Story & Structure

The craft of telling a story starts with structure skills.

Video: Pulp Fiction Inspiration [QT]

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This video is just as informative and entertaining without the sound as with. Try for yourself.
I am certain that Tarantino must have had a career as a pantomime artist before becoming the world’s most dialogue-obsessed director.

It’s interesting how Tarantino in the 100 seconds of this clip doesn’t mention co-writer Roger Avary. Maybe it was cut. Or maybe not…

With thanks to Louise Lee Mei and Niels Abercrombie.

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Consciousness and Capability [Syd Field]

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I was recently privileged to hear story guru Syd Field lecturing to a crowd of fellow filmmakers during his first trip to Sydney. He presented us with a theoretical discussion about modern technology, modern storytelling and our very modern brains. by Margaret M. MacDonald To sum up Syd’s point (which is not easy to do from a … Read more

Video: Chris Vogler and The Matrix

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The Hero’s Journey is the missing link between storytelling and the human condition. It explains why main characters in movies are flawed, why they go through particular stages, why we like a happy ending… and why movies that ignore all this, mostly fail.

In this video, Chris Vogler, the author of The Writer’s Journey, walks us through the twelve story stages while referring to The Matrix. Apologies for the poor picture quality (I had to aspect-ratio convert the original, which you can still watch on YouTube).

With thanks to Louise Lee Mei and Niels Abercrombie.

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