Mariner-software Contour for Mac Manuel d'utilisateur Page 1

Step-By-Step Screenplay Structure SoftwareUser Guide v1.0© Copyright 1998-2009 Mariner Software, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this documentati

Check For UpdatesWhen Contour starts up, or at any time youʼd like, you can check for updates. Hereʼs how:On first start up, a dialog appears.1 Click t

System Requirements & TroubleshootingHardware and Software Requirements To use Contour you need:•at least 128 MB (megabytes) of available memory (

Contour NotesNotes Before using Contour, you should have a basic knowledge of Mac OS X. You should understand pointing, clicking, double-clicking, dra

Chapter 2: Process OverviewContour is a multi-step approach to producing a structurally sound outline from which to write screenplays, guiding the wri

The Four QuestionsIn ascertaining whether a story is worth telling, any story idea is subjected to the Four Questions:1. Who is your main character?2.

The Four ArchetypesThere are six archetypes that real-life people live by: Innocent, Orphan, Magician, Wanderer, Martyr and War-rior. The theory is th

In Act I, the Orphan is sometimes a real orphan; sometimes a figurative one. At times, the cause of his or-phanhood is outside of his control, yet at o

The Central QuestionThroughout the story, the Protagonist moves closer and closer to answering the Central Question; once the question is answered, th

Plot PointsA plot point is a discreet, unique and essential chunk of story information. In the hierarchy of scriptwriting it falls out above beats and

Chapter 3: Adding a ScreenplaySo you have an idea for a movie. How do you know if itʼs worth writing? The first step in finding out if your idea passes

Chapter 1: Introduction! 4Philosophy of Contour! 5Installing & Launching! 7Registration! 8Check For Updates! 10System Requirements & Troublesh

The User InterfaceContour is made up of several parts. The overarching part is the concept, the contour system of story development. The user interfac

Progress MeterThe progress meter provides you the ability to see the progress of your idea in a timeline fashion. Each “tick” along the timeline is eq

Adding a ScreenplayA Screenplay outline in Contour can be added in three different ways.Using the menu or keyboard, hereʼs how:1 Click on the File men

Deleting a ScreenplayA Screenplay outline in Contour can be removed in a few different ways. Hereʼs how:1 Click on the title to be removed.2 Choose Fi

Chapter 4: The Four QuestionsThe first, great mistake of every failed screenplay can often be traced to a weak central idea. A seemingly good idea runs

Answering the Four QuestionsUsing the screenplay idea of your choice, answer the four questions. 1 Choose your Screenplay in the Title pane.2 Move the

Chapter 5: The ArchetypesNow that the four questions are answered, itʼs time to take a good, hard look at the protagonist in your story to define his j

Entering Archetype InformationTaking the screenplay idea of your choice, answer the four questions.1 Click on the title in the Screenplay Title pane.2

Chapter 6: The FormulaOne of the concepts that we discussed in Chapter 2 was the concept of the formula, which amplifies, expands, and clarifies the pro

Constructing the “A” (Orphan) StatementRemember that all journeys begin with the Orphan Archetype, who is unique in some way, shape or form, ei-ther i

The First Half of Act II! 48Developing the First Half of Act II in Contour! 49The Second Half of Act II! 51Developing the Second Half of Act II in Con

Constructing the “B” (Wanderer) StatementThe second part of the formula is the “B” statement, which is the Wanderer Statement. Remember that the Wande

Letʼs take a moment to construct your “B” or Wanderer statement. Itʼs assumed that you are already in the Formula field and have just concluded writing

Constructing the “C” (Warrior) StatementThe third part of the formula, the “C” statement, is the Warrior statement, where the Warrior springs into act

Now construct your “C” or Warrior statement:1 Give yourself a little room after your “A” and “B” statements to write your “C” statement. Once youʼre s

Constructing the “D” (Martyr) StatementSo far, the protagonist has been an Orphan, a Wanderer, and a Warrior. Itʼs time for him to sacrifice it all and

Itʼs time to write your “D” or Martyr statement. Again, itʼs assumed youʼve just written the previous statements and youʼre still in The Formula field:

Chapter 7: Act I StructureWith the Central Question established, and always in the forefront, itʼs time to get specific about how weʼre going to answer

Developing Act I Plot Points1 Choose your Screenplay from the Title pane.2 Click on the slider and drag it over to the first Orphan tick.3 Click in eac

Plot Point 1!We meet either the Hero, Victim/Stakes Character, or Antagonist. In E.T. we meet the victim first, E.T. and the aliens; itʼs the same thin

Plot Point 2!We see the Hero’s flaw in relation to the Stakes Character. The stakes character is the face that represents all of the people that the ba

Chapter 1: IntroductionWelcome to the Contour story development system - a system of getting your stories out of your head and down on paper in the sh

Plot Point 3!Antagonist or someone or something symbolic of the Antagonist. We finally meet our bad guy, or at least his representative. Sometimes itʼs

Plot Point 5!Inciting Event. Hero now gets emotionally involved.The hero starts getting tugged out of his ordinary world by an emotional connection to

Plot Point 7Ally (either true or unintentional) aids Hero by propelling him out of the status quo. There are two things that drive your Hero: his want

In all three of these cases are heroes who were living through their everyday existence and through the unsolicited help of an ally, they are pushed o

Plot Point 9The Antagonist or Deflector conflict stops the Hero or threatens emotional stakes.Whatever or whoever has been lurking in the background sta

Plot Point 11!The Deflector or Antagonist threatens to take the Stakes Character from the Hero. This is a beat which the Hero may or may not be aware o

The Central QuestionNow, itʼs time to not only create the Central Question, which we know once itʼs answered, our story is over. Examples of the Centr

