May 2014

Showing 1 - 10 of 10 results

Why Movies Drag

Sometimes you can watch a three hour movie and by the time it ends, you don’t even realize how much time has passed. Other times...
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Phrasing Your Theme as a Question

Movies without a theme tend to be directionless and short-sighted where every scene tries to do something, but without the unifying goal of a theme,...
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Studying the Seriousness Behind Comedies

Comedies are often dismissed as less than serious stories, but if you look beyond the laughs, comedies typically contain serious stories. In “The 40-Year Old...
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The Deadlines in “Gravity”

“Gravity” is a visually stunning picture but from a story perspective, it focuses mostly on external threats. By studying “Gravity,” you can see how external...
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Something Happens

Stories are never direct. In a romantic comedy, boy meets girl, but it never ends that way. Instead the basic formula is boy meets girl,...
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The Three I’s of Comedy

The book “Writing the Comedy Blockbuster” lists three I’s that are important in a comedy. The first I is Inappropriate Goals. When your hero starts...
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The Seriousness of Comedy

Even the Academy Awards dismiss comedies as frivolous entertainment, yet the best comedies often have an important point to make. In “American Pie,” the story...
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Every Scene is Conflict

What makes any story interesting is conflict. Put a bunch of characters in a room and have them agree makes for a boring story. If...
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Lessons From Soap Operas

If you’ve ever gotten hooked on a soap opera, you know how they can hold your attention for weeks, months, or even years. There are...
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Analyzing “Argo”

“Argo” is a fictionalized version of real events that took place when the Canadian embassy helped six Americans escape during the Iranian revolution. The actual events...
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