Story. Screenplay. Sale.
If anyone tells you that a screenwriter must set up the story goal before the end of Act 1, avoid their screenwriting advice. They don’t understand drama. I’ll explain in a minute. The internet is rife with advice of all kinds, and I find it increasingly difficult to locate useful gems. If you’re really critical, … Read more
The below is a report of an experiment: the trial run of the legendary Immersion Screenwriting course. The beta version was a little rough and dirty – but free, and effective! A free screenwriting course? Too good to be true. Of course it is. But hear me out. As my boss in London told me, you … Read more
People will say a lot of things about what it takes to create great characters: they require depth and complexity. They must be multi-dimensional, they need to transform, etc. Until recently, if you had asked me about one thing more important than all the above, I would have replied: goals. Characters must have a clear … Read more
‘All story is manipulation. ‘ What gives a great story the power to move us? Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns (Vietnam, Jack Johnson, The Roosevelts: An Intimate History) provides some key insights into how the skilful use of emotionally charged storytelling can bring alive historic events at 24 frames per second. If you liked this, … Read more
I’ll confess… when I started working in this business as an assistant, and heard the term “high concept” over and over, at first I assumed it meant high budget. Then I thought it had something to do with drugs. But I quickly learned that a high concept project is a unique story that can be … Read more