past it.
-Who is the One that Drives this Story, -What the One Needs, -the First thing to do, -Trials that the One Faces, -Figuring out what the One want's, -Failed and Lost Something, -Making a Comeback, -the Moment that Changes Everything, -All Full Circle, and -the Cycle Continues.
The circle may not apply to every story out there, but it does apply to every story in the top 30 all time box office hits. Which means, this structure is the most effective way to evoke emotion from the general audience.
00:00 introduction 01:04 1 - you : estabish the protagonist 01:30 2 - need : somtying isn't right 02:20 3 - go : crossing the threshold 03:14 4 - search : the road of trails 03:58 5 - find : meet the goddess 04:35 6- take : paying the price 05:46 7 - return : bringing it home 06:30 8 - change : master the both of worlds
It’s basically the hero’s journey. Not a bad thing! Really quite a good template for a story
Today's writers are over-reliant on templates, and the Hero's Journey in particular. Writing requires originality and creativity, not the slavish adherence to other people's ideas.
@@lreking8929depends what your goal is. If you're writing a screenplay templates make more sense. If you're writing a novel without a traditional structure have fun with it. It's better to learn the rules first and break them later
Like other's have stated - it's pretty much a simplified version of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey - definitely recommend to read the book "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" - it goes into more depth about how each story is part of the same universal framework we've all grown used to in our local and global culture.
The fact that you are talking about Batman makes the learning of this process of writing so much better! Good choice of analogy
Omygosh this is so helpful. I was writing a story, and it lengthened the plot to things I couldn't even imagine when I started. Thanks so much!
YES!!! I just finished reading John Truby’s The Anatomy of Story and the weakness and need portion was so beneficial!!!! Thanks for uploading!
This is a really beautiful and well-presented - simplified - take on the classic Hero's Journey. This would certainly help beat writer's block for some types of story, but - and it's a huge, wobbly but - this is only one type of story; the Hero's Journey is actually pretty limiting if used as a guide to constructing narratives rather than analysing existing ones. This only became obvious to me after reading John Truby's "The Anatomy of Story"; it doesn't deal with a cyclical, Hero's Journey-type plot, but with an even more fundamental structure of premise and design principle, plus character needs (moral and psychological), their weakness(es) (again moral AND psychological), and how you can establish the change that will be necessary to reach by the end. It's also good because it doesn't stick to one genre or one type of story (i.e. the hero's journey); the examples cited in text are from a pretty eclectic range. Can't recommend this enough. But excellent video; really enjoyed it.
One question, if I understand how this circle works, I have some doubts, for example, how do I structure the story? In 3 acts with Syd Field's paradimg? Or do I need to use more acts? There are many structures, such as putting the 8 steps together along with the inciting incident, plot points, midpoint, and pinch points.
I'm very happy someone made in analysis using Harmon's story circles. I hadn't known anyone had, though I've known about his diagram based advice for a few years. Hat tip, this is damn fantastic.
This is one of the best made videos I’ve ever seen on KZhead!
this video is great for breaking down his method of storytelling. i started using it in my script writing and it makes a difference.
Heck yeah! We wrote a whole blog post about it if you'd like more story circle info: www.studiobinder.com/blog/downloads/story-circle-template/
Coming to rewatch this after watching "never ricking morty" for the meta
The Dan Harmon Story Circle is the STORY TRAIN. Mindblowing.
it even has the same colors. fuuuuck.
This was one of the best video for the writing process
Best pick for any kind explaination . Man this the best piece of art ever made.
This is such a great video. I always return to it before I start a new script.
Editing is amazing!
