Okay, McKee does like to talk and he has literally loads of videos on Youtube. Go look them up.
But here, for your perusal is his ten common problems when writing screenplays, many of which are applicable to your short screenplays.
OTHER MISTAKES WRITERS MAKE
There are loads of resources on the web linked to the lovely CHRIS JONES, who wrote the Guerilla Film Makers Handbook. (read it, its in the library).
Here's some nice advice.
THE VALUE OF RESEARCH
You may not like all these guys films, I don't. But he makes some valuable remarks about beginners mistakes and things to DO, and NOT DO.
Thursday, 8 December 2011
Robert McKee: Story
Few people entering script writing haven't heard of Robert McKee. He lectures, talks, write books and breathes one thing: STORY.
That is, STORY in SCREENWRITING.
He is a fascinating character and although I can't make you read his book, STORY, you should.
What can we learn from him for scripting our short filmic screenplays?
STORY VALUES AND SCENE TURNING
One element we can look at is McKee's theory on how scenes SHOULD work.
He says that for a scene to have any impact, or in fact, to be judged worthy of even being in your screenplay at all, it should have a movement in its STORY VALUES.
What are they?
A story value is a negative or positively charged emotion/feeling which thematically indicates what is going on in the scene.
The most basic is this:
At the start of the scene, John McLane is alive and well. By the end of the scene he is nearly dead.
The story values have moved from LIFE to DEATH. From positive, in this case, to NEGATIVE. McKee argues this shift in values is what holds our attention and moves the story on for the audience.
OHHH, BIT CRASS
I know, it is. There are much subtely versions of story values moving from + to -.
OUR SHORTS
Now, certainly some of this scene story value chat should work within our short films. You can look at your scenes and ask yourself - are they moving from a postive to negative or vice versa, in terms of the story value.
HOW DO I KNOW WHAT THE STORY VALUE IS?
Look at the scene and ask yourself, what is the major concern of the HERO. Is it staying alive, finding love, being encouraging, looking for redemption, whatever. Most likely the story value will come from the character.
RESOURCES
A condensed version of everything McKee talks about in his book: http://www.kennykemp.com/pdf/story%20structure.pdf
That is, STORY in SCREENWRITING.
He is a fascinating character and although I can't make you read his book, STORY, you should.
What can we learn from him for scripting our short filmic screenplays?
STORY VALUES AND SCENE TURNING
One element we can look at is McKee's theory on how scenes SHOULD work.
He says that for a scene to have any impact, or in fact, to be judged worthy of even being in your screenplay at all, it should have a movement in its STORY VALUES.
What are they?
A story value is a negative or positively charged emotion/feeling which thematically indicates what is going on in the scene.
The most basic is this:
At the start of the scene, John McLane is alive and well. By the end of the scene he is nearly dead.
The story values have moved from LIFE to DEATH. From positive, in this case, to NEGATIVE. McKee argues this shift in values is what holds our attention and moves the story on for the audience.
OHHH, BIT CRASS
I know, it is. There are much subtely versions of story values moving from + to -.
OUR SHORTS
Now, certainly some of this scene story value chat should work within our short films. You can look at your scenes and ask yourself - are they moving from a postive to negative or vice versa, in terms of the story value.
HOW DO I KNOW WHAT THE STORY VALUE IS?
Look at the scene and ask yourself, what is the major concern of the HERO. Is it staying alive, finding love, being encouraging, looking for redemption, whatever. Most likely the story value will come from the character.
RESOURCES
A condensed version of everything McKee talks about in his book: http://www.kennykemp.com/pdf/story%20structure.pdf
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Script Writing Theory
So, where to begin?
Let's start with the old master - Joesph Campbell - the man George Lucas turned to when he was putting together his space opera and deeply mythological series stroke money making device, Star Wars.
Campbell's theory is called the Monomyth. He basically takes a look at all the world cultures, from Christianity to Buddhism to Taoism, to cultures now long distinct like the Mayans and disects each of their myth making (or you could call it, story telling) techniques.
What he finds out is that a lot of the stories, are, at their heart, the same. At least in principal.
He organises, if you can call it that, these stories under one banner - the Journey of the Hero.
Unlike writing theorists since him, he didn't say - 'this is what you must do to write a story', Campbell is way to subtle for that. No, what he is suggesting is that there is fabric underpinning all human history and it is represented by our shared stories and culture and here, look at the lovely pattern I've found.
What was so stunning about his work was the BREADTH of study. He took in everything from modern psychology to ancient history to physics to theories of being to philosophies of existence. He leaves no stone unturned and therefore he is invaluable.
You will, however, find him difficult to read!
However, here he is speaking!
Down at the bottom are resources.
SO WHAT, PAUL?
Well, if he's too much, and he was for Hollywood, you could go and look at the man who distilled his work - Christopher Vogler - into something much easier to read.
He keeps the essence of Campbell's book but makes it easy reading and uses movies to make it clear how it all works. Essentially, the Hero's Journey takes place in 12 Steps, using Feature Films
And here he is!
And for the popcorn eates, here it is again, without any big words!
And, for a tanget, think now about the hero's journey and then watch one of Aesop's Fables. You'll notice good old fashioned story telling has a lot in common with Fables, Parables and other such things from our childhoods.
SO WHAT WHAT, PAUL?
Well, fair to you if you're thinking - what has this got to do with short films? You'd be right, so quick pat on the back and lets get solving this problem.
