PHYSICALIZATION: The act of taking a concept or that which cannot be seen in the physical world and representing it via physical means.
When you are writing a treatment, you’ll often have a concept in your head about certain details in your story yet they still lack a level of clarity. It could be any aspect – a character’s personality, the way a character behaves, or the action of the story, etc.
Heck, maybe you don’t even have a story. Just a few words about what you want it to be about. We need a movie topic. How about? FINANCIAL AID AT TOWSON
Ok. Good. But we need more. Let’s physicalize it. How could we physicalize that topic?
A story about a great Towson student who discovers their financial aid didn’t come through and has to go argue their case to a tough financial aid rep, only to get it back ultimately.
Great. Physicalize it even more. Put in on the STORY PARADIGM and see how much physicalization organically comes out of it.
Main character: great Towson Student
What do they want: to go to school
How do they take action to get it: by attending class
How Does it Meets With Conflict: They lose their financial aid
How Does it Build to a Climax: They go to see the tough financial aid counselor What’s the resolution: They get their financial aid
How is character change created, if any: The Towson Student learns not to let their untrustworthy roommate be the one to submit their FAFSA
Great. Let’s give it more specificity. And the continued process to do this is physicalization.
Just look at some of the questions that we can ask with that I mind:
-How do we mean here?
-How do we
-How do we
-How do we
-How do we
-How do we
Ok. Let’s apply some answers using physicalization, and see what happens:
-How do we physicalize that the Towson student is great? What does ‘great’ even mean here? By great I mean a straight ‘A-student’. And we physicalize this by seeing the student get ‘A’ grades.
-How do we physicalize the student wants to go to school?
By showing them choose to go to go to school over hanging out with their roommate and watching “Family Guy.”
-How do we physicalize them attending class?
By showing them attend class.
-How do we physicalize them losing their financial aid?
By showing them get an email from financial aid, saying they are ineligible because they did not submit their FAFSA.
-How do we physicalize that the financial aid counselor is tough?
By showing them with a judge’s gavel and a miniature guillotine on their desk.
-How do we physicalize the student getting their financial aid?
physicalize that the Towson student is great? What does ‘great’ even
physicalize the student wants to go to school?
physicalize them attending class?
physicalize them losing their financial aid?
physicalize that the financial aid counselor is tough?
physicalize the student getting their financial aid?
physicalize that the student learned not to let their untrustworthy
-How do we
roommate be the one to send in their Fafsa?
By showing them get a letter from financial aid saying they were reinstated with aid.
-How do we physicalize that the student learned not to let their untrustworthy roommate be the one to send in their Fafsa?
By showing them pull their income taxes out of their roommate hand’s as he’s about to go to the post office.
