DZ-96: Ensembles 1 - What do we mean by an ensemble?

Listen if you're working on a story with multiple protagonists and want to understand what makes an ensemble different from a single-protagonist narrative

In the first part of our series on ensembles, Chas, Stu and Mel start by laying the groundwork for our future episodes. And we begin by asking the seemingly innocuous question: What do we mean by calling a story an ensemble?

As we unpack our own assumptions, biases and thoughts, we ask (and attempt to answer) more questions: How does an ensemble differ from a single protagonist or two hander? Why does this distinction even matter? What challenges What genres inherently are ensembles? And what do we hope to learn from the series?

We ice-skate over myriad films including JURASSIC PARK, ALIEN, TOP GUN vs TOP GUN: MAVERICK, DEATH AT A FUNERAL, WAR OF THE WORLDS vs INDEPENDENCE DAY, LORD OF THE RINGS vs WILLOW, OCEAN’S 11 vs OUT OF SIGHT, THIEF vs HEAT, AWAY FROM HER, DIRTY DOZEN, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, SE7EN, READY OR NOT. Look, there’s heaps. We talk a lot of movies. Thanks to Chris Walker for editing this episode. <3 Chris!

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

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→ Read the transcript for this episode.

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CHAPTERS

• 00:00:00 – Cold Open
• 00:00:09 – ScriptUp Sponsorship
• 00:00:48 – Intro to Ensembles: Series Scope and Episode Roadmap
• 00:04:17 – What Makes a Story an Ensemble?
• 00:07:40 – › Character interaction, not just character count, defines ensemble
• 00:11:39 – › Character questions and agendas as markers of individuation
• 00:17:09 – › How genre conventions shape ensemble versus single-protagonist focus
• 00:22:44 – › Structural rhythms of splitting and reassembling the group
• 00:26:51 – A Taxonomy of Ensemble Genres
• 00:29:57 – › Why heist films structurally demand an ensemble cast
• 00:35:41 – › Scale and disaster films as ensemble drivers
• 00:39:21 – › Hangout and holiday films as inherently ensemble forms
• 00:43:59 – › Murder mystery versus detective story on the ensemble spectrum
• 00:47:25 – ArcStudio Sponsorship
• 00:48:32 – Group Dynamics: How Characters Interact Within the Ensemble
• 00:53:19 – › Competitive, Combative, and Collaborative as the core dynamic framework
• 00:59:25 – › How couplets and shifting alliances generate ensemble momentum
• 01:01:20 – › Character archetypes as shorthand when screen time is compressed
• 01:05:15 – › Why shared context explains why these characters occupy the same story world
• 01:08:39 – Wrap Up & Hopeful Learnings
• 01:12:32 – › Cohesion, integration, and what ensemble demands of theme
• 01:15:15 – Patreon Thanks

FILMS

• JURASSIC PARK (1993) — (w) Michael Crichton, David Koepp, Michael Crichton (d) Steven Spielberg
• ALIEN (1979) — (w) Dan Obannon, Dan Obannon, Ronald Shusett (d) Ridley Scott
• HEAT (1995) — (w) Michael Mann
• TOP GUN: MAVERICK (2022) — (w) Eric Warren Singer, Ehren Kruger, Christopher Mcquarrie, Justin Marks, Peter Craig (d) Joseph Kosinski
• OCEAN'S ELEVEN (2001) — (w) Ted Griffin (d) Steven Soderbergh

SCRIPTS

• Study the script: JURASSIC PARK (1993) — Michael Crichton, David Koepp, Michael Crichton
• Study the script: ALIEN (1979) — Dan Obannon, Dan Obannon, Ronald Shusett
• Study the script: HEAT (1995) — Michael Mann
• Study the script: TOP GUN: MAVERICK (2022) — Eric Warren Singer, Ehren Kruger, Christopher Mcquarrie, Justin Marks, Peter Craig
• Study the script: OCEAN'S ELEVEN (2001) — Ted Griffin

SHOT ZERO DEEP DIVES

• ALIEN Aesthetic (Pt 3) - Framing Ripley
• ALIEN Aesthetic (Pt 2) - The Ensemble
• ALIEN Aesthetic (Pt 1) - The Visual Strategies
• ▶ How does Ripley take control in Alien?
• ▶ Ripley invades Ash's space in Alien
• ▶ Facehugger attacks Ripley in Alien
• ▶ Why the fight choreography of Arnie's TOTAL RECALL is so good (and so brutal).

LINKS

• Sponsor: ScriptUp - use promo code DZ10 to get 10% off
• Spsonor: ArcStudio - for $30 off a subscription!

EPISODES IN THE ENSEMBLES SERIES

• DZ-96: Ensembles 1 - What do we mean by an ensemble?
• DZ-97: Ensembles 2 - Servicing Characters
• DZ-98: Ensembles 3 - Character Function & Theme

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Full show notes at: https://draft-zero.com/2023/dz-96/