Journey

The Hero's Journey Paradigm


The Hero's Journey [REF] is the title of an influential book by folklorist Joseph Campbell, which serves as the basis for another screenplay paradigm. Several people have developed Campbell's myth ideas into specific looks at screenplay structure.

One of the first and most influential was Chris Vogel in his book The Writer's Journey [REF]. Another is John Jarvis, the creator of the story-development software tool called StoryCraft.

The Jarvis Method

John Jarvis is quick to admit his many influences, which include:

Jarvis has a unique marriage of these and other influences to create what he calls content structure steps in story development.

Using the Jarvis Method, the writer makes choices among options in three broad movements of story development, first choosing the story's category and type, and finally moving through twelve story development steps uniquely associated with the intersection of those first two choices.

This is better understood by watching the paradigm in action. Jarvis uses it to explicate the story structure of Jurassic Park (also see my analysis of this movie - a comparison of the two approaches is very interesting).

Andrew Ferguson's Megaplotter

Megaplotter is a story development tool that Ferguson has put on the Internet for free download.[URL] Highlights of the step-by-step story structure tool, which embodies the hero's journey approach, are available with this link.

Comments

The great advantage of the hero's journey paradigm is that it has a clear focus on the protagonist. Beginning screenwriters often lose focus of their hero, usually in the second act, where other characters or the villain become much more interesting. In this paradigm, the hero is always center stage.

Ferguson's take on the paradigm has the feel of an action-adventure story. Jarvis, with his story category and type, shapes the journey for much more general use.

This is definitely an approach you should know about. The "hero's journey" and Hollywood's star-driven business climate make a natural union.


MODULE 4: SCREENWRIGHT: the craft of screenwriting

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