Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast

• DZ-119: Final Character Choices & Great Endings

  How does your protagonist’s final choice resolve the plot, character arc and theme? In this episode, Stu and Chas focus solely on the final choices made by protagonists and how that reflects their character journey and successfully, or not, dramatises the internal. We compare and contrast different uses of narrative POV in respect to these final choices, in particular whether and when the audience is made aware of the options available to the character, the act of making the choice, and the consequences of the choice. We breakdown examples from DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES, FINDING NEMO, MICHAEL CLAYTON, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN and TALK TO ME. As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.  CHAPTERS 00:00:00 - Opening 00:00:18 - Why Final Choices? 00:10:45 - DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES 00:19:09 - FINDING NEMO 00:28:45 - MICHAEL CLAYTON 00:53:11 - PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN 01:16:38 - TALK TO ME 01:41:45 - Key Learnings 01:50:13 - Thanks awesome patreons! RELATED EPISODES DZ-04: Catharsis and the Poist-coital Cigarette DZ-84: Choices & Decisions DZ-87: Keeping Genre Fresh DZ-33: Protagonist vs Hero DZ-58: Game of Thrones - Character Exposition DZ-34: Game of Choices LINKS MICHAEL CLAYTON by Tony Gilroy PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN by Emerald Fennell TALK TO ME by Danny Philippou & Bills Hinzman based on a concept by Daley Pearson Michael Arndt: What makes an insanely good ending Every Frame a Painting: Snowpiercer - Look Left or Right   RELATED EPISODES DZ-04: Catharsis and the Poist-coital Cigarette DZ-84: Choices & Decisions DZ-87: Keeping Genre Fresh DZ-33: Protagonist vs Hero DZ-58: Game of Thrones - Character Exposition DZ-34: Game of Choices More Draft Zero is brought to you more often by our awesome Patreons. Especially Lily, Paulo, Alexandre, Malay, Jennifer, Thomas, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis, and Khrob. 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, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter. BUY DRAFT ZERO MERCH via TeePublic SUBSCRIBE TO SHOT ZERO via Substack

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• DZ-118: Adolescence and tension through questions

  How do dramatic questions create tension?  In this episode, Stu and Chas delve into the cultural phenomenon of ADOLESCENCE. We try to find the craft tools that have made the show so compelling and such a catalyst for conversation.  In particular, we breakdown how the show’s emphasis on questions creates tension: not just tension through plot, but tension through character, and ultimately tension through theme. We analsyse the show episode-by-episode, and discuss how the overall structure skilfully shifts from a plot-heavy police procedural towards a thematic-heavy melodrama and the impact that has on our experience. We discuss how the decision to shoot the show in a series of “oners” affects the writing and what tools we can take from that to apply to our own writing (even if we’re not writing it to be a one-shot): POV characters, handovers, French scenes, emotional events, and more. As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes. CHAPTERS 00:00:00 - Cold Open 00:00:10 - Why Adolescence? 00:09:32 - Episode One 00:32:03 - Episode Two 00:46:59 - Episode Three 00:57:47 - Episode Four 01:19:19 - Melodrama 01:23:32 - Scene-level tools 01:52:57 - Key Learnings & Wrap Up 01:58:33 - Thanks to our Patreons RELATED EPISODES DZ-67: Writing “Passive” Protagonists & Melodrama DZ-108: The Emotional Event with Judith Weston DZ-101: Oners - Creating Immediacy & Anchoring Action on the Page DZ-70: Joker & Melodrama LINKS Watch: Crafting Adolescence's Tense One-Take Episodes with Stephen Graham | BAFTA Watch: The Making Of Adolescence - The One-Shot Explained | Netflix More Draft Zero is brought to you more often by our awesome Patreons. Especially Lily, Paulo, Alexandre, Malay, Jennifer, Thomas, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis, and Khrob. 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, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter. BUY DRAFT ZERO MERCH via TeePublic SUBSCRIBE TO SHOT ZERO via Substack

