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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(No Need To) Know Thyself

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Some teachers make screenwriters feel like they need psycho-analysis before they can write anything worthwhile. I used to agree. Now I’m confused. In any case, claiming that no quality writing can happen without deep introspection seems wrong. It was Joss Whedon who got me thinking about this. During his talk at the Sydney Opera House … Read more

23 Reasons For Close-Ups

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To conclude our series on Cinematic Storytelling, last week Mystery Man examined the origins of and opinions about close-ups. Today, in the 10th and final episode, we look at 23 visual examples and their dramatic reason. To examine beauty / ugliness: To illuminate a glance we would not have seen (as in Lady Snowblood): To … Read more

Best o/t Web 5 Dec

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:: The Disney fairytale has an unhappy ending :: Feeling and revealing your characters :: The essential nature of setting :: The dream of making a movie :: Chris Nolan thinks all of your Inception theories are stupid :: Should Pixar should win a best picture Oscar? :: Goals define the plot :: ‘Star Trek’ writers have broken the story for sequel :: Screenwriter’s … Read more