Well made video! I always like seeing the dark knight broken down as it is such a masterpiece we can learn from. But... I think maybe Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan should take credit for this one, certainly not Dan Harmon (but by reading the comments i don't think i need to even say that at this point) Plus it's mostly Campbell's the hero's journey. And if you really want to go back to the source (highly recommend) so that you're not getting secondary knowledge, i recommend Aristotle's Poetics, which was written way back when all of this began. Also the video starts out with a great clip from Adaptation. If you have watched Adaptation you would know that Charlie Kaufman (writer and main character) finds story structures like the hero's journey to be "bullshit" and he is completely sick of the conventional structure that hollywood movies cling to. It seems like it is not the only way to write a movie, but i do think that it is important to at least understand the rules of narrative before you break some of them
I guess the point of the video is to reach a broader audience and to that end a name like Dan Harmon would speak louder at this point in time than Campbell's or Aristotle's, however it does mention that those principles were not invented by him. Particularly, I don't think that a clear understanding of theory is important at all. There are all kinds of artists and a lot of great art comes from intuitive people that, by not being aware of supposed rules, are able to create stuff that subverts the expectations of the genre they are tackling, but, you know, not everything is about disruption. There will always be a place for a well executed established structure, no matter how much people like Kaufman despise them. I, for one, am of the opinion that sticking too close to a template often will cause your art to become 'soulless', as they say. Take recent Pixar movies and compare them to their earlier efforts. Most of them are certainly competent -- cash grab sequels aside -- but are they memorable? Adding a little bit of mystery, quirkiness and confusion can go a long way into making your art stand out from the crowd. Even a flaw is better than a played out script. At the end of the day, the problem with Hollywood is that putting big money in risky projects is not a good idea.
I think they chose the Dark Knight because Chris Nolan absolutely hates the idea of a Monomyth.
Explains why Kaufman's films are so hard for me to follow
Is it The Hero's Journey or The Hero with a Thousand Faces?
Dark night have me headaches. Too many plot holes.
Thanks for this cycle.. You channel is awesome. Explaining such a complex structure in such a simple generalized way❤️❤️❤️
Excellent summary and details of how a truly great story works. Just published my 11th KZhead project a few days ago with some storytelling techniques, will incorporate more or all of these next time. Thanks!
Even though I had never forgotten, thank you for remembering me how great this movie is
There's a ninth step I think is CRITICAL to writing any good story: KNOW the era you're writing in, if it's set in the past. As a history buff I cringe when I see film stories that clearly don't fit their era setting (speaking style, culture, etc.). One notable example in some ways is Disney's Princess and the Frog, it claims to be set in the 1920s, but in many ways feels like (and honestly would work much better in) the early 1970s. Some elements (like the idea of interracial dating) even if a joke just don't fit the 20s South at all.
The communing with the Goddess moment of The Dark Knight is capturing the joker not Harvey claiming to be the Batman.
The editing on this was incredible. Subbed
all i have to say after watching: this is the kind of thing makes me want to actually study film. thanks for the motivation family!
This really helped me solidify my major story beats. Thanks for this.
We're glad you found it useful!
My problem with every writing guide online like this one is that the best stories I've experienced dont follow these tips whatsoever. Yet, they're still better than every hero's journey story I've ever seen/read.
There are a ton of story structure out there, if a story is so good it is probably using one of these structures. And yes, not every story uses a structure, sometimes breaking the rules in a clever way is what makes a story interesting.
I've analyzed a bunch of Hollywood movies beat for beat, and they all follow three-act structure with a midpoint crisis. And they nearly all have three or four other things in common, like the heroes going into the extraordinary world at the beginning of act 2 but then moving deeper into it (more dangerous) in the middle of act 2.
@@Tysto but why would you look at hollywood when looking for good storytelling?
@@habibishapur Could you provide an example for your favorite stories that take a less orthodox approach?
@@hydra5758 i cannot remember what i had in mind a year ago, but off the top of my head i can think of nier automata as an example of a story that has been branded into people's memories through sheer pain, and has a very unorthodox structure. I mean, i didnt even grasp the true extent of the emotional torment that the story was administering until i read some side material that the director created. I wish i remembered a better example, as one of the biggest draws about nier automata's story is precisely how unorthodox it is. So its not really a good example. More of an exception.
Keep returning to this and worksheet for my students. Great work!
Downloaded the bundle! Thanks so much!
Amazing!! Thank you so much for this master class.
after testing dan harmon story cycle for a bit, i noticed that it's not supposed to cover a whole film in one cycle. it's more of a subset in plot points, and in each character arc. however the cycle quadrants did helped me on the upper half and lower half momentum, and the relationship between each opposite points. it's a useful guide to aha moments, or at least ground your film to a meaningful story.
This helped me understand this movie better and is helping write my own story out.
Thank you so much. I'm writing a story based on Scream, and I've been struggling with it.
[1:16] The "8 proven" circle used as a clock is genius!
Amazing breakdown. But, I think taking the circle map of this kind of film will not help but confuse the beginners.
Studio Binder....i love ur page sooo much... Even i write scripts...the script i wrote..i was cross checking with that circle....its very good...so thank u...i feel confident
This was not only a great video about screen writing but this was also a great Batman video. I’m blown away.