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• DZ-117: Tonal shifts

  How can we teach our audience new storytelling rules in the middle of our story? Following on from our episodes on establishing tone through action lines and through character, this is what we have been building up to: how to pull off a tonal switch… that does not throw the audience out of the film. And, in particular, how to pull that off on the page when writers don’t have framing, lighting, music, editing, etc. at our disposal? With that goal in mind, Mel and Chas dissect specific moments on the pages of SHAUN OF THE DEAD, SORRY TO BOTHER YOU and SWISS ARMY MAN. While there are definite craft tools identified - rhythm of action lines, varying use of unfilmmables and metaphors, establishing language patterns - the two big takeaways are: (1) pulling off a tonal shift takes a lot of setup; and (2) when the time comes, contrast on the page is key. Thanks to Chris Walker for editing this episode. As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes. CHAPTERS 00:00:00 – Cold Open 00:00:25 - What do we mean by tonal shift? 00:08:35 - Distinguishing between genre shift and tonal shift 00:13:08 - Shaun of the Dead 00:45:41 - Sorry to Bother You 01:28:07 - Swiss Army Man 02:02:10 – Key learnings and wrap up 02:06:35 – Patreon thanks RELATED EPISODES: DZ-105: Establishing tone through big print DZ-107: Establishing tone through character LINKS: Every frame a painting – Edgar Wright – How to do visual comedy SHAUN OF THE DEAD - Edgar Wright & Simon Pegg SORRY TO BOTHER YOU -  Boots Riley SWISS ARMY MAN - Daniels More Draft Zero is brought to you more often by our awesome Patreons. Especially Lily, Paulo, Alexandre, Malay, Jennifer, Thomas, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis, and Khrob. 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, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter.   BUY DRAFT ZERO MERCH via TeePublic SUBSCRIBE TO SHOT ZERO via Substack   

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• DZ-116: Writing physical comedy

  How do you make extended technical scenes funny on the page? Mel joins Chas to tackle physical comedy. We limited our homework selection to extended scenes (as opposed to moments and sight gags) in live action projects and - with the help of our Patreons - selected early sequences from BRINGING UP BABY, the pilot for HAPPY ENDINGS and that wonderful food poisoning scene in BRIDESMAIDS. We discover how these incredible writers take their time (on the page) to set up geography, framing and running gags. We also get tips on judicious use ALL CAPS, ellipses and M-dashes to recreate visual gags… and when to just let a paragraph go long and draw attention to itself. As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes. CHAPTERS 00:00:00 – Cold Open 00:00:19 – What physical comedy scenes are we looking at? 00:10:27 - BRINGING UP BABY 00:31:44 - Thank you Arc Studio Pro! 00:34:34 - HAPPY ENDINGS pilot 00:58:15 - BRIDESMAIDS 01:27:31 - Key learnings and wrap up 01:33:56 - Patreon thanks RELATED EPISODES: DZ-16: Masters of Time and Whitespace Shot Zero - Why is Ryan Gosling so funny? Shot Zero - How is oner from GAME NIGHT so seamless? LINKS: Every frame a painting - Edgar Wright - How to do visual comedy GAME NIGHT by Mark Perez BRINGING UP BABY by Hagar Wilde and Dudley Nichols HAPPY ENDINGS Pilot by David Caspe BRIDESMAIDS by Annie Mumulo and Kristen Wiig This episode brought to you by (drum roll) ArcStudio: go to https://www.arcstudiopro.com/draftzero for $30 off a pro subscription! And how can we forget our awesome Patreons? Especially Lily, Paulo, Alexandre, Malay, Jennifer, Thomas, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis, and Khrob. 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, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter. BUY DRAFT ZERO MERCH via TeePublic SUBSCRIBE TO SHOT ZERO via Substack

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• DZ-115: A Christmas Special - Rewatching & Rituals

  What magic do Christmas movies use to make them so rewatchable? In this “backmatter” episode of Draft Zero, Stu, Chas, and Mel Killingsworth embark on a festive exploration of what makes holiday films so engaging and so re-watchable that they can become part of our rituals. To that end, we breakdown the charm of of Christmas films like KISS KISS BANG BANG, RIDERS OF JUSTICE, and IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE.  We discuss what defines a holiday movie, the power of nostalgia, the importance of ensembles to a sense of family, and how voiceover, snappy dialogue and intricate plots can make something rewatchable. For each of us, we see these films as gateways to introspection and shared experiences during the holidays. And we are briefly joined by filmmaker (and friend of the podcast) Damien Cassar who talks us through the meaning of nostalgia and it’s relationship with the “pain of homecoming”, and how Christmas/Holiday films provide comfort and a sense of belonging amid ever-changing societal dynamics.  Merry Christmas! As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes. Thanks to Chris Walker for his excellent editing this episode. CHAPTERS 00:00:00 – Cold Open 00:01:00 – What do we mean by Holiday Movies? 00:18:52 – Kiss Kiss Bang Bang 00:41:16 – Riders of Justice 01:03:45 – Sponsorship: Arc Studio Pro 01:06:30 – It’s A Wonderful Life 01:48:37 – Key Learnings & Wrap Up 01:51:03 – On Nostalgia 01:54:28 – Many thanks to our Patreons This episode brought to you by (drum roll) ArcStudio: go to https://www.arcstudiopro.com/draftzero for $30 off a pro subscription! And how can we forget our awesome Patreons? Especially Lily, Paulo, Alexandre, Malay, Jennifer, Thomas, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis, and Khrob. 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, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter. BUY DRAFT ZERO MERCH via TeePublic SUBSCRIBE TO SHOT ZERO via Substack

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