Professor Craig Caldwell’s Story Structure and Development provides a clear and practical approach to understanding the essentials of storytelling. This book distills fundamental elements, principles, and structures, explicitly tailored for animators, game designers, VFX artists, and XR creators, so they can seamlessly integrate these concepts into their work. It is a comprehensive guide, enriched with extensive insights and advice from industry professionals.
The thoroughly revised and updated Second Edition introduces new film and animation examples alongside over 200 vibrant images designed with today’s digital content creators in mind. Organized to enhance accessibility, this edition offers a structured approach to the story fundamentals critical to today’s movies, animation, games, and XR. Readers will gain valuable insights into the universal patterns of narrative, gaining a deeper understanding of the core story concepts that directors and producers often emphasize with the phrase, ""It’s all about story.""
Key Features:
Comprehensive Story Structure: This approach consolidates universal story frameworks across the digital media industry into a single, accessible text
Visual Learning: Features a wealth of illustrations and visuals that reinforce and clarify key concepts for visual learners
Flexible Organization: It is structured to allow readers to access sections in a non-linear manner, either for individual reference or adaptation to various teaching methodologies
By:
Craig Caldwell
Imprint: CRC Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: 2nd edition
Dimensions:
Height: 254mm,
Width: 178mm,
Weight: 570g
ISBN: 9781032786506
ISBN 10: 1032786507
Pages: 210
Publication Date: 24 March 2025
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Part 1 – Story Structure (Plot) Chapter 1 Plot – the structure What is a Dramatic Story? Plot… what is it? 3 Act Structure Multiple Acts Plot Shapes Plot Structures – The Short Structural Comparisons What do all plots have in common? References Chapter 2 Setup Act I (beginning) Types of Setup The Opening Image Exposition (what does the audience need to know?) Show Don’t Tell Rule Inciting Incident (starting the story) What’s at Stake (why an audience cares) Story Questions (keeps the audiences watching) End of Act I – New Story World References Chapter 3 Conflict Act II (the middle) What happens in the Middle? Increasing Conflict Types of Conflict Turning Points/Reversals Cause and Effect (connected events) End of Act II – Crisis References Chapter 4 Resolution Act III (end) Endings – for the Viewer Climax Resolution Meaning References Chapter 5 Plot Driven Stories Story Genres Story Types Only a few basic Plots References Part 2 – Story Principles Chapter 6 Story Components Is Conflict necessary? Premise – What is the Story about? Theme – What does it mean? Emotion – Purpose of dramatic story The Setting (situation) References Chapter 7 Story Techniques Narrative Questions Surprise Suspense Comedy Foreshadowing – Creating anticipation References Chapter 8 Interactive Narratives Why Story in Games/XR? Story versus Narrative World Storytelling – Narrative as Story World Immersive Story(telling)? AI & Human Storytelling? References Part 3 – Bringing Characters to Life Chapter 9 Character Character - Why do we watch? Archetypes vs. Stereotypes Create Finding your Characters Backstory vs. Character Profile Identification/Empathy Love your Characters Villains References Chapter 10 Character Motivations What does a character want? Need - What a character really, really wants Conflict reveals character Character Flaws (Fatal) Setting as Character References Chapter 11 Character Driven Stories Character Stories Fear - the Inner Journey Choices – it is why we watch Types of Change Character Arc Unity of opposites References Part 4 – Storytelling (the development) Chapter 12 Generating Ideas Brainstorming Ideas Three Types of Research Asking… What If? Clichés – good or bad? Point of View – Whose story is it? References Chapter 13 Development The Development process Borrow, Adapt, Steal Problems are at the beginning Know your Ending Dialogue – its functions Making the story… Short References Chapter 14 Viewer (Audience/Player) Meeting Viewer’s Expectations Who know What? When? Gaps – the unexpected Believability Are Coincidences OK? References Chapter 15 Subverting the Story Formula Disrupting Story Expectations Breaking Genre Tropes & Plots Hybrid Genres Eastern vs. Western Storytelling References
Craig Caldwell is USTAR (Utah Science Technology and Research) professor in digital media at the University of Utah. Having worked for Walt Disney Feature Animation and Electronic Arts games he has extensive experience in the industry approach to creating animation and games. Caldwell has been a co-founder and arts director for one of the top-ranked interactive games programs, Entertainment Arts and Engineering (EAE – University of Utah) with its numerous award-winning games. He has served as head of the largest film school in Australia—Griffith Film School, Griffith University, as well as chair of the Media Arts Department and associate director of the New Media Center at University of Arizona; as well as having been selected as a DeTao Master, Institute of Animation and Creative Content on the SIVA campus, Shanghai, China. Caldwell speaks frequently on story at major conferences such as SIGGRAPH, FMX, Mundos Digitales, industry, and universities. He earned his PhD from the Advanced Computing Center for Art and Design, Ohio State University.