REally love the animations of the story circle. Very well done. How did you do that? The whole video was dope.
Glad you liked it! We've got the dream team here at StudioBinder. ;-)
I'm a story Circle nerd, I'd love to just see regular "How this does or doesn't fit the circle" looks at stories.
That's a great idea; we've just added it to our list. :)
one of my favorite videos ever! keep it up.
I agree with Arthur Moore, but it's worth watching it several times taking notes! Thank you for this video!
That was a great analysis. Great job and thank you for sharing!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the analysis. :-) Did you grab the story circle worksheet?
I would love to see you explore other story structures, like the 3 act structure or 5 act structure. Or basically structures with any amount of numbers.
My favourite is the 73 act structure
@@petercinematography4718 How does that go?
Like I said yesterday in the video about foil characters, subtitles are essential not only to understand whatever narrator, but the examples themselves. It's a feature that international audience appreciate a lot (like me, from Italy)
This is very nicely made video essay with great information. Thanks a lot .
So glad you enjoyed!!
Wow. This is a very interesting video. I find that using some kind of detailed plot structure makes writing a whole lot easier. At best stories write themselves. I did come up with a way to divide a plot structure to eight parts. I divide the story to four acts. I take the middle of the story and split it to two separate acts. Adding the beginning act and ending act gives a total of four. Then each act has two parts one part sets up the act. The second part is an exciting part to end the act. The act endings are in order lock in, mid point, final break and climax. This video has its own variant of the structure. It should still work. I find that the eight parts in that structure parallel the eight parts I came up with. I like how this story structure is like the Hero's Journey but more gerelized an vague. I am a big fan of the Hero's Journey. It can work well for heroic adventures in speculative fiction. The best example that comes to my mind is Star Wars. I find that a more vague version of it can fit a wide variety of stories. This is like Save the Cat. I like how this story structure in the video addresses the character development of the protagonist. I find that this character development is very helpful for good storytelling. A character arc is a mix of character and plot. So it helps to develop and unify both. I even wonder if theme can work here too. A protagonist is better when they are dynamic. When they change, they may learn some kind of lesson along the way. It is a more subtle way to address theme. Subtly is the better approach. It is not a good idea to get all preachy. I am a fan of the Hero's Journey. I have noticed that if I try to do a simple bare bones fantasy story it ends up being highly derivative of the Hero's Journey. I think that is because this is a good structure. It bridges the gap between story plot and mystical processes in New Age. It is a nice blend. I can add in psychology, which is good for character development. I can also add theme which is involved with mysticism. Setting is also important. It can really change. I prefer a more outlandish setting, and my favorite genre is fantasy. I think fantasy gives me a lot more leeway to get into the heroic and mystical parts. I think that studying the technical details of plot is a lot of fun. It may seem formulaic at first. However I find it very liberating. It is a matter of learning the rules before breaking them. There are many variations of detailed plots out there. So it is good to compare and contrast. So one can tweak structure to suit different stories and still make it work. The key focus is tweaking. One shouldn't overdo things and break the plot. It is going to make the story suffer. Even if one uses the same structure, there is still a lot of room for variation. The structure is so abstract and vague that it can apply to any story idea. When people complain about cliches, it is about more concrete things in stories. These are things like instalove, pseudo medeval Europe fantasy world, love triangles, the dark lord, damsel in distress, maguffin, chosen one, Merlin clone mentor etc. I think it is possible to copy the same structure over and over again without it getting stale. If it does get stale, than only the savviest audiences would notice, like critics. It is also really nice to be able to change plots around for even more creative variation. This video adds more to the fun creativity by having its own plot structure. That is awesome. The beginning of this video has writers stumped with their script. I can see how story structure can help. It would also help to write an outline. I am a plotter, so this is second nature to me. Outlining is a vital part of the writing process. I can't stress this enough. It helps avoid writer's block. It is even taught in English class. There are different ways to write an outline. When doing a story, I like to show a plot structure and then give the specific events of the story. The story circle worksheet can even work as an outline. I am new to scripting, but I imagine tha outlining can still apply here. Now I am curious about Batman. Maybe I ought to check out this movie. I have seen most of the recent Marvel movies and I like them. I would like to go further and chack out DC. The only recent DC movie I have seen is Wonder Woman, and I like that. I noticed something. Harvey Dent looks just like Jaime Lannister form Game of Thrones. The resemblence is striking. The Prince Charming from the Shrek movies also looks like Jaime. Harvey gets disfugured and looses his good looks. The same thing happened to Jaime. Harvey looks a lot more horrifying. I am surprised that something outdid Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones is so intense that it got a MA rating. I wonder what the rating of Dark Knight is. So I Googled it. I find that it is PG-13. They are really pushing that rating. Yikes! It is not going to discourage me from watching the movie. I am just saying. Yikes!
