Nice job! Most of these are right. But I'd have to agree with some comments below that some of these are actually wrong. Inciting incident creates the inequity in the overall story, affecting all characters, not just the protagonist/main character. For instance: in The Matrix, you have that scene where Neo refuses to help the agents bring in Morpheus. That doesn't change anything afterwards. In fact, I'd argue that the real inciting incident happens off screen on page one, when Neo is decided to be the one; causing an imbalance in the world and in Neo's life. Without that the agents wouldn't go after him. Another example: Star Wars, you might think because it's been a prime example of the Inciting incident for so long that the message given to Luke upsets the balance in his life, but it actually hasn't caused anything for him except curiosity and the Empire's pursuit. The real imbalance and causality; what happens to the innocent Jawas and to Luke's aunt and uncle: is the Empires growing disregard for balance. As seen in the first page again, when Vader illegally boards a civilian ship, meaning the Empire has now overstepped its bounds and has caused an imbalance. Without that you wouldn't have the droids being sent away in secret and for Luke's remaining family to be killed because of it. Another example: you have Good Will Hunting as when he gets arrested. Except this kid has been arrested before. It doesn't change much in his life except the fact that now he has a choice to make which really isn't much of a choice. The real inquiry and imbalance he sets for himself in his own life along with everyone else in the story is when he SOLVED the math problem on the board. Causing our professor to track him down and challenge Will to a better life for himself.
Could you make the argument that the inciting incident for the matrix is the opening chase scene? It “sets the story in motion” as Syd Field explains, as it sets up the world bending nature of the universe in the movie, so therefore Neo getting recruited and taking the pill would in fact be the ‘key’ incident, not the inciting incident? As Syd Field explains in his book that the key incident “sets up what the story is about”, it ties the main character into the larger events of the story revealed during the inciting incident, and that seems like a more accurate description of what’s happening when Neo takes the pill, so doesn’t that make that moment the ‘key’ incident, and not the inciting one? So far pretty much everyone I’ve seen discuss this online refers to what Syd field describes as the ‘key’ incident (plot point 1) as the ‘inciting’ incident, whereas Syd describes a clear destination between the two
Thank you, this is great. There seems to be a lot of debate about The Matrix Inciting Incident. Many say it's the moment when Neo chooses to follow the white rabbit and then finishes when he meets Trinity. But I agree you have the true inciting incident.
Inciting incident: early point where exposition ends and the normal world gets disrupted, ex: Matrix: Neo gets contacted by outside source and his interest is peaked (computer screen scene)/ hobbit: dwarves and gandalf knock on his door and come in; Plot point one: Adventure begins; main character decides to take on the challenge, makes first important decision, changes the world for most characters ex: Matrix: Neo picks pill (he can choose to go back to normal or to discover the matrix), Hobbit: he signs the contract, famous i'm going on an adventure scene .
Hey there! I’m slightly confused, surely these moments you just mentioned all act as plot point 1, no? And if that’s the case then surely these moments are the key incidents, not inciting incidents? Syd Fields book on screenwriting specifically distinguishes between these two kinds of incidents
the point of attack comes before inciting incident... ti is the first scene of the film. it should in some way real character, theme, and foreshadow ending.
Great information. Some of the inciting incidents are wrong, but overall the logic is still there.The Wizard of Oz is spot on. Given the conflict is how to get home, it makes sense the inciting incident would be Dorothy being taken from her home. • In the 127 hours video, the boulder moving and the protagonist falling is the inciting incident, the clips also contains the point of no return where the protagonist gets trapped. They happen consecutively. • The Alice in Wonderland inciting incident is interesting because I always thought Alice meeting the rabbit and hearing "I'm late" would've been the inciting incident and Alice falling down the hole would be the point of no return. This is actually a common US colloquialism referencing Alice in Wonderland "going down the rabbit hole" to mean there is no turning back. • Star Wars is accurate. The recording changes Luke's life, but he's not committed. • The Matrix is incorrect. The message on Neo's computer telling him to follow the rabbit is the inciting incident because it disrupts his normal life. Neo is depicted as a careful hermit, yet he follows a stranger because a message on his pc told him to.
A question about the movies Wizard of Oz, 127 Hours, Good Will Hunting, Back to the Future and Little Miss Sunshine: if those moments are their inciting incident, what would be their first turning point in the end of first act?
ledepi34 Good Will Hunting: When Will agrees to go to therapy and do math with the professor once a week. Back to the Future: When he goes back in time and gets in the way of his mom meeting his dad. Little Miss Sunshine: when they actually hit the road to take her to the pageant.
