Structure: Assault on Precinct 13

This is the first in a series of structural overviews of popular films. Identifying the main story turns in a film is a great way to get a solid understanding of how film story works. So I invite you to view these films, break them down in their main story parts and compare notes with … Read more

The Story Revolution

Nafa – Choctops Meeting: 18/2/08 (Report by John Haly, Thank you to Tony Chu) Karel -a Belgian producer and script consultant – founded OZZYWOOD Films and The Story Department (which is a unique Australian blog and online resource for screen story theory). Karel headed production and programming at London’s Digital Broadcasting Company and was a … Read more

Glossary

The following is a basic list of terms I believe you should have an understanding of. To be a professional, it is crucial you can communicate with others to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your work. It is not enough to know and understand Syd Field’s set of phrases, as some hot shots may … Read more

Bringing Up Baby

I was surprised to read the following quote from respected Australian screenwriter Keith Thompson: “an overt focus on structure may be to the detriment of the script overall. He prefers to discuss scripts using more generic terms such as beginning, middle and end. The hero’s journey (a la Campbell and Vogler) should be approached warily.” … Read more

The Main Man (m/f)

“Most writers work alone. They send in the script and it gets rejected. And they never find out why. The fact is, you can’t succeed as a professional writer if you don’t get professional feedback. You must find out the weaknesses of your story or script before you send it in.” This is not me … Read more