Music has scales / raagas. What about storytelling in movies and prestige shows?

Hm question is who signed off this otherwise apparently Claude produced page.

The paragraph in the beginning reminded me of the 5-step story structure I was taught at school, and I just noticed that it is only featured on the French Wikipedia page [0]. In my experience it worked quite well for classical linear stories, and highlighting it in a text back at school also scored a lot of marks during exams, so now I am somewhat trained at recognizing it.

[0]: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sch%C3%A9ma_narratif (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sch%C3%A9ma_quinaire is also describing the same thing)

Very interesting premise in the title. Something like the seven basic plots of Western storytelling, but built from an Indian perspective?

Anyway the site is too clever for its own good and crashes out with a "We hit an error" modal overlay on Safari on Mac, so I'll never know.

This is a very interesting concept. I see in your replies to other comments that you are looking at movies from different cultures, which would be a great test of your idea. Once you have sufficiently advanced, it would be great to look at theatre too. I have a hypothesis that movie-writing began to diverge from theatre-writing in the very late 20th century in terms of structure and writing with the rise of the blockbuster and the emphasis on spectacle, and we lost something after that.

so raagas are like scales? i thought it was just a type of music where the same songs are played by every artist, like blues, so maybe i don't get this idea at all. but is it about the order of scenes in movies? or like which scenes are "allowed" in a movie of a particular genre? in any case, are you familiar with the Aarne Thompson Uther index?

For individual notes there's https://tvtropes.org

This has been almost 2.5 years in the making.

The question we started off with was - if there are scales and raagas for music, is there something similar for storytelling. What goes well after what beat.

That took us through a journey.

Building Quanten Pulse, which led to Quanten Arc (real data, that led to a model), which then allowed us to create a benchmark database of more than 400 films.

So if you breakdown 400 hollywood blockbusters, and break them scene by scene, map emotions and durations, and character arcs, what is the patterns that you see - and if you step back, do you see clusters of patterns that resonate well.

Most people in hollywood write stories in two structures - predominantly. It is either Save the Cat, or the Heroes journey. But what if you don't want to save cats or go on the journey? (imagine if someone telling a musician, you have two scales - thats it).

We took a peek into the 400 and found 15 different narrative structures that work well. I have a feeling as we expand - into regional cinema, and different formats, we will find more.

Tell me what you think : https://arc.quanten.co/archetype

PS: While we started with Hollywood, we are starting to do this analysis for Bollywood films too (though finding scripts has been difficult)

Hm question is who signed off this otherwise apparently Claude produced page.

[0]: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sch%C3%A9ma_narratif (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sch%C3%A9ma_quinaire is also describing the same thing)

You are spot on. The simpler version of this is the three step story structure - setup, conflict, resolution. Which is what is used in most pitches etc.

But as stories get more complex, with multiple stories weaving in and also as you bring different genres in, some structures are better than others for different stories.

While I have figured out 15 so far, I want to take the WGA 101 screenplays of all time, which goes all the way from Casablanca, - and i want to see how some of these structures have evolved and are evolving over time.

For eg, since the past 2-3 years, leaving an open end (like in the case of Project Hail Mary in a new universe) shows up in 12% of films, compared to less than 1% before that. Those kind of insights are interesting.

Thanks for sharing that link.

For individual notes there's https://tvtropes.org

Doesn't the format by itself implicitly change the structure of the content? I know some friends who are in theatre, and even when they do 4 shows a week, there are variations that they make constantly that no two shows are the same.

My musician friends who are scholars in indian music tell me that there is a difference between a written raaga and a performed raaga and in a performed raaga, the actor has the right to improvize on that.

Im trying very hard to not go into the rabbit hole which might become purely academic :) But i would think that if we take how youtube content is structured, or tiktoks are, each format would lend to a new structure.

Thats my sense, i could be wrong. What do you think?

Is this mostly used to flesh out character profiles?

Raagas are like scales (which is a massive reduction though) because they are a bit more complicated. Each raaga has time, emotion attached to it as well - there are raagas you can use in a time of a day (in the morning, but not evening for a evening song etc). But yes, scales are the closest it comes to.

There are 72 major raagas - called mela kartha raagas - those are the root raagas, and there are combinations and permutations done that generates the janya raagas - which is children raagas (there are thousands of those - and different artists can create variations on these).

Most films in Hollywood have narrative beats - its 7-8 beats. Each tv show for eg, has 5-6 beats. Most micro drama episode has 2-4 beats. Its quite structure that way.

If you take a structure like Save the cat, or Heroes' journey, the order of the beats are also quite well laid out - just that those two structures dont cover the span of stories, and rest is all quite undocumented.

Im trying to work backwards - and quite aware that i am probably identifying derivatives than the root, but even the derivatives can be quite useful to guide others from generating engaging content.

I am not aware of Aarne Thompson's work. I'm looking it up right now...

Very interesting premise in the title. Something like the seven basic plots of Western storytelling, but built from an Indian perspective?