The point of no return in the Wizard of Oz would be Dorothy setting off on the yellow brick road. It's isn't until this point Dorothy fully commits to her involvement in the central conflict, how to get home.
Inciting movies I've seen so far: 127 Hours, The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, The Truman Show, 12 Angry Men, The Matrix, Black Swan, The Big Lebowski, The Karate Kid, Good Will Hunting, Gran Torino, Back to the Future, Kill Bill Vol. 1, The Social Network, Sideways, The Shawshank Redemption, The Terminator, Psycho, Jaws, and Toy Story.
This is a set up super cut not inciting incident. Whilst the two can often be the same, a lot of these films have inciting incidents occurring before the set up
Many of these inciting incidents are wrong. The Matrix one is wrong. Hangover is way off. Inciting incident is usually around page 10-15 sometimes earlier. The scene here from hangover is 31 minutes into the movie, long after the inciting incident.
+snorri500 I think The Matrix Inciting Incident in this video is accurate. Inciting Incidents can come later in movies. It has to be something that greatly upsets balance in the protagonists life, in terms of positive or negative. It arouses within him/her the desire to restore balance. He conceives of an "object" of desire (rarely an actual object). It propels the protagonist into an active persuit of his objective/goal. And it may arouse an unconscious desire that conflicts with his conscious desire.
+snorri500 The Hangover seemed fine to me, the whole movie their goal was to find Doug, after realizing that he no longer has his phone they begin to try and piece together what happened the night before, they start looking for Doug. Not all plot points need to be spot on a certain time, or near it. Yes it is a bit odd this happens 31 minutes into The Hangover, but the story doesn't start until then either, the minutes prior to this are used introducing us to the characters and the state of their lives, which added more meat to the story and somehow intertwined with the main plot. Such as Stu's story.
+steve french You obviously have no idea what you're talking about. In Hangover the inciting incident happens when they go to the rooftop of their hotel and Alan pours everyone a shot while they give a toast to Doug. The big event is when they wake up in their villa at Caesar's Palace and have no recollection of the night before. The scene here where they find Doug's phone is a scene to move the story forward, it's not the inciting incident.
+snorri500 Hi, I'm the guy who cut the video. I think what's interesting is that many of them are open to interpretation. The reason, in my opinion, is that the concept of an "inciting incident" has no concrete factual basis, and its simply a theory from Robert McKee. For example, you could argue that seeing the tornado for the first time is the I.I. in Wizard of Oz, but I felt it was more important to isolate the moment she flies into it. According to McKee, the I.I. is when "life is thrown out of balance. That imbalance arouses in the protagonist a desire to put life back on an even keel." McKee also states "Does my Inciting Incident hook, or engage, the curiosity of the audience/reader and raise in their minds the Major Dramatic Question: "How will this turn out?" In many of the movies I picked, there are actually several moments when the I.I. could happen, and I simply picked one of them. In the case of the The Hangover, I do believe it's not the moment on the roof, based on McKee's perspective, and that the moment they discover Doug is missing is the I.I because it propels the story forward. (I think the page number is irrelevant. You have to look at it from a character and story point of view.) The Matrix is super interesting. I did struggle with that one, and was always going to put the moment he eats the red pill as the scene. And to be honest I'm still not 100% sure with that one. But I picked that one because it's the FIRST indication that something is amiss. Jaws could be wrong because it doesn't involve the protagonist, but its up for debate. Fight Club could be wrong too, and you could argue that the moment he meets Brad Pitt is the I.I. In any case, there's definitely interpretation in many of them. Thanks for being engaged.
+snorri500 "You obviously have no idea what you're talking about. In Hangover the inciting incident happens when they go to the rooftop of their hotel and Alan pours everyone a shot while they give a toast to Doug" ...and you think YOU know what you are talking about? The whole goal is this movie is to find Doug, the inciting incident/catalyst provides the main character(s) with a goal or desire, you really think they started to look for Doug as they were taking shots with him on the rooftop? The Big Event IMO is when they go to the hospital and discover they have been drugged. How can this not be a big event? They find out someone has drugged them and still have no idea where Doug is, they have stolen a cop car and have no recollection of the night before. Just because someone has a different opinion doesn't mean they don't know what they are talking about you fucking idiot.
