The Stage 32 Videos: Writing

King of Fraud Trailer 20 sec

“ In his final attempt to save a dying horror radio show, Mike invites a voice actor live on air—unaware that the guest will turn the broadcast into a nightmare. ”

Walking actors, cinematographers, and designers through the details of their work on the page is obviously bad form. Nobody likes being told how to do their job... but what if you're right?

Financing is the process of soliciting investment capital or loans, based on the premise of a return of investment... and now we're going to talk about how I understand that process when it comes to feature film production.

What's the deal in Hollywood, when it comes to business? What goes into the financing of a motion picture? Let's talk about it!

A video I made of my niece. She’s a girl filled with deep curiosity, and I often see my younger self in her. I’ve never wanted to lose that childlike excitement or curiosity for life. When I was young, I was endlessly curious—always rummaging through my grandparents’ things. Their home was filled with pieces of the world: souvenirs from faraway places. My grandpa traveled often for work, visiting many countries. He didn’t talk much about those trips, maybe because to him they were just business, but to me they were everything. Those objects sent my imagination spinning—thinking about the beautiful journeys he took and the fascinating people he must have met. I wondered what their lives were like, who they were, and what stories they carried. I remember thinking how lucky he was, and dreaming that one day, that would be me—writing my own beautiful journey.

Some writers see short film as a medium that lets them off the structural hook. My advice is to look at it as a magnifying glass, showcasing the quality and strength of your fundamentals to the audience.

Is spectacle some weird magic that only shows up for certain movies, or is it just what you get for selling out your artistic integrity? No. In fact, spectacle is something you can create on command, to whatever artistic effect you like, using any materials you have on hand to work with.

Probably the favorite objection to the idea of an active dramatic structure is a writer's creative desire to build active characterization through catharsis. Let's not assume that a writer's ideas require a passive approach to the structure. Let's work out how to get there without asking the actor to sell a character to the audience.

In these videos, we've talked a lot about how writers need to put their agendas aside and build their stories around the actors... so what happens when a writer has something they want to say on the screen?

When submitting for notes, most writers will tell you that their script is one small tweak away from success. At the same time, massive problems with passive structure are usually what's keeping a screenplay from advancing in the marketplace. Where's the disconnect? How do we square the circle?

"But I started writing so I wouldn't have to talk to people!" Yes, but then you started working in the collaborative arts! Here's why acting classes will help you a lot more than you think.