Anyway the site is too clever for its own good and crashes out with a "We hit an error" modal overlay on Safari on Mac, so I'll never know.

It should be good now. I spotted a few readability issues on some places, so wanted to push out a quick update so that i dont inconvenience everyone. You can check now.

This has been almost 2.5 years in the making.

The question we started off with was - if there are scales and raagas for music, is there something similar for storytelling. What goes well after what beat.

That took us through a journey.

Building Quanten Pulse, which led to Quanten Arc (real data, that led to a model), which then allowed us to create a benchmark database of more than 400 films.

We took a peek into the 400 and found 15 different narrative structures that work well. I have a feeling as we expand - into regional cinema, and different formats, we will find more.

Tell me what you think : https://arc.quanten.co/archetype

PS: While we started with Hollywood, we are starting to do this analysis for Bollywood films too (though finding scripts has been difficult)

Since you asked us to tell you what we think:

How do you deal with emotions that only exist (as their own concepts) in certain cultures (saudade in Portugal, hygge in Scandinavia)?

Seems like a cool idea but it's kinda hard to tell without seeing a whole movie or two fully broken down into those scale steps. Maybe it's there behind a paywall.

Cool. I would go into the european or auteur films. Also Asian films like wkw.

You are spot on. The simpler version of this is the three step story structure - setup, conflict, resolution. Which is what is used in most pitches etc.

But as stories get more complex, with multiple stories weaving in and also as you bring different genres in, some structures are better than others for different stories.

Thanks for sharing that link.

The music analogy is very pleasant. Let me share another stab with similar inspiration. The parallel I'd make is with harmony. For instance in LOTR Dominant is when Frodo and Gollum struggle at the cliff of Mount Doom, they lose control of the Ring that makes an upwards arc spinning. Max tension. Fast forward, Frodo returns to Shire, music is at home again. Tension resolves. (Tonic). So setup, conflict, resolution would be pre-dominant, dominant and tonic. Subplots are secondary dominants.

Thats my sense, i could be wrong. What do you think?

I guess I am talking about analysing the written works more than the final acted piece (e.g. a book of Sam Shepard plays vs their performance). That would be good enough, I think.

I totally get why you would want to avoid the rabbit hole but your work is super interesting and I hope that you do get the luxury of being able to dive into adjacent formats and comparing them.

It should be good now. I spotted a few readability issues on some places, so wanted to push out a quick update so that i dont inconvenience everyone. You can check now.

Since you asked us to tell you what we think:

How do you deal with emotions that only exist (as their own concepts) in certain cultures (saudade in Portugal, hygge in Scandinavia)?

Most films in Hollywood have narrative beats - its 7-8 beats. Each tv show for eg, has 5-6 beats. Most micro drama episode has 2-4 beats. Its quite structure that way.

Im trying to work backwards - and quite aware that i am probably identifying derivatives than the root, but even the derivatives can be quite useful to guide others from generating engaging content.

I am not aware of Aarne Thompson's work. I'm looking it up right now...

Is this mostly used to flesh out character profiles?

Cool. I would go into the european or auteur films. Also Asian films like wkw.

Yep, that's definitely on the list. The only issue that I am battling with is how to take something as a positive signal to build these patterns on. Because if i take the entire universe of films, there is probably every variation of arcs. But some have worked / resonated with audiences and some haven't. The way European Cinema has been funded (predominantly through governments) mean that they do the film circuit and then disappear - and the filmmakers are off to make the next film grant. How do i find the signal to identify whats a good film or not.

There was this snide remark that someone in hollywood made where they said, they make movies whereas Europe makes (art) cinema.

I havent figured out how to resolve that yet.

But yes to korean, japanese films - that's very much on the list.

I guess I am talking about analysing the written works more than the final acted piece (e.g. a book of Sam Shepard plays vs their performance). That would be good enough, I think.

I totally get why you would want to avoid the rabbit hole but your work is super interesting and I hope that you do get the luxury of being able to dive into adjacent formats and comparing them.

I dont want to say anything and get into trouble like Chalamet :)

But yes, I do believe that if AI is going to get so good at things that we are all going to have free time, we are going to have more time for entertainment. It is either going to be the arena or protests - and theatre might reclaim its glory days.

Ive been watching some of the shows by the National Theatre via streaming and do enjoy them.

Adjacency wise, a few startups have asked if they can use this framework to finetune their storytelling. Im still thinking.

There was this snide remark that someone in hollywood made where they said, they make movies whereas Europe makes (art) cinema.

I havent figured out how to resolve that yet.

But yes to korean, japanese films - that's very much on the list.

Seems like a cool idea but it's kinda hard to tell without seeing a whole movie or two fully broken down into those scale steps. Maybe it's there behind a paywall.

We've made a few of that data fully visible. Try this :

http://arc.quanten.co/showcase/film (Anora) http://arc.quanten.co/showcase/series (The Pitt S01E01)

I dont want to say anything and get into trouble like Chalamet :)

Ive been watching some of the shows by the National Theatre via streaming and do enjoy them.

