1181 Question/Answers
Is it a good idea to use narration to supply the raw data of a film involving a tragic event?
Dec 14, 2012 - 12:00 AM
I'm writing a 3 hour TV film based on an actual tragic event, and my producer is insisting on using narration to supply all the raw data (the magnitude of the tsunami, causalities, amount of food, etc). I am not keen on doing so and I would like advice on how to use it effectively without breaking the world and atmosphere of the fiction I have created. It's about the group protagonists of 7 journalists. It's a docudrama, but the sub-genres are: maturation/redemption/degeneration/buddy salvation and the spine of the action for this group is completing their mission as journalists in the midst of the natural disaster.
How would you break down the show 'In Treatment'?
Dec 13, 2012 - 12:00 AM
How would you break down the show 'In Treatment'? I know it's an one act show, but unlike the stage, most of the turning points happen on screen (somebody's action or during the session in their conversation, i.e. revelation) and what we see is not only the reactions of the aftermath. It's a superb show but I can't really figure out how it's written structurally and thematically across the week (especially in season one).
How can I structure a story where the main character is in his twenties, but with a few episodes where he is in his sixties?
Dec 12, 2012 - 12:00 AM
I am writing a script based on a biography. The main story is when my central character is in his twenties, but I also want to put in a few episodes when he is 60 years old, reflecting on the choices he made when he was young and where those choices have brought him. Could you please describe different ways to structure such a story? Could the old character's life be a sublot or is it a separate story? How can I avoid cliches when doing retrospective?
Is it preferable to design a story so that the inciting incident only evokes one major dramatic question in the mind of the audience?
Dec 11, 2012 - 12:00 AM
Is it preferable to design a story so that the inciting incident only evokes one major dramatic question in the mind of the audience? What if the inciting incident raises multiple questions? Is that good or bad? Would it diffuse the focus of the audience's interest, or could it amplify their curiosity? For example, say our inciting incident is that our protagonist sees a woman who is the spitting image of his long dead lover. Wouldn't that raise multiple questions like, is she really dead? Is he hallucinating? Will they be re-united? Etc. Does the story have to focus on just one question to be good?
Russell Crowe said in an interview with James Lapin that only 35 pages of the script were written when Ridley Scott started shooting Gladiator. How does a multi-million dollar movie get to the shooting stage without a finished script?
Dec 10, 2012 - 12:00 AM
Russell Crowe said in an interview with James Lapin that only 35 pages of the script were written when Ridley Scott started shooting Gladiator. Furthermore, he said he was asked to ad lib some of his own dialogue because none had been written. How does a multi-million dollar movie with an A-list director and actor get to the shooting stage without a finished script? Is that just how some of them prefer to work: making things up as they go along?
Can you structure a story wherein the protagonist obtains his object of desire halfway through, but then spends the rest of the story dealing with the threat of losing his object of desire?
Dec 07, 2012 - 12:00 AM
Can you structure a story wherein the protagonist obtains his object of desire halfway through, but then spends the rest of the story dealing with the threat of losing his object of desire? If so, are there are any good examples of this type of story structure?
In order for a story to be most effective, when should the protagonist discover his subconscious desire?
Dec 04, 2012 - 12:00 AM
I have in mind a character whose conscious desire is to expose fraud and corruption in his profession. In pursuit of this goal he systematically destroys his own career by invoking the wrath and retaliation of his colleagues. The audience comes to realize that his subconscious desire is actually to destroy his public persona (his sole source of identity) in order to find a more authentic sense of self. My question is: In order for the story to be most effective, when should this protagonist discover his subconscious desire? At the very end? Or never? How does he discover it? Does he have an epiphany or does some other character enlighten him…
Doesn't "The Tall Man" defy your advice on genre conventions? It sets up as a horror story, then subverts our expectations. Was that good writing, or just trickery?
Dec 03, 2012 - 12:00 AM
Have you seen the new film "The Tall Man" starring Jessica Biel? I was impressed by it but wonder what you may think because it defies your advice on genre conventions. The film sets up a standard horror story only to completely subvert our expectations and our empathy for the protagonist half way through. Was that good writing in your view, or just trickery?
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