Dramatica Theory and the real world of documentary film

I have been slowly and painfully studying and learning Dramatica Theory on and off for years now and, although I've not used it for fiction - yet, Dramatica has had a profound effect on how I approach documentary film.

In order to bring benefit to fiction, Dramatica must help the author to keep a story coherent with its own rules or the audience will reject it out of hand. And, given the cognitive and perceptual make-up of human beings then it must have a foundation of relevant and valid human psychology. Clearly, this is why it can work well with non-fiction too.

Some years ago I was working in an environment made hostile by a very political management. While a friend of mine was still working there we worked up a story structure in Dramatica featuring him as the Main Character.

We were both impressed extremely by the questions that the query system began asking about the relationships between the various characters. Dramatica seemed to have captured something about the essential structure of the situation.

I now use the model as much as I can in order to get to grips with a type of work in which it is very easy to get lost. Dramatica helps provide a compass. And I am particularly impressed by the matrix of genres and modes of expression in Ch19 of the book.

Horizontally the matrix has 4 domains wherein a storyteller's hands get dirty. These are internal and external situations and activities. Examples of each are:

External Situation -Wrongful accusation
External Activity - Trial at Court
Internal Situation - Fear of imprisonment
Internal Activity -  Imagining being victimised by other prisoners

You can imagine a story made from the above and told using a mix of information, drama, comedy and entertainment as appropriate modes of expression. These are represented vertically in the matrix. And where the intersections occur you will find more familiar terms ie where an external activity meets drama you get the realm of Indiana Jones and so on.


SituationActivityFixed AttitudeInternal Situation
ManipulationInternal Activity
Information
(documentary)		What/Where is it?How does it work?What does it mean?Why is it important?
DramaHow are things (un)balanced?What activities cause what problems?What attitudes cause what conflicts?How best to deal with changes or manipulations?
ComedySituation ComedyPhysical Comedy. SlapstickComedy of manners. Farce.Comedy of errors. Twelfth Night.
EntertainmentHorror, disaster, fantasy, musical, sci-fi etcAction, adventure, suspenseEntertaining conceptEntertainment through twists


adapted from Ch 19 of the Dramatica Theory Book

It is this that gave rise to the notion that there are only really four questions about any subject of a documentary: what/where is it?; how does it work?; what does it mean?; why is it important? But as you can see, it's possible to move between modes of expression in order to address the areas that gave rise to the questions. Documentary often uses dramatic storytelling in reconstructions that provide an argument where the evidence is dry and hard to digest. And it can use comedy as is so well done in 'The Yes Men Fix The World'.

Clearly all this is a work in progress and I would be grateful for a head slapping from anyone who spots omissions, glaring mistakes and bits of arrant stupidity etc.

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