Adjacency wise, a few startups have asked if they can use this framework to finetune their storytelling. Im still thinking.

Another view is that theatre is local, low-infrastructure storytelling. It's been so important to us as a species, we don't want to forget it in preference of only following storytelling distributed by corporations.

We've made a few of that data fully visible. Try this :

http://arc.quanten.co/showcase/film (Anora) http://arc.quanten.co/showcase/series (The Pitt S01E01)

imagine if the text was bright enough to read

This is a valid feedback. I'll get that fixed right away.

Quanten Arc Insights

15 structural archetypes derived from 405 films. Each archetype is defined by five parameters borrowed from Hindustani classical music, a system built on the idea that melody is not just sound but emotional territory. We extended this logic to narrative structure: screen time replaces note duration, dramatic registers replace musical registers, and the characteristic phrase of a raaga becomes the beat trajectory of a story. The result is a structural grammar for film that is precise enough to classify and legible enough to write from.

Ga-Dominant

Ma-Dominant

Pa-Dominant

Ri-Dominant

Dha-Dominant

The Five Parameters

VadiThe Dominant Note

In music: In Hindustani classical music, the vadi is the most important note of a raaga, the one the melody keeps returning to, the note that gives the raaga its fundamental character.

In story: The emotional register with the most screen time. The vadi tells you what a story is fundamentally about: whether it is a story of pursuit, reversal, crisis, incitement, or revelation.

SamvadiThe Supporting Note

In music: The samvadi is the vadi's consonant partner, always a fourth or fifth away. It complements and supports without displacing the dominant note.

In story: The secondary structural engine. The samvadi provides contrast and complicates the vadi, often determining the specific character of a story within its family. Two stories can share the same vadi but feel very different because of their samvadi.

GrahaThe Opening Note

In music: The graha is the note on which a classical composition begins, the first structural commitment, setting the register from which everything unfolds.

In story: The register of the first beat. Whether a story opens in stability (Sa), disruption (Ri), or crisis (Pa) sets a structural contract with the audience about what kind of world they are entering and what has already happened before the frame.

NyasaThe Resting Note

In music: The nyasa is the note on which a melodic phrase comes to rest, not necessarily the final note of the piece, but the note that signals a phrase is complete. In a raaga, the nyasa determines whether a phrase feels resolved or suspended.

In story: The register of the final beat. The nyasa determines resolution level: full resolution (Sa'/Ni), mid-register tension (Pa/Dha/Ma), or irresolution (Ri/Ga/Sa). It is the structural decision that most determines how an audience leaves the cinema.

PakadThe Characteristic Phrase

In music: The pakad is the short melodic phrase that fingerprints a raaga. A trained listener hears the pakad and immediately knows which raaga is being played, even before the full composition unfolds. It is the raaga's signature movement through its own scale.

In story: The trajectory modifier: the beat movement pattern that distinguishes stories within the same archetype family. Two films can share the same vadi, samvadi, graha, and nyasa, yet feel structurally different because one Dwells in a single register while another Rebounds or Returns. The pakad is what separates variants of the same archetype.

The Eight Registers

SaStability

RiIncitement

GaPursuit

MaReversal

PaCrisis

DhaRevelation

NiClimax

Sa'Resolution

Ga-Dominant / Pursuit

Stories in the Ga-Dominant family live in the act of doing. The process of pursuit, not the reversals or crises along the way, is the primary narrative substance.

Ma-Dominant / Reversal

Stories in the Ma-Dominant family are driven by plot machinery. Reversals, twists, and shifting ground are the story's primary language. Whether triumphant or tragic, Ma-Dominant films are about the experience of the ground shifting beneath the protagonist.

Pa-Dominant / Crisis

Stories in the Pa-Dominant family are defined by sustained darkness. Crisis is not a single beat but a condition the protagonist inhabits for an extended period.

Ri-Dominant / Incitement

Stories in the Ri-Dominant family are defined by a disruption that never fully leaves the room. The inciting event, the wound, the mystery, the displacement, retains structural weight throughout the story rather than receding after Act 1.

Dha-Dominant / Revelation

There is only one Dha-Dominant archetype in the library, a reflection of how rare it is for revelation to structurally dominate a story rather than serve as a single scene.

Methodology

This classification framework was developed by the Quanten Arc research team through structural analysis of 405 films across Drama, Thriller, Action, Horror, Comedy, Romance, Adventure, Mystery, Science Fiction, and Fantasy. Each film was manually segmented into narrative beats and scored on the five Hindustani classical music parameters.

The rule-based classifier was derived from the most statistically significant parameter combinations observed across the corpus. The framework is descriptive, not prescriptive: it identifies structural patterns in completed works and does not claim that all strong films follow these patterns.

Film counts and IMDb averages are derived from the 405-film Quanten Arc library. Browse all titles to explore individual narrative analyses.

Hacker Times

Hacker Times

Music has scales / raagas. What about storytelling in movies and prestige shows?

Discussion

Discussion