Chapter 8: Act II StructureNow that Act I is done, your protagonistʼs journey really kicks into high gear, but itʼs at this point where most writers d

The First Half of Act IIAct I of STAR WARS ends with Luke joining Obi-Wan on his quest to deliver the Death Star plans to the Rebel Alliance, save the

Developing the First Half of Act II in Contour Keeping in mind the fact that your protagonist is now a Wanderer, gaining knowledge, making friends and

Philosophy of ContourContour is a streamlined approach to creating a flawless, professionally structured screenplay outline. Unlike other systems you d

That takes us to the end of the first half of Act II. Itʼs simple and complex at the same time; there are certain things that have to be kept in mind,

The Second Half of Act IIBy mid-point in Act II, your protagonist learns all that they need to learn, or they simply run out of time and must act deci

Developing the Second Half of Act II in Contour Keeping in mind the fact that your protagonist is now a Warrior, and that the severity of his oppositi

5 Press tab to move to the next text field and continue adding “Yes” and “No” plot points until you reach the end of Act II, where the Warrior will ex

Chapter 9: Act III StructureAct III, the Martyr phase of the heroʼs journey, consists of four plot points -- two yesses and two noʼs -- but their orde

Act III Plot Point OverviewThe last four plot points, in order, are BIG YES, NO, BIG NO, FINAL YES. BIG YES - The Hero has achieved a substantial vict

FINAL YES - Pulling success from the jaws of failure, the Hero achieves his main goal, although some-times the goal can be quite different from what t

Developing Act III in ContourKeeping in mind the fact that your protagonist is now a Martyr, and it seems that the Central Question is more elusive th

Chapter 10: LandmarksNow that weʼve established the plot points for Acts I, II, and III, we can now turn our attention toward fleshing out our outline

About Landmarks“Landmarks” in a story are like geographical landmarks; they provide you with familiar features on your journey so you know where you a

In all of the top movies, the main character moves through 4 distinct archetypes during the course of the movie:In act one, the main character is or b

ACT 1 -- 12 PLOT POINTS 1 THROUGH 3 In these first three plot points of Act I, known as “I Donʼt Get No Respect” in the Guide, several landmarks occur,

ACT 1 -- 12 PLOT POINTS 6 THROUGH 8 In these next three plot points of Act I, known as “Calls and Busy Signals” in the Guide, several landmarks should

Act II -- 14 YES-NOs 1 THROUGH 3 In these first three pairs of reversals of Act II, known as “Kick the Dog” in the Guide pane, several landmarks occur:

Act II -- 14 YES-NOs 6 THROUGH 7In these next 2 pairs of reversals of Act II, known as “When Life Gives You Lemons. . .” in the Guide Pane, several la

Act II -- 14 YES-NOs 11 THROUGH 12 In these next two pairs of reversals of Act II, known as “Inside the Whale” in the Guide Pane, several landmarks oc

The hero is at his or her lowest moment, which can be expressed through a character interlude. Act III -- BIG YES - NO In this first pair of reversals

Act III -- BIG NO - FINAL YESIn this last pair of reversals of Act III, known as “Good Guy vs, Bad Guy over Stakes” in the Guide Pane, several land-ma

Chapter 11: The GuideSometimes it's easier to think of your story in bigger moments and then work your way down into the nitty-gritty.! Contour k

Using the GuideThe Guide works as either something you can fill in to broadstroke your story, or something you refer to as you fill in the Plot Points i

Accessing the GuideThe Guide is a display of your plot points, the page numbers they will approximately fall on, and a saying that will point you towa

Installing & LaunchingTo install Contour:1 Mount the disk image by double-clicking on the Contour.dmg file in the Finder. 2 Drag and drop the Conto

Mnemonic SayingsApprox. PagesMnemonic Guide1 - 6I Donʼt Get No Respect6 - 12You Know What Your Trouble Is?12 - 17Calls And Busy Signals17 - 28Through

I DONʼT GET NO RESPECTMost screenplays are about one thing…respect! Your protagonist doesnʼt have it, knows he doesnʼt have it, and wants it. In this

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASSForce the protagonist out of the normal world and have him or her answer the "call to adventure." Sometimes the pro

WHICH WAY IS UP?Give the protagonist a series of successes and failures as he or she "wanders" and starts to master the skills needed to ult

...INSIDE THE WHALEIn classic mythological storytelling, this is the "belly of the beast" or the "inside the darkest cave" moment

WHAT'S THE WORST THAT CAN HAPPEN?The title says it all! Your protagonist's whole life (your whole story) has been built towards both avoidin

Chapter 12: The Idea PaneEvery screenplay, play, short story, or book begin as the glimmer of an idea, born in the imagination of the human mind. Ther

Adding an IdeaThe Idea Pane is a place to store ideas. Any idea that you add will appear no matter what screenplay you are currently working on. There

Modifying an IdeaTo modify an idea previously added to the Idea Pane:1 Click on the Idea title2 Click in the text area below and modify the text.78 of

Removing an IdeaTo remove an idea from the Idea Pane:1 Click on the idea you want to remove.2 Click on the Remove (or minus) button.Hint:Launch Contou

RegistrationTo register Contour:•When you first launch Contouryou are prompted to register the software or operate it in Demo Mode•Click on the hyperli

Chapter 13: Now, What?We have been through quite a journey, getting a handle on what our story is about, creating the Central Question, and taking our

Printing a Structure ReportThe Structure Report provides you with the 44 plot points that you have created for your story.1 Choose File.2 Choose Print

Printing a Beat SheetThe Beat Sheet provides you with the contents of the Guide.1 Choose File.2 Choose Print.3 Choose Structure.4 Click the Print butt

To register Contour (continued):1 Click the Enter Serial button (previous page).2 Enter your name. 3 Enter your name. Enter your serial number. Your s