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One of the most important things when doing a movie, video game, etc is to establish a narrative. The narrative is basically the story. Today, I'll examine the narrative when it comes to the first Lord of the Rings film, Fellowship of the Ring. I'll look at the 3 acts of the film.
The first act usually establishes the characters and the problem. In FotR, the evil lord Sauron makes a ring that is able to control all other rings and take over Middle Earth. A war breaks out and Sauron is defeated, but the One Ring is lost to time. The ring is eventually found by a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins and is passed down to another Hobbit named Frodo. The wizard Gandalf tells Frodo he needs to take the ring to a Elf refuge called Rivendell. Frodo is joined by 3 other Hobbits and a man named Aragorn, who join him on his quest. They all meet up in Rivendell, where they decide that the ring needs to be destroyed by throwing it in Mount Doom, where the ring was made. Frodo is joined by additional companions and they begin their journey.
The 2nd act is the characters trying to solve the problem. In this case, the Fellowship's journey to Mount Doom. They have to change their course after the evil wizard Saurman blocks off the easier path. They journey through the Mines of Moria. There, they discover it was taken over by goblins. They have to fight and escape the mine. Along the way, they come across the Balrog , which takes out Gandalf. The Fellowship takes refuge in an Elven haven.
The 3rd act resolves the conflict. The act begins following the Fellowship after they leave the haven. Saurman sends his evil forces after the Fellowship. The ring's evil takes hold of Boromir, a member of the Fellowship, and he tries to take the ring from the Frodo. Saurman's army finds the Fellowship and they engage in a battle, while Frodo runs away. Boromir gets killed, 2 of the Hobbits are taken and the Fellowship is disbanded. Frodo and Sam decide to go onto Mount Doom alone, while the survivors of the Fellowship continue on to find the 2 kidnapped Hobbits.
Of course, you can use the narrative structure with all 3 books of the "Rings" series with "Fellowship" being act 1, "The Two Towers" being act 2, and "Return of the King" being act 3.
The first act usually establishes the characters and the problem. In FotR, the evil lord Sauron makes a ring that is able to control all other rings and take over Middle Earth. A war breaks out and Sauron is defeated, but the One Ring is lost to time. The ring is eventually found by a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins and is passed down to another Hobbit named Frodo. The wizard Gandalf tells Frodo he needs to take the ring to a Elf refuge called Rivendell. Frodo is joined by 3 other Hobbits and a man named Aragorn, who join him on his quest. They all meet up in Rivendell, where they decide that the ring needs to be destroyed by throwing it in Mount Doom, where the ring was made. Frodo is joined by additional companions and they begin their journey.
The 2nd act is the characters trying to solve the problem. In this case, the Fellowship's journey to Mount Doom. They have to change their course after the evil wizard Saurman blocks off the easier path. They journey through the Mines of Moria. There, they discover it was taken over by goblins. They have to fight and escape the mine. Along the way, they come across the Balrog , which takes out Gandalf. The Fellowship takes refuge in an Elven haven.
The 3rd act resolves the conflict. The act begins following the Fellowship after they leave the haven. Saurman sends his evil forces after the Fellowship. The ring's evil takes hold of Boromir, a member of the Fellowship, and he tries to take the ring from the Frodo. Saurman's army finds the Fellowship and they engage in a battle, while Frodo runs away. Boromir gets killed, 2 of the Hobbits are taken and the Fellowship is disbanded. Frodo and Sam decide to go onto Mount Doom alone, while the survivors of the Fellowship continue on to find the 2 kidnapped Hobbits.
Of course, you can use the narrative structure with all 3 books of the "Rings" series with "Fellowship" being act 1, "The Two Towers" being act 2, and "Return of the King" being act 3.
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