The clues to a great story | Andrew Stanton | TED

[SPinc]

For those who want a whole page of notes, here're mine, in case it serves something.

Storytelling is joke telling. It’s knowing your punchline. Your ending. Knowing that everything you're saying, from the first sentence to the last, is leading to a singular goal and ideally confirming some truth that deepens our understandings of who we are as human beings.

MAKE ME CARE. Emotionally, intellectually, aesthetically.

Make a promise: in the beginning, make a promise to your audience, that this story will lead somewhere that’s worth their time.

“A well told promise is like a pebble being pulled back in a slingshot that propels you forward through the story to the end.”

The audience wants to work for their meal. They just don’t want to know they’re doing that. Meaning, we want to be given the clues to understand the whole story. We want to be told, what is 2 + 2? But we don't want to be told, 2 + 2 = 4. It’s this well organized absence of information that draws us in. make the audience put things together.

The elements you provide and the order you place them in is crucial to whether you succeed or fail at engaging the audience.

Give your character a main goal to pursue. All well-drawn characters have a spine. The characters have an inner motor, a dominant, unconscious goal that they’re striving for, an itch that they can’t scratch.

Change is fundamental in a story. If things go static, stories die, because life is never static.

Drama is anticipation mingled with uncertainty. When you’re telling a story, have you constructed anticipation? In the short term, have you made me wanna know what will happen next? Have you made me wanna know how it will conclude in the long term?

Have you constructed honest conflicts with truth that creates doubt in what the outcome might be?

Storytelling has guidelines, not hard rules.

Like your main character.

We all live life conditionally. Characters can be good, but have a fatal flaw in them, that doesn’t come out unless their one condition for being nice and kind isn’t met anymore. We’re all willing to play by the rules and follow things along, as long as certain conditions are met. After that, all bets are off.

Theme in storytelling is having a constant, a guideline, a road map, where all roads eventually lead to. Who are you?

Can you invoke wonder?

“That’s what I think the magic ingredient is, the secret sauce, is can you invoke wonder. Wonder is honest, it’s completely innocent. It can’t be artificially evoked. For me, there’s no greater ability than the gift of another human being giving you that feeling — to hold them still just for a brief moment in their day and have them surrender to wonder. When it’s tapped, the affirmation of being alive, it reaches you almost to a cellular level. And when an artist does that to another artist, it’s like you’re compelled to pass it on. It’s like a dormant command that suddenly is activated in you, like a call to Devil’s Tower. Do unto others what’s been done to you. The best stories infuse wonder.” — Andrew Stanton

Sometimes, characters deserve a second chance.

Write from what you know. Draw from it. It doesn’t always mean plot or fact, it means capturing a truth from our experiencing it, expressing values you personally feel deep down in your core.

“Be wrong as fast as you can. So the lesser in talent you are the greater in tenacity you must be to persevere."

[benjamingentile]

"The audience wants to work for their meal, they just don't want to know that you're making them do that"  good line, super true 

[Askarcher]

Notes:
Then audience wants to work for their meal: 2+2
Stories aren't exact or predictable
All well drawn characters have a dominant unconscious goal. Acknowledge what drives you take the wheel and steer it
Change must happen in a story
Drama is anticipation mingled with uncertainty
An itch they can't scratch
Singular goal
Truth that deepens understanding of who we are
Make me care
Make a promise in the beginning
Stories have guidelines
Like your main character
Theme: "who are you?"
Invoke a sense of wonder

You're welcome

[ravindumirihana]

1. Promise
2. Make viewers work for their meal
3. Characters has inner motor
4. Anticipation with Uncertainty
5. Add Good character arcs for your characters. With certain conditions are met.
6. Underlying theme.
7. Wonder.

[WildestDrake]

I was completely at tears, sulking and crying by myself when he mentions the second chance he had gotten from birth, and how it inspired the story of Finding Nemo. Because from my mother's own lips I was told that I too was sick and dying from birth according to 99% of all the Doctors I was taken to they said I had no chance. Except for 1 Doctor who believed that he knew what was wrong and he could help.
And Here I am today striving towards what I'm good at.
Always Loved Pixar. Now, even more!.

[AdityaGunawan]

I think this is the most underrated TED talk ever.

[thegoliard]

That’s curious how he told a story while he was telling us how to tell a story...

[DayTripper]

When I saw the part where he explained where the inspiration for the finding memo scene came from I cried more than I did when I actually saw the film. From an aspiring storyteller; thank you for explaining the heart that went into your stories. This is what every writer needs to hear and see to be great at what they dream of doing.
Thank you.

[Fractorification]

Storytelling is a very difficult craft. Trying to put together the puzzle pieces for it to work is part of the journey. That`s why Andrew`s motto is: "Be wrong as fast as you can. So the lesser in talent you are the greater in tenacity you must be to persevere."

They make mistakes in their stories over and over again until they get it right or good enough. The process can lead to discovering and learning more about your character, what works and doesn't, what scenes are more significant, the usage of flashback, backstory, the right voice talent etc.

It`s an incredible journey faced with its creative obstacles, for the sake of finding that truth in your story. While there`s no such thing as the perfect script or movie I think that they've managed to come as close to perfection that you can get. And I have to tip my imaginary hat to Pixar. They've managed to travel through this journey proving how powerful the animation medium can be through laughter, charm and a deeper emotional level more so than it was before.

[polloyopa]

He just told us his life story while giving us a lesson in screenwriting. That’s what good teachers do.

[volcanictv]

He tells you how to tell a story by telling you a story, oh what a story.

[keepplayingnice]

You write Toy Story they dont call you the writer of Toy Story. You write WALL-E, they don't call you the writer of WALL-E...but you write one John Carter...

[Spikastru]

I love Pixar just because of their set of rules. My childhood wouldn't be the same if I only saw classic "I want" song while hating the villain and wondering why there isn't a happy village near home.

[SteveVader]

That first scene of Finding Nemo is one of the only things that can make me truly cry every time I see it.

[MicahBuzanANIMATION]

Fantastic insight. I personally love stories that are open for interpretation and don't spoon feed the meaning right from the start. Leaving room for mystery allows the audience to fill in the gaps with their own imagination.

[warrenhughes]

at 12:30 did anyone think of Barbosa's line from Pirates of the Caribbean "They're more like guidelines than actual rules."?

[Ninjakees]

Even after almost 10 years of this video being uploaded, I am rewatching this once in a while, when I am stuck with writing stories, to remind me what great storytelling is and clues to them. Also just realized this was uploaded on my bday lol. Amazing timeless video, Thank you Andrew!

[parkoho]

This is The First TedTalk ever that makes me burst into tears, when Andrew said he was sick & his parents still believe in the second chance of his survival. Thank you for bring us so many beautiful movies into our lives Andrew!

[danielmihaylov]

"Whatever I ended up been good at,
I would strive to be worthy of the second chance I was given."

I can feel that...

[victorlimamorais]

That's the point: When you can share something personal, something that is yours, with other people through storytelling, you've done a good job. Great insight.