Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast

How can you keep your audience hooked when they know the end of the story?

Chas, Stu and Mel take a deep dive into stakes, using then lens of biopics to help us think about them. If an audience already knows the “plot” outcome of a story, then how do you create stakes to make a story tense for the audience?

To explore this, we deep dive into HIDDEN FIGURES (about the NASA Friendship 7 mission), DOWNFALL (the final days of Berlin in WW2), and BRIGHT STAR (the life and death of romantic poet John Keats). We unpack the ideas around internal, external and philosophical /moral stakes and propose some new terminology that may help us write stakes more effectively.

As always: 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.

This episode brought to you by (drum roll):

ScriptUp: https://www.scriptupstudio.com – use promo code DZ10 to get 10% off; and

ArcStudio: https://www.arcstudiopro.com - go to www.draft-zero.com/arcstudio for $30 off a subscription!

And how can we forget our awesome Patreons?, Especially Malay, Casimir, Eduardo, Jennifer, Leigh, Garrett, Bjorn, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis, Alex and Khrob. You rule!

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.

BUY DRAFT ZERO MERCH via TeePublic

CHAPTERS - 00:00:00 - Intro - 00:04:41 - What even are stakes? - 00:24:26 - Hidden Figures - 01:00:46 - Downfall - 01:33:38 - Bright Star - 02:10:33 - Key Learnings - 02:18:57 - Thanks Patreons!

How can endings prompt an audience to reflect on your story?

Stu & Chas set out to explore what makes certain endings powerful, in particular those of LA LA LAND, INCEPTION, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and TURNING RED. The lens they bring to those endings is Aristotle’s moment of “anagnorisis” (don’t worry - we can’t pronounce it either), traditionally when a character moves from ignorance to knowledge (particularly of self).

But in analysing these films, Chas and Stu discover that endings can be particularly powerful when the characters experience insightful recognition in others, or in the world, or - perhaps most powerfully - when the anagnorisis is aimed at the audience. In other words, are there craft tools for your ending to prompt an audience to ask itself the question “What was that all about?”? Turns out, we think there are.

As always: 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.

CHAPTERS

• 00:00:00 - Intro
• 00:00:48 - Insightful recognition in endings
• 00:03:39 - What the hell is “anagnorisis”?
• 00:12:04 - LA LA LAND
• 00:30:45 - INCEPTION
• 00:35:14 - NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
• 01:00:04 - TURNING RED
• 01:18:18 - Wrap up & Key Learnings
• 01:24:26 - Thanks patreons!

LINKS

• HULK PRESENTS THE MYTH OF THE THREE ACT STRUCTURE
• Lindsay Doran on the psychology of story-telling

RELATED EPISODES

• DZ-04: Catharsis and the Post-Coital Cigarette

This episode brought to you by (drum roll):

ScriptUp: https://www.scriptupstudio.com – use promo code DZ10 to get 10% off; and

ArcStudio: go to https://www.arcstudiopro.com/draftzero for $30 off a subscription!

And how can we forget our awesome Patreons?, Especially Malay, Casimir, Eduardo, Jennifer, Garrett, Bjorn, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis, Alex and Khrob. You rule!

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.

BUY DRAFT ZERO MERCH via TeePublic

How can you use audience questions to heighten emotional investment?

Draft Zero return with their next YouTube livestream! Stu and Chas take a deep dive into PARASITE and how its mastery of audience questions elevates the film. They then answer listeners questions on PARASITE and much more.

If you want to listen in on the next live recording, find details here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/dz-livesolation-35770237 and/or subscribe to us on YouTube via http://www.draft-zero.com/YouTube

If you want to watch along instead of listen, you can watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RWlYaityMfs

Audio quotations used for educational purposes only. Timestamps indicated below. Chapter markers included in the mp3.

RUNNING ORDER:

• 00:00:00 - Frontmatter
• 00:01:22 - Intro: Parasite
• 00:10:43 - Cast of Characters
• 00:12:43 - The Establishing Sequence
• 00:23:23 - The Kim's Infiltrate
• 00:42:50 - The Kim's Stay at the Park House
• 00:47:02 - The Midpoint
• 00:53:19 - The Flood
• 00:56:20 - The Party
• 01:05:29 - What is the Parasite?
• 01:10:30 - Backmatter & Listener Questioners

EPISODE LINKS:

• Read: Parasite by Joon-ho Bong & Jin Won Han
• Watch: Parasite (2019)

DZ RELATED EPISODES:

• Listen: DZ-46: Structure & Point of View
• Listen: DZ-54: Thematic Sequences

Many thanks to all our patrons but particularly to Theis, Jesse, Jack, Chris, Khrob, Sandra, Nick, and Matteo. 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.

LINKS @ http://linktr.ee/draftzero

BUY DRAFT ZERO MERCH via TeePublic

How do I tell a powerful story where the protagonist cannot drive the plot?