Thanks for sharing all of your thoughts. Very insightful.
And long
I appreciate your comment regardless of the length. TDK is a really good one to break down as far as story structure and just about every other aspect of craft there is. Various structures apply after the fact but I would love to know which - if any - Nolan consciously used. I suspect he knows them all and they are second nature to him at this point. If you have not already seen TDK (I’m replying from ‘the future’ 😂😂 it’s a great stand alone movie; but you might enjoy the origin story Batman Begins before you watch TDK. Watching them in order really enhanced my experience watching TDK, especially if you want to analyze the craft deployed - because each of the movies in the Trilogy “talk back and forth” to each other. Rises comes full circle with big payoffs to the set ups in the preceding movies. Plus the Trilogy has an overarching theme that can be traced throughout. The majority of those who have chosen some form of Story as their career and have therefore invested money and years of their lives learning about craft and have proven their proficiency via either their success in their chosen field…you know, professionals, masters of craft, people that know of what they speak as exemplified by their standing in the industry laud this movie as masterfully done. But of course you get those who have zero professional credentials but only illusions of grandeur that convince them that they can intelligently call TDK “badly crafted trash” with any kind of authority. There’s a difference between saying you didn’t like a movie and actually stating an issue with how it was made. Those that raise massive issues with how TDK was crafted are mostly trolls. You can recognize them because they come onto a video about a movie they don’t like to waste their time debating people about why other people do. For what purpose? Because a troll has to troll. 😂😂😂. Anyway, ignore them watch it for yourself. But again, try to watch Begins first if u can 😂
Nicely put together video, but I'm pretty confused... I love Harmon's model and I love the Dark Knight, but like many "3 Act Structure" guides I've seen in the past this feels a little shoehorned; many of the steps you've argued feel like plot points pulled from all over the place and presented as main character beats, like the "search" beat which is normally about the characters adapting to the situations and changing to suit their main goals (Wants Vs Needs) but you've argued that it's just him jumping hurdles, and while his character does have beats that do illustrate change I think the film's arc is more presented in ideas that are presented by different sides; it's more like an essay film perhaps? I mean, the film might well have a simple Harmon Circle I'm missing, most definitely based round the idea of what a hero has to do (breaking his one rule) to become the hero they need (which literally vocalizes the Wants Vs Needs... maybe the arcs in the people of the city? Probably just him figuring out what Gotham needs as a hero) but for such an arc to be discussed you need to actually discuss the beats that define the edges of each "section", otherwise you're not discussing structure, because we're not discussing the actual fine lines that make up the film, just a vague estimation of what happens where and shoehorning it in. Anyway, long rant over, nicely produced video my friend.
It feels like a lot more detail because it's not a 3 act structure, The Dark Knight is a 5 act structure. Harmon's work is also solidly based in 5 acts
A further note, if still interested, Joseph Campbell, who originally derived the hero's journey, was actually a sixteen act structure. But, try not to see this in terms of ACTS. This story circle is still broken into acts. You can make 3, or 5. These are progressive steps in a story that is scaled down from a monomyth. It works. This isn't shoehorned. This is excellent story telling. This isn't a template overlay onto Batman, this is, I promise you, how the script was approached. Because writers and story tellers can pour out a random tale, but the ones that follow this format are the best because they ring so true to the narratives we naturally structure around our lives. (Hero With A Thousand Faces, long book - didn't read it all but worth a dip ;) )
@@nikolaj3988 Harmon says (in his podcast) that the second thing he does while writing (first - follow the story circle) is to throw the rules away. He often ignores his own rules. Which makes sense.
Mega Pixel Productions It actually fits pretty well in the circle. The youtuber that made this vid just didn't put some of the points in the right places.
If you don't have acts, beginning, middle and end. Then you end up with something that feels like it's not going anywhere, and then it ends. Go watch Fantastic Beasts #2 for a good example of this when contrasted to the spectacular Fantastic Beasts #1.
