The Only Storyline Template You Need For Your Video
The Storyline Structure Template You’ve Been Waiting For!
Okay, here it is. This is the basic storyline template I use for EVERY. SINGLE. FILM. & now you can use it, too!
This is my secret to successful films that are engaging, emotionally compelling, and purposeful.
Once I learned and had a good grasp on the main plot points of a strong story, it changed my entire career. It was SO nice to have a template, a structure that I could apply to my films every time. It’s by far the best thing I’ve learned as a filmmaker.
So here it is: The simplified version of the storyline structure. There are 5 main plot points and we’ll go in order:
HOOK
CONFLICT
JOURNEY
RESOLUTION
CALL TO ACTION
The 5 Main Storyline Plot Points
Hook
As it sounds, this first plot point is to capture your audience’s attention from the very beginning. They’re just mindlessly scrolling and scrolling through their feed- they’ll only stop if something catches their attention and you have just a few seconds to keep them hooked. So make sure that hook has a big juicy worm on it (lol) so they’re enticed to take a big bite and get hooked.
Conflict
Shortly after your film begins you need to introduce the main conflict. Conflict is the problem the character has to overcome and it’s the key plot point that carries the entire story. It should spark a question in your audience’s mind: What is going to happen? How are they going to overcome this hurdle? This question will keep your audience engaged until it’s answered (at the end.)
journey
This is not necessarily one plot point but a group of them. The journey is the succession of events that happens between the conflict and resolution. What happens between the time the character is confronted with the conflict until he finally overcomes it? There’s always several things that happen here and we need to share the key events- we’re taking the audience on a journey along with the character.
PRO TIP: When there is little to no Journey, it will feel “too easy” when the character finds their resolution.
resolution
What your audience has been waiting for and the climax of the story! Resolution answers the question that you established in the conflict. Resolution is when the character has finally overcome their problem. It gives the audience a sense of relief and accomplishment. Finally! He succeeded!
Call to action
You probably know what this is already, but don’t ever forget to end your film with a call-to-action. Tell your audience what you want them to do (or think.) It can be a directive like "Donate”, or a challenge to think differently about a certain topic.
PRO TIP: Your call-to-action should always connect to the main purpose of the film.
In Summary
And there you have the storyline template with every plot point so you can apply it to your own stories (whether it’s a video or not!)
Questions?
Email me. I’d love to walk you through these and answer any looming questions.
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