![กี่หมื่นฟ้า | Your Sky Series EP.1 [2/4]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qJbQs_nhjD4/mqdefault.jpg)
Nice job! Most of these are right. But I'd have to agree with some comments below that some of these are actually wrong. Inciting incident creates the inequity in the overall story, affecting all characters, not just the protagonist/main character. For instance: in The Matrix, you have that scene where Neo refuses to help the agents bring in Morpheus. That doesn't change anything afterwards. In fact, I'd argue that the real inciting incident happens off screen on page one, when Neo is decided to be the one; causing an imbalance in the world and in Neo's life. Without that the agents wouldn't go after him. Another example: Star Wars, you might think because it's been a prime example of the Inciting incident for so long that the message given to Luke upsets the balance in his life, but it actually hasn't caused anything for him except curiosity and the Empire's pursuit. The real imbalance and causality; what happens to the innocent Jawas and to Luke's aunt and uncle: is the Empires growing disregard for balance. As seen in the first page again, when Vader illegally boards a civilian ship, meaning the Empire has now overstepped its bounds and has caused an imbalance. Without that you wouldn't have the droids being sent away in secret and for Luke's remaining family to be killed because of it. Another example: you have Good Will Hunting as when he gets arrested. Except this kid has been arrested before. It doesn't change much in his life except the fact that now he has a choice to make which really isn't much of a choice. The real inquiry and imbalance he sets for himself in his own life along with everyone else in the story is when he SOLVED the math problem on the board. Causing our professor to track him down and challenge Will to a better life for himself.
Could you make the argument that the inciting incident for the matrix is the opening chase scene? It “sets the story in motion” as Syd Field explains, as it sets up the world bending nature of the universe in the movie, so therefore Neo getting recruited and taking the pill would in fact be the ‘key’ incident, not the inciting incident? As Syd Field explains in his book that the key incident “sets up what the story is about”, it ties the main character into the larger events of the story revealed during the inciting incident, and that seems like a more accurate description of what’s happening when Neo takes the pill, so doesn’t that make that moment the ‘key’ incident, and not the inciting one? So far pretty much everyone I’ve seen discuss this online refers to what Syd field describes as the ‘key’ incident (plot point 1) as the ‘inciting’ incident, whereas Syd describes a clear destination between the two
I’m reading the book “Story” at the moment and I found this vid a great learning tool.
Thank you !! I really needed this for my film class
Thank you, this is a great teaching tool!
Thank you, this is great. There seems to be a lot of debate about The Matrix Inciting Incident. Many say it's the moment when Neo chooses to follow the white rabbit and then finishes when he meets Trinity. But I agree you have the true inciting incident.
Inciting incident: early point where exposition ends and the normal world gets disrupted, ex: Matrix: Neo gets contacted by outside source and his interest is peaked (computer screen scene)/ hobbit: dwarves and gandalf knock on his door and come in; Plot point one: Adventure begins; main character decides to take on the challenge, makes first important decision, changes the world for most characters ex: Matrix: Neo picks pill (he can choose to go back to normal or to discover the matrix), Hobbit: he signs the contract, famous i'm going on an adventure scene .
Hey there! I’m slightly confused, surely these moments you just mentioned all act as plot point 1, no? And if that’s the case then surely these moments are the key incidents, not inciting incidents? Syd Fields book on screenwriting specifically distinguishes between these two kinds of incidents
the point of attack comes before inciting incident... ti is the first scene of the film. it should in some way real character, theme, and foreshadow ending.
Great information. Some of the inciting incidents are wrong, but overall the logic is still there.The Wizard of Oz is spot on. Given the conflict is how to get home, it makes sense the inciting incident would be Dorothy being taken from her home.
• In the 127 hours video, the boulder moving and the protagonist falling is the inciting incident, the clips also contains the point of no return where the protagonist gets trapped. They happen consecutively.
• The Alice in Wonderland inciting incident is interesting because I always thought Alice meeting the rabbit and hearing "I'm late" would've been the inciting incident and Alice falling down the hole would be the point of no return. This is actually a common US colloquialism referencing Alice in Wonderland "going down the rabbit hole" to mean there is no turning back.
• Star Wars is accurate. The recording changes Luke's life, but he's not committed.
• The Matrix is incorrect. The message on Neo's computer telling him to follow the rabbit is the inciting incident because it disrupts his normal life. Neo is depicted as a careful hermit, yet he follows a stranger because a message on his pc told him to.
A question about the movies Wizard of Oz, 127 Hours, Good Will Hunting, Back to the Future and Little Miss Sunshine: if those moments are their inciting incident, what would be their first turning point in the end of first act?
ledepi34
Good Will Hunting: When Will agrees to go to therapy and do math with the professor once a week.