Stu and Chas are joined by Stephen Cleary following his exploration into Melodrama, and together they try to reclaim the word from its pejorative meaning.

By examining powerful Melodramas - like THE HANDMAID’S TALE, LADIES IN BLACK and STRANGER THINGS... with many a tangent on MARRIAGE STORY, PETE’S DRAGON, MILDRED PIERCE, GAME OF THRONES, LOST, THE JOKER, THE KILLING, THE WITCHER, war movies and survival films - the three hosts try to unpick what makes Melodrama an alternate story paradigm to the Hero’s Journey.

They delve into how Melodramas centre on characters that don’t have agency; where the plot happens to characters (as opposed to being driven by them); how Melodramas don’t end so much as close; and how all of the above delves into character questions more deeply than the Hero’s Journey. And to wrap it all up, the kind of techniques you use on the page to write effective melodramas.

CW: There is a lot of discussion in this episode about melodrama being associated with “women’s stories” vs the “hero’s journey” - which is biased towards a ‘masculine’ mode of storytelling - and we fully acknowledge in the show and here that we are three cismen talking about these things.

This episode was edited by Christopher Walker. Audio excerpts used for educational purposes only.

RUNNING ORDER:

00:01:14 - Intro: Melodrama & Passive Protagonists

00:01:31 - What is Melodrama?

00:37:46 - The Handmaid's Tale

Watch: https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/69478-the-handmaid-s-tale

00:56:08 - Horror and Melodrama

01:00:23 - Marriage Story

Watch: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/492188-marriage-story

01:14:58 - The Handmaid's Tale & Narrative Techniques

01:30:06 - Game of Thrones and Endings

Watch: https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/1399-game-of-thrones

01:33:07 - Melodrama & Endings

01:38:37 - Ladies in Black

Watch: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/483411-ladies-in-black

02:13:12 - Stranger Things

Watch: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/182026-stranger-things

02:31:34 - The Killing

Watch: https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/32368-forbrydelsen

02:38:07 - The Witcher

Watch: https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/71912-the-witcher

2:43:53 - Wrap Up: Passive & Still Characters

Read: The Handmaid’s Tale - 101 Offred

DZ RELATED EPISODES

• DZ-52: Antagonists! (Part 4) – vs Systems - http://draft-zero.com/2018/dz-52/
• DZ-63: Tools for Better Dialogue (Part 2) – Hook and Eye - http://draft-zero.com/2019/dz-63/
• DZ-60: Unfilmables and Unscriptables (Part 1) – Engaging imagination: http://draft-zero.com/2019/dz-60/
• DZ-61: Unfilmables and Unscriptables (Part 2) – Moments of Awe: http://draft-zero.com/2019/dz-61/

Many thanks to all our patrons but particularly to Theis, Jesse, Jack, Chris, Khrob, Sandra, Nick, and Matteo. 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.

LINKS @ http://linktr.ee/draftzero

BUY DRAFT ZERO MERCH via TeePublic

How does Draft Zero cope with lockdown?

LINKS

• Facebook: http://facebook.com/draftzeropodcast/
• Patreon: http://patreon.com/draftzero/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIEz5b9FMNa7Tj8DkcJQWRA

Dear DZ Listeners,

We hope you are all staying healthy and safe. Due this difficult time of lockdown, Chas and Stu have decided to “regularly” do special live-streamed episodes (via YouTube Live) of Draft Zero that we are calling LiVEsolation.

They different from (and in addition to) Draft Zero ClassicTM as you’ll be able to interact with us as we record: asking questions, prompting for clarification, and making observations that come part of the discussion. You’ll also be able to see video of our us (👎) while also seeing video of the scripts and scenes we are discussing (👍). After they’re streamed, recordings of the livestreams (including the chat!) will be on our YouTube channel for later viewing.

LiVEsolation episodes that we particularly like will also be cleaned up and put out through the traditional podcast feed... but not always. Because our priority is doing these regularly, they'll be looser - like a great live gig. We are aiming for once-a-week and at the same time... but that won’t always be possible due to... well...life. We are also having special guests and will need to work around their schedules and timezones.

So how do you keep up wth our shifting schedule?

We recommend you like our page on Facebook. Our livestreams will be created as events so you know what streams we will be doing and when... in your timezone!

We are also making PUBLIC posts on our Patreon page (i.e. ones you don’t have to pay for if you don’t have the coin during these trying times), so if you follow us there you’ll get something like an email newsletter with announcements about what’s forthcoming. Oh, and if you are a Patreon you’ll get priority access to the online chat (when appropriate) and also get to vote on forthcoming topics.

Meanwhile, Draft Zero ClassicTM episodes will continue as scheduled. All of the above is in addition to what we already had planned, driven entirely by isolation and a need for community right now.

We hope to see you on the livestream soon!

— Stu and Chas.