The Inciting Incident : The 1st Principle of the Action Genre
The Inciting Incident : The 1st Principle of the Action Genre
by mdf. escarcha
The target of the action is always affected by an inciting incident. An incident is either a function of chance, fate or destiny. Chance tends to operate within the present tense. For example, you enter a bank and then suddenly three men announce a bank robbery. In the said situation, the inciting incident is unfolding. And as it unfolds, it is always about "what is happening" in a given moment.
Fate revolves around the past. It is always based on a prior event. For example, a boy meets a girl in High School. And after several years, he meets her again. But this time, the girl is the clever thief who is under investigation by the boy who happens to be the smart cop in charge of the case. In the said situation, the inciting incident is a function of fate. Fate is not effective without a prior event that will set-up the inciting incident.
Destiny pertains to the future. Unlike Fate, it needs no prior event to set it up. Instead, it is made-up of events that are either a function of accidents or coincidences. Another difference is that destiny makes use of the present events to direct a character to its destined end point. Thus, the initial event for the chain of accidents and coincidences becomes the inciting event. For example, an assassin bumps into a childhood friend in a 24 hours fastfood restaurant. He learns that the said childhood friend is planning to enroll in a school that teaches cha-cha. The teacher of the said school is the assassin's next target. In the example, both accident and coincident were operating. The destined end point in this case is under the control of the individual who is developing and managing the material. If the destined end point is for the assassin to kill her true love, then the accidents or coincidences will direct the character to the destined end point.
As an inciting incident, the source is always an event. Meaning, the event is independent or autonomous from the main characters. Meeting someone inside a supermarket is void of any human intervention. If someone sends a person for you to meet inside a supermarket, then it is not an inciting incident at all. This is a bit tricky because one way or the other, there is a need to determine whether or not an event is free from any human intervention. For story editors, there are indicators that determine whether or not an event is subject to human intervention. To cite one indicator, a story editor must determine whether or not an event is an action or an activity.
Chance, Fate or Destiny, an inciting incident is geared towards moving both the story and character forward. If the incident does not exhibit a forward effect, then it is called a forestalling incident. Seldom do we encounter this incident in conventional materials. But in experimental storytelling, forestalling incidents create resistance in the movement of both character and story.
In theory, one can create numerous inciting incidents in a material. But due to limited execution of the material, one incident is often enough to capture the imagination of the audience. But if you ask me, inciting incidents should follow the rule of three. Wherein in one material, there should be a min of 3 incidents to make the material fluid and unpredictable.
Let us play a game, for example, a father by chance finds a gun inside the lunch box of his daughter. The father confronts his 12-year-old daughter. The daughter confesses to his father that she is a gun for hire agent. Given this inciting incident, what could be the forestalling incident?
We know from the incident that the ball is already rolling with regards to the chance discovery of the weapon and the eventual confession of the daughter. In order to stop the movement of the proverbial ball, there is a need to either eliminate the father, the daughter or the gun. For example, what if the father suddenly dies soon after a nightmare about her daughter. Given that the father is an agent that knows the gun and the confession, eliminating him will end the forward movement of the discovery and its eventual spread outside the relationship.
If the gun is eliminated, is this a forestalling incident? Remember the first scenario above. The gun is the concrete manifestation of the emotional confession. Do you think if the gun is eliminated, the confession will remain within the intimate relationship?
The elimination of the gun does not end the movement of the ball. Rather, it forces the ball to move in a different direction. The gun is just a concrete manifestation of the confession. Therefore, there is also a need to eliminate the confession as the emotional component of the gun. If the daughter takes her gun and surrenders to a police officer, this becomes the forestalling incident that stops the ball from rolling.
Though, mainstream cinema seldom use forestalling incidents, the mastery of the said "device" in tandem with the inciting incident creates this four dimensional treatment of the material. Action movies that reached iconic statuses tend to have this four-dimensional treatment. But I must admit that applying this treatment tend to consume so much time at the development and management stage of any material. Yet, if a team pulls off such a treatment, the reward is beyond what is desired.
The first principle of action with regards to inciting incidents gives us a clear view with regards to how an action genre affects the general development and management of a material. It gives us the means to understand how action begins, unfolds and ends from material to execution. I remember that I was given the chance to develop an action movie. Sad to say, I did not have the methodology in such development without management. Thus, development was only base on hunches, rumors and inaccurate assumptions.
I learned that there is more to it than what is perceived to be what it was. Now I realize why the project did not push through. We were pretending to know the genre but the truth was we were just copying what was available during those days. I guess, there is no excuse for incompetence in the face of creative immaturity. At this point, I apologize.
