In the graphic design world, there are three principles that can combine to create an effective graphic image: Unity Variety Hierarchy Unity means the graphic image focuses on making a single point. In bar charts, that could be showing a trend of sales or profits. In a story, unity means focusing on your theme. In […]
Watch a bad movie and you may not know why, but suddenly you start losing interest in the story at some point. There are many reasons why bad movies fail to keep your attention, but one reason involves repetition and showing nothing interesting. In many bad action movies, there’s an endless number of scenes where […]
Most people start writing their screenplay without clearly defining their story. As a result, they wind up writing a lot of words that don’t work together or lead anywhere. This results in endless drafts that don’t always fix the problem if the screenwriter doesn’t know what he or she is trying to do in the […]
In flat, boring movies, the hero stays the same from start to finish. Watch bad James Bond movies and James Bond is confident and on top of the world at the beginning and the end. Then watch better James Bond movies like “Skyfall” where James Bond is considered too old to stay in the service […]
Nothing makes a story move faster than a deadline. Without a deadline, there’s no reason for the hero to do anything. With a deadline, the hero must achieve a goal by a certain time or else some Horrible Consequence by the villain will hurt someone close to the hero. Before writing your screenplay, identify: A […]
Musicals tell a story largely through songs. In bad musicals like “Grease 2,” the songs serve no purpose other than to show people singing and dancing. In good musicals, the songs actually express the emotional change of the story. Listen to the soundtrack for “Mary Poppins” and you can clearly hear the flow of the […]
If you write a screenplay, don’t send it out to others just yet. Before you let anyone else look at your screenplay, protect it first. While the chances of someone stealing your screenplay is remote, you can completely eliminate that possibility just by protecting your work. The two ways to do that are registration with […]
In a bad movie, the climax simply shows the hero fighting and defeating the villain, which can be as exciting as watching two unknown boxers punching each other out until one of them falls. While physical action can be interesting, it’s never enough. What your climax needs is the emotional element to make the ending […]
If you’re planning to write a horror movie involving a monster of some type, it helps to start with something scary to begin with such as dinosaurs (“Jurassic Park”), sharks (“Jaws”), or Satan (“The Exorcist”). When you start with a scary monster, it’s much easier to write a scary movie. So what happens if you […]
When most people think of seeing a movie, they usually think of seeing the latest Hollywood offerings at their local theater. Seeing movies in a theater can be fun, but expensive. A better option is to use Netflix, iTunes, or Redbox and rent the latest movies you want to see for much less. However, nearly […]