Development of Ideas and Structure in moving image and Character Design

Development of ideas and structure in moving image, what this means is simply; the stages a movie goes through to tell a story. There are usually 3 key stages in movies, the beginning, the middle and the end. The beginning sets the story, introduces characters and it's purpose is to grab an audiences attention. If the average length of a film is 2 hours, this section will be roughly 30mins. The middle is used for development, of the story, characters and usually lasts an hour. Finally the end, ties all aspects of the plot to a conclusion and this lasts for the final 30 mins.
Of course there are films that do not adhere to this structure, the few that come to mind are 'Pulp Fiction,' 'Memento,' and my favourite film of all time 'Mr Nobody.' It is becoming more popular nowadays to structure films in radical orders and then reveal how it all comes together at the end. Some refer to this as 'Tarantino-ing it' Because in Pulp Fiction and a few other films by Quentin Tarantino, the plot seems to be split into many different, seemingly unrelated events, that are all tied in to one long chain of knock on effects. I would love to do this analysis on 'Mr Nobody' but this film is so complex, even after watching it numerous times, i still have no idea what is going on half the time....
The film i will be analysing is slightly easier, a Korean film called 'Oldboy.'

Act 1 - The Beginning
The main character is introduced, Oh Dae-su
He is drunk and has been arrested, it's his daughters birthday
His friend comes to pick him up and take him home, they stop at a phone booth so he can ring his daughter.
His friend takes the phone, whilst apologizing to Oh dae-su's wife, Oh dae-su is kidnapped.
Oh dae-su is locked in a room, similar to a hotel room, it has a TV, meals come 3 times a day, he has not been spoken to by his captors.
Months go by, he has no idea why he has been imprisoned, only the TV keeps him company.
He slowly starts to lose his mind and attempts suicide, his captors, tend to his wounds each time.
16 years go by, he is knocked unconscious and when he wakes he has been released.


In the first act, we meet the main character and the setting for the story is introduced, the audiences attention is held by the mystery of why he was imprisoned and the pyscological effect that staying in one room, with no one to talk to and eating the exact same meal 3 times a day for 16 years might have on a person.


Act 2 - The middle
He is obsessed with finding out why he was imprisoned, this is the key aspect of act 2 and this question is the key point of the movie, although I do love the quote from his captor by telephone once he is released; 'The questions is not 'Why was I imprisoned,' Oh Dae-su, but 'Why was I released?'
Oh Dae-su goes to a restaurant and meets a young chef, he passes out and she takes him home to look after him.
They begin to search for his captors.
Eventually they find the building where he was imprisoned, it is a business where they kidnap people for clients and hold them for the length of time that has been paid for.
He exacts his revenge upon his captors.
Oh Dae-su and the young chef fall in love
They meet the man that paid for Oh dae-su to be imprisoned for 16 years, they went to high school together.
Oh Dae-su thinks he remembers why this man hates him, he finds out where he lives and meets him there.


The second act shows development of Oh Dae-su's character and how he interacts with other people, it also creates the sub plot of his relationship with the young chef and how they fall in love. After he remembers the man who imprisoned him, the question changes to, 'What could Oh Dae-su have done to this man?' This point drives the film into the final act.


Act 3 -
Flashbacks occur showing the time the two men spent together at high school and the reason for Oh Dae-su's 16 year imprisonment. The twist of the film is revealed and the film ends. the ending is left on a cliffhanger where there are 2 possible scenarios, a last question to keep audiences intrigued and continue to think about the movie even after it ends.
I really don't want to spoil the ending for anyone that hasn't watched it, becuase i think it is one of the best twists in a movie, ever!


To analyse character design, I will move away from Oldboy because it's set in the real world and it'll be more fun to do something more fantasy and creative. I think I will look at...Star Wars?


Luke Skywalker, the hero of the franchise, Luke's design changes throughout the first film, his first design is plain and kind of boring, this represents his life upto that point. There is nothing flashy or cool, he's just a normal person, he's not particulary exciting, this is echoed through his dialogue. Always doing as he's told and even when asked to go with Obi-wan on the adventure of a lifetime, he's too reluctant to try it. His hair is normal and flat. and his clothing is just as plain.

In the latter half of the first film, he wears the evil storm trooper armor as camoflage, we can take this to show that he's becoming more daring but still has yet to find his own true identity. The next time we see him, with the rebels he has their uniform on, it represents his real self, he's now officially part of the alliance and his character is alot more confident, this also shows the development of his character and how the trials of the movie have changed in not just in appearance but his personality too.