The Action genre is a living entity that yearns to develop or transform in this questionable industry that we have. I think it is time for us to have our inciting incident and look forward with regards to change. After all, this is a new era and action stars are Jurassic conceptions of dinosaur-like film studios. Probably, there is a need not to invent or re-invent, rather, to innovate from what we used to have.
by mdf. escarcha
The target of the action is always affected by an inciting incident. An incident is either a function of chance, fate or destiny. Chance tends to operate within the present tense. For example, you enter a bank and then suddenly three men announce a bank robbery. In the said situation, the inciting incident is unfolding. And as it unfolds, it is always about "what is happening" in a given moment.
Fate revolves around the past. It is always based on a prior event. For example, a boy meets a girl in High School. And after several years, he meets her again. But this time, the girl is the clever thief who is under investigation by the boy who happens to be the smart cop in charge of the case. In the said situation, the inciting incident is a function of fate. Fate is not effective without a prior event that will set-up the inciting incident.
Destiny pertains to the future. Unlike Fate, it needs no prior event to set it up. Instead, it is made-up of events that are either a function of accidents or coincidences. Another difference is that destiny makes use of the present events to direct a character to its destined end point. Thus, the initial event for the chain of accidents and coincidences becomes the inciting event. For example, an assassin bumps into a childhood friend in a 24 hours fastfood restaurant. He learns that the said childhood friend is planning to enroll in a school that teaches cha-cha. The teacher of the said school is the assassin's next target. In the example, both accident and coincident were operating. The destined end point in this case is under the control of the individual who is developing and managing the material. If the destined end point is for the assassin to kill her true love, then the accidents or coincidences will direct the character to the destined end point.
As an inciting incident, the source is always an event. Meaning, the event is independent or autonomous from the main characters. Meeting someone inside a supermarket is void of any human intervention. If someone sends a person for you to meet inside a supermarket, then it is not an inciting incident at all. This is a bit tricky because one way or the other, there is a need to determine whether or not an event is free from any human intervention. For story editors, there are indicators that determine whether or not an event is subject to human intervention. To cite one indicator, a story editor must determine whether or not an event is an action or an activity.
Chance, Fate or Destiny, an inciting incident is geared towards moving both the story and character forward. If the incident does not exhibit a forward effect, then it is called a forestalling incident. Seldom do we encounter this incident in conventional materials. But in experimental storytelling, forestalling incidents create resistance in the movement of both character and story.
In theory, one can create numerous inciting incidents in a material. But due to limited execution of the material, one incident is often enough to capture the imagination of the audience. But if you ask me, inciting incidents should follow the rule of three. Wherein in one material, there should be a min of 3 incidents to make the material fluid and unpredictable.
Let us play a game, for example, a father by chance finds a gun inside the lunch box of his daughter. The father confronts his 12-year-old daughter. The daughter confesses to his father that she is a gun for hire agent. Given this inciting incident, what could be the forestalling incident?
We know from the incident that the ball is already rolling with regards to the chance discovery of the weapon and the eventual confession of the daughter. In order to stop the movement of the proverbial ball, there is a need to either eliminate the father, the daughter or the gun. For example, what if the father suddenly dies soon after a nightmare about her daughter. Given that the father is an agent that knows the gun and the confession, eliminating him will end the forward movement of the discovery and its eventual spread outside the relationship.
If the gun is eliminated, is this a forestalling incident? Remember the first scenario above. The gun is the concrete manifestation of the emotional confession. Do you think if the gun is eliminated, the confession will remain within the intimate relationship?
The elimination of the gun does not end the movement of the ball. Rather, it forces the ball to move in a different direction. The gun is just a concrete manifestation of the confession. Therefore, there is also a need to eliminate the confession as the emotional component of the gun. If the daughter takes her gun and surrenders to a police officer, this becomes the forestalling incident that stops the ball from rolling.
Though, mainstream cinema seldom use forestalling incidents, the mastery of the said "device" in tandem with the inciting incident creates this four dimensional treatment of the material. Action movies that reached iconic statuses tend to have this four-dimensional treatment. But I must admit that applying this treatment tend to consume so much time at the development and management stage of any material. Yet, if a team pulls off such a treatment, the reward is beyond what is desired.
The first principle of action with regards to inciting incidents gives us a clear view with regards to how an action genre affects the general development and management of a material. It gives us the means to understand how action begins, unfolds and ends from material to execution. I remember that I was given the chance to develop an action movie. Sad to say, I did not have the methodology in such development without management. Thus, development was only base on hunches, rumors and inaccurate assumptions.
I learned that there is more to it than what is perceived to be what it was. Now I realize why the project did not push through. We were pretending to know the genre but the truth was we were just copying what was available during those days. I guess, there is no excuse for incompetence in the face of creative immaturity. At this point, I apologize.
The Action genre is a living entity that yearns to develop or transform in this questionable industry that we have. I think it is time for us to have our inciting incident and look forward with regards to change. After all, this is a new era and action stars are Jurassic conceptions of dinosaur-like film studios. Probably, there is a need not to invent or re-invent, rather, to innovate from what we used to have.
posted by akira's nightmare at
1:30 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home