Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast

How do you deliver on the emotional contract of a genre while surprising the audience? In tackling this enormous topic, Stu and Chads enlist professional TV writer and director for Kodie Bedford, someone who has somehow managed to defy genre pigeon-holing by writing mystery, comedy and vampire shows. The three of them look at GET OUT, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN and THE INVISIBLE MAN (with reference to PARASITE, JOHN WICK, TAKEN, KNIVES OUT and more) to see what tools the writers have used to deliver on the expectations of a genre while moving that genre on, without writing something stale. As always: SPOILERS ABOUND Audio quotations used for educational purposes only. Timestamps indicated below. Chapter markers included in the mp3. Thanks to Chris for editing this episode. CHAPTERS 00:00:57 - Intro: Keeping Genre Fresh 00:03:10 - What is Genre? 00:16:30 - Get Out 00:45:10 - Promising Young Woman 01:25:08 - The Invisible Man 01:59:18 - Wrap Up 02:11:44 - Thanks to our Patreons! LINKS Freshening Up Genre - Stu's Notes: https://www.patreon.com/posts/64358617 Kodie Bedford: https://twitter.com/ms_kodie Authentic Storytelling – Kodie Bedford: Breaking Down Characters And Worlds RELATED EPISODES DZ-68: Using POV to structure KNIVES OUT: http://draft-zero.com/2020/dz-68/ DZ-69: PARASITE & Audience Questions: http://draft-zero.com/2020/dz-69/ DZ-54: Thematic Sequences: http://draft-zero.com/2018/dz-54/ This episode brought to you by ScriptUp – https://www.scriptupstudio.com – use promo code DZ10 to get 10% off. Thanks to all our patrons, especially Jennifer, Leigh, Thomas, Garrett, Bjorn, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis, Alex, and Khrob. Please considering rating or subscribing to us on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on the Social Medias! We like finding new listeners. We are @stuwillis and @chasffisher on twitter. And you can find @draft_zero on Instagram and Twitter.

How do you determine what is your MVP? In their annual full backwater episode, Stu and Chas let out their pandemic hair, drop the ruse of objectivity, and allow themselves to have even more options about writing and the business of writing. In this Backmatter entry, they go deep on: future episode topics; their screenwriting lessons from 2021 (especially on control); pitching projects; the minimum viable product & minimum loveable thing; and share their exper iences with running a writers workshop/group. There are no Star Wars references in this episode, but there are plenty of Die Hard ones. Die Hard is the new Star Wars. Get over it. Thanks to Chris Walker for editing this episode. RUNNING ORDER 00:00:00 - Intro: Backmatter 00:03:02 - Looking Forward - Episode Ideas 00:19:40 - Looking Back - Screenwriting Lessons 00:49:46 - Looking Now - Processes 01:28:26 - Outro EPISODE LINKS READ: Writer’s Workshop Documents by Chas & Stu READ: Laziness Does Not Exist by Dr Devon Price READ: Story Talismans by Scott Myers Many thanks to all our patrons, but especially Jennifer, Leigh, Thomas, Garrett, Bjorn, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis and Khrob. They’re good humans who allow us to bring you more draft zero, more often. Please considering rating or subscribing to us on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on the Social Medias! We like finding new listeners. We are @stuwillis and @chasffisher on twitter. And you can find @draft_zero on Instagram and Twitter.

