UNIVERSAL STUDIO's Plot Evaluation Scheme

How Universal Studios evaluates Plots

Plot is the sequence of incidents of which a story is composed. It bears the same relatiship to real life that a map does to a journey. Maps with grosser or finer scales correspond to stories with more or less details. It may include what a character thinks or says or does, but a plot leaves out description or analysis, because that should be left to the final spectator. Immature consumers concentrate on the action, mature spectators enjoy whatever revelations of character and life experience is tramsitted by means of a plot. On the one hand they want schemes and intrigues, mixed identities, disguises, secret messages and similar paraphernalia.
On the other hand, they demand fights by land and sea, dangerous missions and hazardous escapes. In a good story just a minimum of these spices is used in order to transmit a maximum of insight. A discerning spectator may find as much significant action in the way a man greets his friend as in how he handles a sword or rifle.

General Questions for Evaluation

1.Who is the protgonist of the story, is he/she interesting?. What are the conflicts? Are they physical, moral or emotional? Is the main conflict sharply differentiating between good and evil, or is it mor subtle and complex?

2. Does the plot have unity? Are all the episodes relevant to the total maning and effect of the story ? How does each incident grow logically out from its predecessors? Is the ending happy? Is an unhappy or indeterminate ending fairly achieved?

3. How is suspense created in the story ? Is the interest confined to „What hapens next?“ or are larger concerns involved?

4. What does the stoy make of surprise? Are they achieved fairly? Do they serve a significant purpose?

5. To what extent is this a „formula“ story?

Character Evaluation

1.What means does the author use to reveal character ? Are the characters sufficiently dramatized? What use is made of character contrasts?

2. Are characters consistent in their actions? Adequately motivated? Plausible?

3. Is the character fully enough developed to justify his role in the story? Are the main characters round or flat?

4.Is any of the characters a developing character? If so, is the change not too large? Is the change plausible, sufficiently motivated and is it attributed sufficient time to be credible ?

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