The hero's journey, in all its 12 steps is a bit too long for a short film, but we can use bits of it in thinking about story structure, and we can certainly learn a lot about storytelling in general, and how people react through the ages to story, by looking at Campbell's work.
THE PROBLEM OF THE SHORT
The most basic structure we've used is CONFLICT AND RESOLUTION. That's only two steps. Could we make it more complicated? Probably.
But if we can get just two steps right, and weave an interesting story with some of the mythical characters from Campbell's Monomyth, we could be really onto something.
In many ways, the hero's journey still exists in a short, but in a much shortened version. There is, for a start, a hero (or antihero) and he or she has something to struggle with (usually the conflict) and must overcome it (the Road Back) and be changed, forever (the last step in Campbell's journey).
Look at your short and see if you can chart the journey.
HOW DOES THIS WORK WITH NOIR AND TRADEGY
Well, in noir, and all tragedy, there is still a hero, except the hero instead of OVERCOMING THE MONSTER (i.e. the different problems put in his/her path) he is defeated by them and ends up being destroyed.
In noir, the MONSTER is inside the PERSON. It is their own personality that destroys them. They are unable to change and become a victim of their own circumstance.
Because its an interior, and therefore personal journey, they are AWARE of their own habits, which makes it much more gripping for us, the viewers.
Below is a bit of video about TRADEGY. He uses different terminology (something called the state of imperfection, but actually there are a couple of golden nuggets in this and its worth watching to show you how a story can be represented in a diagram - like a circle.)
RESOURCES
Joesph Campbell Foundation: http://www.jcf.org/new/index.php
Really good fun - Campbell's own life turned into his own theorectical mythic journey: http://www.folkstory.com/campbell/campbell.html
See if you can do the same with your own journey! It's easy. Think about you're journey through Teck. Who are the gatekeepers? Who are the shadow characters? The jokers? (all me)
Let's start with the old master - Joesph Campbell - the man George Lucas turned to when he was putting together his space opera and deeply mythological series stroke money making device, Star Wars.
Campbell's theory is called the Monomyth. He basically takes a look at all the world cultures, from Christianity to Buddhism to Taoism, to cultures now long distinct like the Mayans and disects each of their myth making (or you could call it, story telling) techniques.
What he finds out is that a lot of the stories, are, at their heart, the same. At least in principal.
He organises, if you can call it that, these stories under one banner - the Journey of the Hero.
Unlike writing theorists since him, he didn't say - 'this is what you must do to write a story', Campbell is way to subtle for that. No, what he is suggesting is that there is fabric underpinning all human history and it is represented by our shared stories and culture and here, look at the lovely pattern I've found.
What was so stunning about his work was the BREADTH of study. He took in everything from modern psychology to ancient history to physics to theories of being to philosophies of existence. He leaves no stone unturned and therefore he is invaluable.
You will, however, find him difficult to read!
However, here he is speaking!
Down at the bottom are resources.
SO WHAT, PAUL?
Well, if he's too much, and he was for Hollywood, you could go and look at the man who distilled his work - Christopher Vogler - into something much easier to read.
He keeps the essence of Campbell's book but makes it easy reading and uses movies to make it clear how it all works. Essentially, the Hero's Journey takes place in 12 Steps, using Feature Films
And here he is!
And for the popcorn eates, here it is again, without any big words!
And, for a tanget, think now about the hero's journey and then watch one of Aesop's Fables. You'll notice good old fashioned story telling has a lot in common with Fables, Parables and other such things from our childhoods.
SO WHAT WHAT, PAUL?
Well, fair to you if you're thinking - what has this got to do with short films? You'd be right, so quick pat on the back and lets get solving this problem.
The hero's journey, in all its 12 steps is a bit too long for a short film, but we can use bits of it in thinking about story structure, and we can certainly learn a lot about storytelling in general, and how people react through the ages to story, by looking at Campbell's work.
THE PROBLEM OF THE SHORT
The most basic structure we've used is CONFLICT AND RESOLUTION. That's only two steps. Could we make it more complicated? Probably.
But if we can get just two steps right, and weave an interesting story with some of the mythical characters from Campbell's Monomyth, we could be really onto something.
In many ways, the hero's journey still exists in a short, but in a much shortened version. There is, for a start, a hero (or antihero) and he or she has something to struggle with (usually the conflict) and must overcome it (the Road Back) and be changed, forever (the last step in Campbell's journey).
Look at your short and see if you can chart the journey.
HOW DOES THIS WORK WITH NOIR AND TRADEGY
Well, in noir, and all tragedy, there is still a hero, except the hero instead of OVERCOMING THE MONSTER (i.e. the different problems put in his/her path) he is defeated by them and ends up being destroyed.
In noir, the MONSTER is inside the PERSON. It is their own personality that destroys them. They are unable to change and become a victim of their own circumstance.
Because its an interior, and therefore personal journey, they are AWARE of their own habits, which makes it much more gripping for us, the viewers.
Below is a bit of video about TRADEGY. He uses different terminology (something called the state of imperfection, but actually there are a couple of golden nuggets in this and its worth watching to show you how a story can be represented in a diagram - like a circle.)
RESOURCES
Joesph Campbell Foundation: http://www.jcf.org/new/index.php
Really good fun - Campbell's own life turned into his own theorectical mythic journey: http://www.folkstory.com/campbell/campbell.html
See if you can do the same with your own journey! It's easy. Think about you're journey through Teck. Who are the gatekeepers? Who are the shadow characters? The jokers? (all me)
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