What is difference between choice and decision when it comes to audience experience? In our second part of our “series” on Choices and Decisions, we take a deep dive into THE FAREWELL and WRATH OF MAN, with a sidebar on NOMADLAND. In THE FAREWELL, we consider how the choice/decision to lie underpins every sene of the film (to great effect). In NOMADLAND, we consider how using choice and decision is a great way to show how a character doesn’t change. And in WRATH OF MAN, we look at how non-linear narrative - and its decoupling of choice, decisions and consequence (wouldn’t that be a detripling???) impacts the audience experience, especially how we feel about characters. The terminology we settled on in Part 1 was: CHOICE: Are the options presented to the character. DECISION: Is the knowing consideration of the choice and resulting action. CONSEQUENCE: is the resulting outcome from the choice. As always: SPOILERS ABOUND Audio quotations used for educational purposes only. Timestamps indicated below. Chapter markers included in the mp3. Thanks to Chris for editing this episode. CHAPTERS 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:38 - Decisions & Choices Recap 00:03:41 - The Farewell 00:28:58 - Nomadland 00:37:39 - Wrath of Man 01:36:54 - Wrap Up & Key Learnings 01:45:06 - Backmatter LINKS Damon Young: https://www.damonyoung.com.au/ Stephen Cleary: https://www.stephencleary.org/ RELATED EPISODES DZ-34: Game of Choices - Decision Making and Character Implications DZ-48: One-Shot – Blade Runner 2049 – Agency vs Choice DZ-84: Choices & Decision 1 - Booksmart   This episode brought to you by ScriptUp – https://www.scriptupstudio.com – use promo code DZ10 to get 10% off. Thanks to all our patrons, especially Thomas, Garrett, Bjorn, Randy, Jesse, Theis, Sandra, and Khrob. Please considering rating or subscribing to us on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on the Social Medias! We like finding new listeners. We are @stuwillis and @chasffisher on twitter. And you can find @draft_zero on Instagram and Twitter.  

What is the difference between choice and decision when it comes to characters? In order to better understand dramatising of character, Chas and Stu take a very draft zero look at very specific tool: choices and decisions. We analyse three films through the decisions made by their characters. In particular, how the audience understanding of: the choice available, the considered decision itself, and the consequence changes how we feel about these characters. And how separating those three things can create different emotional effects on your audience. We debate this in the episode, but this is the terminology we settle on: CHOICE: Are the options presented to the character. DECISION: Is the knowing consideration of the choice and resulting action. CONSEQUENCE: is the resulting outcome from the choice. Part 1 (this part) establishes what we mean by choice and decision, and then takes a deep dive into BOOKSMART, directed by Olivia Wilde, and written by Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins and Susanna Fogel.  We all discuss FLEABAG, SEVEN, and old favourite, Star Wars. Part 2 will turn our analytical eye on THE FAREWELL and WRATH OF MAN. As always: SPOILERS ABOUND Audio quotations used for educational purposes only. Timestamps indicated below. Chapter markers included in the mp3. Thanks to Chris for editing this episodes. CHAPTERS 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:36 - Choices vs Decisions 00:19:51 - Booksmart 01:01:41 - Decisions & Structure 01:05:50 - Mills' decision in Se7en 01:07:50 - Key Learnings and Wrap Up LINKS Damon Young: https://www.damonyoung.com.au/ Stephen Cleary: https://www.stephencleary.org/ RELATED EPISODES DZ-34: Game of Choices - Decision Making and Character Implications DZ-48: One-Shot – Blade Runner 2049 – Agency vs Choice This episode brought to you by ScriptUp – https://www.scriptupstudio.com – use promo code DZ10 to get 10% off. Thanks to all our patrons, especially Thomas, Garrett, Bjorn, Randy, Jesse, Theis, Sandra, and Khrob. Please considering rating or subscribing to us on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on the Social Medias! We like finding new listeners. We are @stuwillis and @chasffisher on twitter. And you can find @draft_zero on Instagram and Twitter.

