July, 2017 - The 15 Minute Movie Method

The Haunted Past

July 30, 2017

In every story, there must be a past. The reason for creating a past is for the hero and mentor to overcome mistakes from the...

The Hero’s Initial Dream

July 24, 2017

In every story, a hero has an initial dream. In “Star Wars,” Luke wants to leave his uncle’s farm. In “WALL-E,” WALL-E wants to find...

The Importance of Emotional Change

July 21, 2017

There’s a huge difference between a good idea and good implementation. You can have a good idea but implement it poorly. That’s why certain bad...

Introducing the Hero

July 18, 2017

The two earliest scenes in any screenplay must introduce the hero and the villain. In some movies, the villain gets introduced first such as in...

Three Types of Villains

July 14, 2017

Every story is about a hero and a villain. If the hero wins, the villain loses. If the villain wins, the hero loses. This winner-take-all...

A Scene Must Change a Character’s Life

July 11, 2017

Every scene exists solely to change a character’s life. Without this emotional change, the scene is pointless. Consider the scene in “Star Wars” when Luke...

Create an Interesting World with a History

July 6, 2017

Part of what makes every story interesting is the world in which it takes place, even if that world is just the ordinary world that...

Structuring a Scene as a Foreigner

July 3, 2017

Here’s the worst way to write a scene. Have two characters sit in a restaurant and do nothing but talk. This is visually boring no...

The 15 Minute Movie Method

July 2017