So meaningful. You guys make a huge work, thank you
Love the movie Adaptation. So glad to see a clip of it!
such a damn good editing 👌
You can also apply this to the entire story arc of The Dark Knight Trilogy: Batman *BEGINS* _ORDER_ The Dark Knight *FALLS* _CHAOS_ The Dark Knight *RISES* _ORDER_
Good point!
As any trilogy - it reflects your basic 3 act structure. Star Wars 4-6, Lord of the Rings 1-3, The Hobbit 1-3, The Matrix 1-3 - the good ones will always reflect: movie 1= act 1, movie 2= act 2, movie 3= act 3.
Nope, the 3rd is Rising from Pain
The Dark Knight *TRIPS*
Glad I bump into this video, thanks!
This is really well done, guys. Thanks.
This was soooo therapeutic for me. I applied this analysis to my on life and after enduring chaos and devastation, I am at step 7. This puts things into great perspective for me. Now to push forward and WIN!
The Hero Within by Carol Pearson is a very interesting book applying heroic archetypes to personal growth. I wish you great success in recovering after chaos and devastation!
That is the gift of Story. It benefits us in every aspect whether listening, telling or learning the craft behind it. I have found the various perspectives propounded by various professionals in this field to be thought provoking and enlightening. When I apply certain aspects of Story to my own life it’s like “Yeah. Of course! Why didn’t I see that before?” The most important revelation that I see across almost every perspective has been the concept of wounds experienced that have not been healed but that have instead kept us stuck in one place psychologically and in our life journey. With the requisite courage and honest and if properly prompted with thecright questions, it’s often possible to trace backwards through one’s life and see destructive patterns or stagnation and/or limiting misbeliefs which are just stories we tell ourselves over and over cementing them into our reality. But just like the hero in a well told story we can each achieve a character arc that results in the shattering of misbeliefs and self limiting patterns and emerge transformed on the other side of our journey. Story can be so powerful and life affirming. Story is the gift that keeps on giving to anyone willing to look a little deeper into the content they consume - past the inclination to only be entertained. There’s so much more! Continued success to you in pushing forward!
Such a beautiful presentation and so many great inputs. Great video. Thank you 👌😊
what an amazing video!! i loved the music and the editing, and the content was just awesome 👏✊👍
Brilliantly explained. Studio binder your team is gem
It's also called the "Hero's Journey" and a common thing since 1949 (Joseph Campbell).
Except the Hero's Journey is a much better structure than how it's displayed here.
Well done! Well spotted! One can always complicate matters and Campbell was excellent in writing a whole book on what was covered here in nine minutes. If you wish for more depth do read a book.
This is the best video I've seen explaining Harmon's method, thank you so much!
Like and subscribe for more!
You guys are an absolute GOD SEND ❤❤❤
Just what I needed. Thank you!
FUN FACT: The Kishotenketsu, an ancient storytelling structure, can actually correspond to the Dan Harmon Story Circle. Ki (Introduction): 1. You 2. Need Sho (Development): 3. Go 4. Search Ten (Twist): 5. Find 6. Take Ketsu (Conclusion): 7. Return 8. Change For centuries Eastern and Western storytelling structures have been at odds with one another, but Dan Harmon managed to create something that makes the best of both worlds.
Interesting! Thanks.
I like this but I believe when you describe step 2 you are talking about "want" not need. The words can (and also are) used interchangeably by people but I think it is better to explain the motivation to make it clear in step 2 you are establishing what the character wants to happen.
I agree that “want” would be more appropriate because that represents the goal, the external story. “Need” is generally used to represent the internal story/inner journey (character arc), which is not the main drive of the plot.
A.R. Partie Agreed. The Dramatic Want and the Dramatic Need... in other words: the A-Story and the B-Story.
The best explanation ever. Thanks for the help.
The whole "you" thing was a bit strange to me, but I think I understood the meaning. Anyway, it's a very interesting narrative structure to use. Clearly based on the Hero's Journey, but with more space to add layers and complexity to the story and characters. And I loved how you can use for both the hero AND the villain at the same time.
There is a lot of information you missed Dan Harmon wrote about his Story Circle method in the Channel 101 wiki
Sorry for glossing over some of the finer details. We also wrote a blog on Dan Harmon's Story Circle that might go over anything overlooked in the video: www.studiobinder.com/blog/dan-harmon-story-circle/
I'd like this applied to a short film script.
Use the story circle worksheet in the description and let us know how it goes!
The channel "Tyler Mowery" has a video called "how to write a short film" where a short film is analised using the story circle.