What can screenwriters learn from the storytelling techniques used by stand-up comedians? Standup comedians can keep audiences gripped to their every word for over an hour, and often bring them to emotional climaxes by the end. So how do they do it and what tools can apply to scripted narratives? For this deep dive into standup, Stu and Chas are joined by the super-talented comic and podcaster Alice Fraser. Which is rather fortuitous. Because not only are we schooled on comedy techniques, but because Alice also has a Masters in Narrative Rhetoric. So as we dive in to NANETTE by Hannah Gadsby, BABY COBRA by Ali Wong and IT’S THE FIREWORKS TALKING by Daniel Kitson (with more than a passing reference to Alice’s own show SAVAGE and INSIDE by Bo Burnham), we analyse narrative structure, transitions, set-ups and pay-offs used by stand-ups… But we end up focusing on exploring thematic tools - particularly the Aristotelean concepts of the rhetorical triangle: logos (how the story is told), ethos (who the storyteller is), and pathos (how the audience emotionally engages). With these powers combined, storytellers of all kinds can produce work of thematic power and resonance. Or just funny. And in backmatter, we discuss adapting Savage for the recorded stage with Alice! Enjoy! Spoilers abound. Audio excerpts used for educational purposes. CHAPTERS 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:03:25 - Alice Fraser on comedy 00:22:33 - Comedy tools to be explored 00:26:21 - Nanette by Hannah Gadsby 00:48:47 - Transitions in and out of theme 01:08:32 - Baby Cobra by Ali Wong 01:37:57 - It’s the Fireworks Talking by Daniel Kitson 02:04:45 - Key Learnings 02:14:39 - Backmatter - Adapting SAVAGE from stage to screen and screen again LINKS Alice Fraser - http://www.alicecomedyfraser.com  Listen: Savage Part 1 https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/alice-fraser-trilogy/alice-fraser-trilogy-savage-part-one/10070682 Listen: Savage Part 2 https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/alice-fraser-trilogy/alice-fraser-trilogy-savage-part-two/10082916 Watch: Savage: https://www.amazon.com/Alice-Fraser-Savage-Season-1/dp/B08BYZD952 Hannah Gadsby - Nanette: Watch: https://www.netflix.com/title/80233611 Hannah on Working it Out podcast with Mike Birbiglia: http://workingitout.libsyn.com/5-hannah-gadsby Alice Wong - Baby Cobra: Watch: https://www.netflix.com/title/80233611 Daniel Kitson - It’s The Fireworks Talking: Listen: https://danielkitson.bandcamp.com/album/its-the-fireworks-talking-2007 Bo Burnham - Inside: Watch: https://www.netflix.com/title/81289483 This episode brought to you by ScriptUp – https://www.scriptupstudio.com – use promo code DZ10 to get 10% off. Thanks to all our patrons, especially Thomas, Garrett, Bjorn, Randy, Jesse, Theis, Sandra, and Khrob. Please considering rating or subscribing to us on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on the Social Medias! We like finding new listeners. We are @stuwillis and @chasffisher on twitter. And you can find @draft_zero on Instagram and Twitter.

How can writers dramatise Given Circumstances? In this final podcast release of last year’s run of LiveSoLation episodes, Chas and Stu are joined by Uber-geek Mel Killingsworth (who else?) in an epic exploration of how Dave Gibbons’ and Alan Moore’s seminal graphic novel WATCHMEN is adapted differently in Zack Snyder’s 2009 film and Damon Lindelof’s 2019 HBO television show. For this podcast release, we focus on a single craft tool: GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES. Traditionally an acting tool, we look at how it is also a useful writing tool: how is your story world different to your audience’s lived world and how best to communicate that? In terms of WATCHMEN (as you will hear), there is so much given circumstances to convey — in terms of alternate history, superhero rules, political rules, character backstory, character worldview — that is done excellently in both the movie and the TV show that this becomes a masterclass in exposition. We also touch on narrative structure and tone: how presenting the exact same information in a different order or through a different tonal lens can change how it lands for an audience. ie this diagram -- But this is explored much more fully in the very-visual companion YouTube videos: Adapting the Watchmen - Comic to Movie, or: how changing the tone changes the theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KKLhpDj10Q Narrative Structure and Given Circumstances in Watchmen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ByPIqI2WzY&t While this episode may not be for the feint of heart, we feel it is one of our best. Hope you do too. Quantity has a quality of its very own. Spoilers abound. Audio excerpts used for educational purposes. Thanks to Chris for wrangling this into shape! CHAPTERS 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:02 - Watching the Watchmen 00:06:13 - Summaries 00:17:07 - Given Circumstances 00:38:39 - The Characters 00:51:07 - Theme & Characters 01:02:13 - Narrative Structure & Theme 01:27:07 - Worldview 01:33:47 - Dr Manhattan 01:51:50 - Wrap Up LINKS Watch: Watchmen (2009) screenplay by David Hayter & Alex Tse Watch: Watchmen (2019) created by Damon Lindelof Read: Watchmen illustrated by Dave Gibbson and written by Alan Moore RELATED EPISODES DZ-37: Excelling at Exposition (Part 1) DZ-38: Excelling at Exposition (Part 2) Thanks to all our patrons, especially Thomas, Garrett, Bjorn, Randy, Jesse, Theis, Sandra, and Khrob. Please considering rating or subscribing to us on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on the Social Medias! We like finding new listeners. We are @stuwillis and @chasffisher on twitter. And you can find @draft_zero on Instagram and Twitter.

