Karel FG Segers

Karel Segers wrote his first produced screenplay at age 17. Today he is a story analyst with experience in acquisition, development and production. He has trained students worldwide, and worked with half a dozen Academy Award nominees. Karel speaks more European languages than he has fingers on his left hand, which he is still trying to find a use for in his hometown of Sydney, Australia. The languages, not the fingers. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Question: Abbreviations

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Question: Can you abbreviate “Mister” into “Mr.” in a film script? Answer: Abbreviations are allowed in character headings (names) and Action, but not in Dialogue. Any spoken words need to be fully printed, to keep an approximate page count/screen time ratio of 1p/min. Question: Does that mean I have to use ‘Missus’ instead of ‘Mrs’? … Read more

Inciting Incident in Backstory?

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Question: Is it possible for the Inciting Incident to happen in backstory? Answer: Technically, ‘backstory’ is not in the movie. It is the history of your characters before the time the story starts. Because we need to see the Inciting Incident and how it affects the protagonist, it cannot happen in the backstory. However, the … Read more

Conscious vs. Unconscious Desire

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Question: When McKee talks about the conscious desire being a contradiction of the unconscious desire, would you relate this to the mid act 2 reversal / change in approach? Or would this be true from the very start of the story, script or life of the protagonist? Answer: Let’s start with quoting exactly what it … Read more

POV: Ratatouille’s Deleted Scene

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RATATOUILLE has 1 (one) deleted scene. It is a long, uninterrupted travel from a wide establishing shot of the Paris skyline down to street level, through the Auguste Gusteau restaurant and ending on a medium shot of Remi. The shot could have been spectacular, reminding of the opening shot of TOUCH OF EVIL and its … Read more

Michael Hauge Interview – Part 1

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MICHAEL HAUGE is a story consultant, author and lecturer who works with writers and filmmakers. He has coached or consulted on projects for Will Smith, Julia Roberts, Robert Downey, Jr. and Morgan Freeman, plus every Hollywood studio. I am speaking with Michael about his career, his teaching and his first visit to Australia in May … Read more