Back to the Future: When he goes back in time and gets in the way of his mom meeting his dad.
Little Miss Sunshine: when they actually hit the road to take her to the pageant.
The point of no return in the Wizard of Oz would be Dorothy setting off on the yellow brick road. It's isn't until this point Dorothy fully commits to her involvement in the central conflict, how to get home.
Inciting movies I've seen so far:
127 Hours, The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, The Truman Show, 12 Angry Men, The Matrix, Black Swan, The Big Lebowski, The Karate Kid, Good Will Hunting, Gran Torino, Back to the Future, Kill Bill Vol. 1, The Social Network, Sideways, The Shawshank Redemption, The Terminator, Psycho, Jaws, and Toy Story.
How can this be a great teaching tool for students under 18????
Awesome!
What mean inciting incident
This is a set up super cut not inciting incident. Whilst the two can often be the same, a lot of these films have inciting incidents occurring before the set up
Many of these inciting incidents are wrong. The Matrix one is wrong. Hangover is way off. Inciting incident is usually around page 10-15 sometimes earlier. The scene here from hangover is 31 minutes into the movie, long after the inciting incident.
+snorri500 I think The Matrix Inciting Incident in this video is accurate. Inciting Incidents can come later in movies. It has to be something that greatly upsets balance in the protagonists life, in terms of positive or negative. It arouses within him/her the desire to restore balance. He conceives of an "object" of desire (rarely an actual object). It propels the protagonist into an active persuit of his objective/goal. And it may arouse an unconscious desire that conflicts with his conscious desire.
+snorri500 The Hangover seemed fine to me, the whole movie their goal was to find Doug, after realizing that he no longer has his phone they begin to try and piece together what happened the night before, they start looking for Doug.
Not all plot points need to be spot on a certain time, or near it. Yes it is a bit odd this happens 31 minutes into The Hangover, but the story doesn't start until then either, the minutes prior to this are used introducing us to the characters and the state of their lives, which added more meat to the story and somehow intertwined with the main plot. Such as Stu's story.
+steve french You obviously have no idea what you're talking about. In Hangover the inciting incident happens when they go to the rooftop of their hotel and Alan pours everyone a shot while they give a toast to Doug. The big event is when they wake up in their villa at Caesar's Palace and have no recollection of the night before. The scene here where they find Doug's phone is a scene to move the story forward, it's not the inciting incident.
+snorri500 Hi, I'm the guy who cut the video. I think what's interesting is that many of them are open to interpretation. The reason, in my opinion, is that the concept of an "inciting incident" has no concrete factual basis, and its simply a theory from Robert McKee. For example, you could argue that seeing the tornado for the first time is the I.I. in Wizard of Oz, but I felt it was more important to isolate the moment she flies into it.
According to McKee, the I.I. is when "life is thrown out of balance. That imbalance arouses in the protagonist a desire to put life back on an even keel." McKee also states "Does my Inciting Incident hook, or engage, the curiosity of the audience/reader and raise in their minds the Major Dramatic Question: "How will this turn out?"
In many of the movies I picked, there are actually several moments when the I.I. could happen, and I simply picked one of them. In the case of the The Hangover, I do believe it's not the moment on the roof, based on McKee's perspective, and that the moment they discover Doug is missing is the I.I because it propels the story forward. (I think the page number is irrelevant. You have to look at it from a character and story point of view.) The Matrix is super interesting. I did struggle with that one, and was always going to put the moment he eats the red pill as the scene. And to be honest I'm still not 100% sure with that one. But I picked that one because it's the FIRST indication that something is amiss. Jaws could be wrong because it doesn't involve the protagonist, but its up for debate. Fight Club could be wrong too, and you could argue that the moment he meets Brad Pitt is the I.I.
In any case, there's definitely interpretation in many of them. Thanks for being engaged.
+snorri500 "You obviously have no idea what you're talking about. In Hangover the inciting incident happens when they go to the rooftop of their hotel and Alan pours everyone a shot while they give a toast to Doug"
...and you think YOU know what you are talking about? The whole goal is this movie is to find Doug, the inciting incident/catalyst provides the main character(s) with a goal or desire, you really think they started to look for Doug as they were taking shots with him on the rooftop?
The Big Event IMO is when they go to the hospital and discover they have been drugged. How can this not be a big event? They find out someone has drugged them and still have no idea where Doug is, they have stolen a cop car and have no recollection of the night before.
Just because someone has a different opinion doesn't mean they don't know what they are talking about you fucking idiot.