Learn how to create effective pitch decks and look books for your projects with writer/director Marc Furmie. Discover the differences between pitch decks and look books, how they help sell your projects, and tips for making yours better. Explore the importance of visual materials in pitching, including designing director's lookbooks for unique projects like a Space Pirates Murder Mystery. Dive into the world of visual language in sci-fi projects and the power of simplicity in pitch decks.

How can interweaving timelines elevate the emotional experience for the audience? In our final part, part 3, of our Interweaving Timelines series, we — Chas, Stu & Mel — take a deep dive into Greta Gerwig's 2019 adaptation of Little Women. In her adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's iconic novels, Greta chose to interweave the seperate timelines of Little Women and it's sequel, Good Wives, to create a thematically and emotionally potent work. This differs from all the other adaptations, which have chosen to keep the chronological storytelling of the source material. We compare Gerwig's choices and their resulting effects with Gilliam Armstrong & Robin Swicord's more faithful (and chronological) 1994 version. It's almost like a scientific experiment! Stay tuned! SPOILERS ABOUND! Audio quotations used for educational purposes only. Timestamps indicated below. Chapter markers included in the mp3. Thanks to Chris Walker for editing this episode. RUNNING ORDER 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:00:37 - ScriptUp Sponsorship 00:02:00 - Little Women - 2019 vs 1994 00:06:35 - 2019's Interweaving Timelines 00:15:29 - Summarising the plot points 00:31:39 - Initial contrasts with chronological telling 00:35:32 - Laurie's Proposal 00:54:10 - Amy and Laurie's courtship 01:03:34 - Beth's Death 01:26:44 - Book burning and ice skating 01:36:51 - How the structure expresses theme 01:44:06 - Key Learnings and Wrap Up 01:59:02 - Backmatter LINKS Watch: Little Women (2019) screenplay by and directed by Greta Gerwig Watch: Little Women (1994) screenplay by Robin Swicord and directed by Gilliam Armstrong Read/Listen: Scriptnotes, Ep 433: The One with Greta Gerwig RELATED EPISODES DZ-78: Interweaving Timelines 1 - Destroyer DZ-79: Interweaving Timelines 2 – The Social Network This episode brought to you by ScriptUp – https://www.scriptupstudio.com – use promo code DZ10 to get 10% off. Many thanks to all our patrons but particularly to Randy, Garrett, Bjorn, Jessie, Khrob, and Sandra. They’re good humans. Please considering rating or subscribing to us on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on the Social Medias! We like finding new listeners. We are @stuwillis and @chasffisher on twitter. And you can find @draft_zero on Instagram and Twitter.

