• The Tag Dept.

  3-act structure act one adaptation character consultancy dialogue dramatic irony format formatting happy ending hero's journey high concept kuleshov layout mckee michael hauge mid-point outline pitching Point of View protagonist ratatouille robert mckee scene screenplay screenwriters screenwriting script script development selling slug line software step outline story consultancy story structure synopsis The Inciting Incident The Logline The Plot Point turning point

While you were out celebrating New Year’s Eve, I was watching David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ on DVD. Not that I’m such a pathetic hermit; it was just my wife’s fun idea of closing the Old Year. She admitted afterwards she might have been wrong. Missing the Sydney Fireworks and all that.

Meanwhile, the Story Dept. has entered its third calendar year, offering workshops, one-on-one consultancy PLUS a Premium Version of this blog, exclusive to clients and
subscribers. The Hero’s Journey continues, the obsession grows.

THE HERO’S SECRET

If the following is an accurate reflection of Keith Thompson’s contribution to the Australian 2007 National Screenwriters’ Conference, it smells of ignorance and incompetence:

“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.”

Not only does it show a grave lack of understanding of the craft of screenwriting, it goes directly against most forms of successful storytelling.

• Search for: