Many films have predictable endings and plots but are nonetheless enjoyable for that. Sometimes it's impossible to finish watching a DVD, because of scratches, dirt or the fact that you did something dodgy to acquire the data, or just because you run out of time.
In the nineteenth century, Georges Polti wrote a book called the Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations, outlining what he saw as the thirty-six possible plots. It wasn't quite that simple, since clearly the likes of protagonists and settings need to be outlined too. However, there is frequently a Hero, Passion, an Error and so forth.
My proposition is therefore as follows: each DVD should include multiple copies of a six-bit unsigned number for the dramatic situation along with appropriate pointers to the Hero (e.g. a sprite representing Tom Cruise or Meg Ryan), a large still digital image of the setting ("Los Angeles, November 2019" or "Middle Earth") and so on. If the DVD fails in some way or the user presses the appropriate button on the remote, the video is abandoned and a crude animation with captions, appropriate music and so on is played summing up the rest of the plot according to the dramatic situation specified.
If you're really short of time, it just generates a comic strip and blue tooths it to your mobile and you can just look at it as you dash out of the door.-- nineteenthly, Nov 03 2010 Differing voices on the "number" of fundamental plots. http://www.straight...asic-literary-plots [zen_tom, Nov 04 2010] How about just a little leaflet with the plot and dénouement described briefly, tucked into the DVD case?
The first page could describe the premise a little better than the outside of the box does, the second page give the time of all explosions and sex scenes, the next page describe the plot resolution, and the last page a critical analysis of the symbology of the film.
(My spell-checker doesn't recognize the word "symbology" or know to spell "dénouement" with the "é". I am either a film nerd or just messed up.)-- baconbrain, Nov 04 2010 Taking the links into consideration, the number is in dispute but i think it may be a matter of detail.
// Why not just watch half a film at a time ? //
Because the other half may not be available.
[Bigsleep], that diagram makes me think of Dead Poets' Society.-- nineteenthly, Nov 04 2010 random, halfbakery