How can interweaving two timelines change how we feel about a character? In this Part 2 of Interweaving Timelines (aka The Stu Monologue Episode), Mel, Chas and Stu tackle Sorkin/Fincher's The Social Network. As you’ll hear, it is clearly Stu’s favourite of the examples we cover and, ah, *not* Mel’s favourite. While all three bring their own biases and opinions on the reality of Facebook as it has become, we do manage to put the destruction of democracy to one side to actually analyse the meticulous craft that this film displays. We analyse Sorkin’s on-the-page skill with time jumps, managing intercutting and introducing characters - as well as explore how the flash-forward technique manages the absence of stakes (i.e. we know Facebook exists) and creates a different emotional experience to the flashbacks of Destroyer. Finally, and most importantly, we look at how the interweaving timelines change how the audience feel about Mark Zuckerberg (as portrayed in this film). Stay tuned! SPOILERS ABOUND! Audio quotations used for educational purposes only. Timestamps indicated below. Chapter markers included in the mp3. Thanks to Chris Walker for editing this episode. RUNNING ORDER 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:48 - The Social Network 00:07:36 - The flash forward structure 00:18:46 - Why did we pick this film? 00:29:41 - What are the stakes? 00:42:45 - Time jumps & transitions 00:52:59 - Audience's perception of Mark 01:00:45 - Storyteller cuts 01:09:20 - Sorkin vs Fincher 01:16:07 - Wrap up & key learnings 01:23:15 - Backmatter LINKS Watch: The Social Network written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher Read: Wordplayer - The Storyteller Cut RELATED EPISODES DZ-78: Interweaving Timelines 1 - Destroyer DZ-43: Driving Sequences – Character and Plot Intensity This episode brought to you by ScriptUp – https://www.scriptupstudio.com – use promo code DZ10 to get 10% off. Many thanks to all our patrons but particularly to Randy, Garrett, Bjorn, Joakim, Khrob, and Sandra. They’re good humans. Please considering rating or subscribing to us on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on the Social Medias! We like finding new listeners. We are @stuwillis and @chasffisher on twitter. And you can find @draft_zero on Instagram and Twitter.

How does interweaving two timelines change how the audience feel? Stu and Chas are joined by Mel Killingsworth to dissect interweaving timelines. Not anthology films. Not Cloud Atlas. But films where two plot lines featuring the same characters, but from different timelines, are woven together. How do you manage stakes when you know a character’s future? What questions does this prompt in the viewer? And how the hell do you orient the reader? To answer these questions, it will take three episodes. In this Part 1, our intrepid team (and Mel’s 42 pages of homework) tackle the 2018 film DESTROYER directed by Karen Kusama, written by Hay & Manfredi and starring Nicole Kidman. Meanwhile, Part 2 will cover THE SOCIAL NETWORK and Part 3 will compare the 1994 Gillian Armstrong version with 2019 Greta Gerwig version of LITTLE WOMEN. Whew. Stay tuned! SPOILERS ABOUND! Audio quotations used for educational purposes only. Timestamps indicated below. Chapter markers included in the mp3. Thanks to Chris Walker for editing this episode. RUNNING ORDER 00:00:10 Intro 00:01:46 Interweaving Timelines? 00:14:54 Destroyer & Timelines 00:35:28 Indicating Timelines 00:39:21 Ordering the Key Events 00:51:50 Theme & Timelines 01:06:44 Questions prompted by the ending 01:20:58 Key Learnings & Wrap Up 01:37:37 Backmatter EPISODE LINKS WATCH: Destroyer (2018) FOLLOW: Melanie Killingsworth – @mehlsbells on twitter READ: "A Game Designer’s Analysis Of QAnon" RELATED EPISODES DZ-05: Shifting audience point of view and heightened emotions DZ-46: Structure & Point of View This episode brought to you by ScriptUp - https://www.scriptupstudio.com - use promo code DZ10 to get 10% off. Many thanks to all our patrons but particularly to Randy, Garrett, Bjorn, Jack, Khrob, and Sandra. They’re good humans. Please considering rating or subscribing to us on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on the Social Medias! We like finding new listeners. We are @stuwillis and @chasffisher on twitter. And you can find @draft_zero on Instagram and Twitter.