How Australian Films Could Be More Universal (2/2)

Australian feature film stories are too parochial.  I have already written about how our stories could be made more original and more substantive.  Today I will advance why our stories need to be universal as well. by Steven Fernandez A second story concept about racism could be set in a contemporary urban setting. Suppose we have … Read more

Make Sure Your Movie Is A Road Movie

In my Hero’s Journey classes I explain how in great movies, any form of movement is full of meaning.  Too many writers don’t understand how to handle movement. And really, if you don’t write movement, you’re not writing a movie. by Karel Segers A chase is never just a chase. Have you noticed that the … Read more

Video: Jay O’Callahan

Sometimes we need to stop for a moment and think about what we're really doing. We're telling stories.

As filmmakers, our stories are not in the first place for ourselves; they are for an audience.


Jay O'Callahan has a great story to illustrate how the listener played a role in coming up with his story. If you have 15mins, this is a video worth watching.

 

Jay O'Callahan: The Power of Storytelling from 99% on Vimeo.


With thanks to Adrian Kok.

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Story Structure: Avatar

It took AVATAR 17 days to break through the $1bn worldwide and to this day, it is the highest grossing film in the history of cinema. It is a movie worth analysing. by Karel Segers To my taste – I was not raised on popcorn fare – James Cameron is the only true-bred Hollywood writer-director. … Read more