I don't usually get to praise a channel with these amount of suscribers. But you will obviously get lots of them.. I'm also in. Thanks for the vid.
Was really enjoying this, when I realised I haven't seen this film yet! Coming back soon!
I never have issues with ending a story. I always know the beginning, the middle of the story the climax portion, and the wrap up, the end. My problem isn't knowing the major elements of the plot I'm building, it's more so everything in between it that trips me up, the build up, the character development, how should a character respond according to the character traits I've given them, how can I escalate from a soft spot to an intense piece and transition smoothly between it? How do I make the characters surrounding the main character important enough to have meaning to a reader or audience?
Can you please share me how you do the ending????
@@amvschool7414 okay so the first thing I do, is come up with the point of your story. What are you trying to tell everyone or what are you trying to convey as far as meaning? If you have a goal for what your story means you can write according to the message you're trying to send. Then drive your character in the directions it takes to get there. I'm more in to screen writing so a lot of times when I'm trying to paint an image of a scene in my head, I listen to music that fits the mood or the theme to help give me inspiration for how to write a particular scene. Music is a powerful tool to me. So establish what your story means I'd say, once you know what it's supposed to mean it will be easier to write an ending.
Actually the problem that I face with the ending is that I don't want any particular of my characters to take the spot, be it the protagonists or the antagonists. But yeah, I've still thought about many different endings because of that. Not to mention that I certainly don't like the cliche ones. I've been writing this Mystery/thriller, comedy and action story called Losers on Wattpad. Will you give it a read for once? And provide some constructive criticisms also? Infact, I'd be happy to make the story with you too, together. I've only released 3 chapters till now and it have already reached up to rank #No 29 in humour category. You can check it out if you want to, and provide feedback. Username: LuciferDaredevil2 Title: Losers Or you can just find it by searching it on humour category number 29.
@@amvschool7414 oh yeah, well I guess the message of it would depend on the genre as well, I didn't factor that in, I'm writing sort of a thriller story about a guy who gets caught up in a bad crowd for money to support his family and ends up regretting it and trying to make amends, so my overall message is redemption and what it takes for the character to want to change. I'll check yours out, if it's comedy I would think it's written a little bit differently, and yeah I'd be happy to check it out, I know a lot about writing, but I'm never gonna claim to be a good writer, so I'll look it over and I'll tell you what I would like to see or what I liked or disliked, don't take what I say as a professional with years of experience because I'm fresh out the gate myself, I just happen to have an eye for detail and imagination. So I'll give it a try.
Give all characters motivation and give them a trait and think how such trait would react
@5:25 I think he meant to say “Protagonist” - you have to push your *protagonist* to the brink...
Ramon Vasquez Jr. AL already got there and both of you are being hypercritical without putting things in context but cheers!
Great video, mate! You should do more of these!
Thanks! We wrote a blog post expanding on this video. You might like it! www.studiobinder.com/blog/downloads/story-circle-template/ I'll pass on your rec to content team :)
Thanks. Just what I needed. As I'm fleshing out a story for my manga I've been using eastern methods of having the characters drive the story. But as a western man I love western media. I hope to combine the 2 too capitalize on the 2 strengths. This video helped me see a way to do that
Harmon's Story Circle reminds me of The Hero's Journey.
Because he stole it and passed it off as his own. Which really surprised me
Actually feeling super betrayed about it as a Rick and Morty fan. That's like if George RR Martin just wrote lord of the rings and called one book to end it all
Everything is stollen and repackaged. Good artists just know how to do it well.
@@apyorick So Dan Harmon didn't "steal it", he acknowledges that this is actually just his simplified interpretation of the Hero's Journey that he uses to write stories. He never claimed to have invented it
FUN FACT: The Kishotenketsu, an ancient storytelling structure, can actually correspond to the Dan Harmon Story Circle. Ki (Introduction): 1. You 2. Need Sho (Development): 3. Go 4. Search Ten (Twist): 5. Find 6. Take Ketsu (Conclusion): 7. Return 8. Change For centuries Eastern and Western storytelling structures have been at odds with one another, but Dan Harmon managed to create something that makes the best of both worlds.
bruh, hella helpful idk what ppl mean that it's complex it's quite simple to grasp on to.
We're glad you found it helpful!
I may not understand everything but man this kind of video makes me love filmmaking ❤️
I'm so excited to implement this into my writing! Finally a good system for people like me lol