Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast
129 episodes - English - Latest episode: 27 days ago - ★★★★★ - 108 ratingsTwo emerging screenwriters – Chas Fisher and Stuart Willis – try to work out what makes great screenplays work. Discovering what it takes by analysing what successful writers put on the page.
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Episodes
DZ-108: The Emotional Event with Judith Weston
March 31, 2024 10:53 - 1 hour - 79.5 MBHow and why should every scene have an emotional event? For the first episode of our tenth anniversary year, we are joined by Judith Weston to talk about Emotional Events. What is an emotional event? Well, it’s a way of thinking about scenes through relationships rather than plot. Instead of asking how a scene moves the plot forward, ask how the scene alters the relationship between characters. While emotional events are ostensibly a tool for directors to interpret scenes, we believe th...
DZ-107: Establishing Tone Through Character
February 29, 2024 12:28 - 1 hour - 93.2 MBHow can we use dramatisation to create tone? In this episode, Chas and Stu continue their deep dive into how to write tone by examining films with “light” (we use the phrase loosely) tones: LADY BIRD, EMILY THE CRIMINAL, THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS, and SPONTANEOUS. We also talk a surprising amount about DUNE and CRAZY STUPID LOVE. We focus on the relationship between character & tone and how the writers of these films use dramatisation to create their unique tones. We talk minimalism v...
DZ-106: How do you know if you have enough story?
December 31, 2023 05:34 - 1 hour - 79 MBHow do you know if you have enough narrative fuel to write a script? In this episode, Chas, Stu and Mel attempt to answer a listener question: “In your own pre-writing process, how do you know you have enough for a feature? And do you have a specific pre-writing method you're going to?” Thus we launch into a discussion on our writing processes and the varying usefulness of tools such as log lines, turning points, beat sheets, synopsis, treatments, and scene breakdowns. We also tackle ...
DZ-105: Establishing Tone Through Big Print
November 30, 2023 11:40 - 2 hours - 103 MBHow can we teach the reader to find the humour in our darkness? Chas and Stu finally start their long-mooted exploration of tone with a series that examines films and shows with unusual tones and dives into how the writers establish those tones in the first 5 pages. How does your script want your reader to experience violence in your story? Humour? Sex? Prejudice? To answer these questions, this episode look at how films with “darker” or “sadder” tones teach the reader what they can la...
DZ-105: Establishing Tone - Dark
November 30, 2023 11:40 - 2 hours - 103 MBHow can we teach the reader to find the humour in our darkness? Chas and Stu finally start their long-mooted exploration of tone with a series that examines films and shows with unusual tones and dives into how the writers establish those tones in the first 5 pages. How does your script want your reader to experience violence in your story? Humour? Sex? Prejudice? To answer these questions, this episode look at how films with “darker” or “sadder” tones teach the reader what they can la...
DZ-104: Characters Alone - Dramatizing the Internal
November 01, 2023 04:29 - 1 hour - 73.3 MBHow can scenes where characters are alone increase our connection with them? In this episode, we explore the audience's connection with characters through the lens of characters being alone. Chas and Stu breakdown scenes (and their scripts) from AFTERSUN, SENSE AND SENSIBILITY and THE EQUALIZER to discuss the significance of solitude in giving the audience insight into a character’s interiority. We talk how big print can reflect character; how finding moments for vulnerability allows cha...
DZ-103: Game of the Scene 2 - Triangle of Sadness, The Favourite
October 01, 2023 12:18 - 1 hour - 85.1 MBHow can games elevate dramatic scenes? In part two of this two parter, Stu and Chas go further into the game (of the scene) and look at how games force characters *other* than the protagonist to interact. We deep dive into the wonderful social satires of TRIANGLE OF SADNESS and THE FAVOURITE. We discuss how games reveal character through competency and decisions, how resources and skills impact the tactics that characters employ, and the difference between referees, rule lawyers, rule ma...
DZ-102: Game of the Scene - Bluey, John Wick 4
August 31, 2023 02:23 - 1 hour - 69.4 MBHow can ‘games’ help us write better scenes? Stu and Chas turn their attention to a topic that has long eluded them: the game of the scene. We look at how considering the game that characters are playing — its rules, arenas, players, referees, and win conditions — can help you write more dynamic scenes. This will be a two-parter, and for this half, we talk BLUEY, “The Quiet Game” (from Season 2) and “Phones” (from Season 3), and JOHN WICK 4. We also touch on GAME NIGHT and LIFE OF BRIAN....
DZ-101 Creating Immediacy & Anchoring Action on the Page
July 03, 2023 06:55 - 1 hour - 70.2 MBWhat can we learn by analysing how ‘oners’ are written on the page? Chas, Stu and Mel reunite to talk about writing the *feel* of camerawork in screenplays. We use “oners” — a long-playing continuous take — as a lens to talk about how some writers have “directed” from the page. We talk immediacy, camera positions, handovers, and anchoring action and more. We breakdown the famous Copacabana shot from GOODFELLAS, the awe-inspiring chase sequence from THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN, and the heart...
DZ-100: Scenes through Swords
May 29, 2023 10:26 - 1 hour - 49.1 MBWhat scene work tools can be learned from martial arts? In this slightly unusual episode of Draft Zero (but also incredibly on brand), Stu and philosopher swordsperson Damon Young discuss how the lessons they have learned from martial arts can be applied to scenes. In particular, they discuss how approaching an opponent in a sword fight can be analogous to how characters approach conflict, such as: the distance between the characters, who chooses to engage first, how to feint, how to lure ...
DZ-99: Scene Questions
May 01, 2023 00:09 - 1 hour - 78.2 MBHow do audience questions shape scenes? nspired by our earlier episodes on sequences, Chas and Stu narrow their focus to look at the atomic unit of screen storytelling: the scene. In particular, we breakdown how question and answers prompted in the audience structure individual scenes. We talk plot, character, and theme questions (and their hybrids) by analysing scenes from LOKI, THE LAST CRUSADE, THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, QUEEN AND SLIM, and DO THE RIGHT THING. We also briefly discuss SUCC...
DZ-98: Ensembles 3 - Character Function & Theme
March 31, 2023 12:05 - 2 hours - 99.5 MBWhat effect does adding a ton of characters have on your story? In Part 3 (the final part? Ha!) of our exploration into ensemble stories, Stu, Chas & Mel examine films whose genres do not conventionally require a ton of character or that use those ensembles in unconventional ways - in particular, adding whole storylines that are separate from the main character’s story. To that end, we dive into three films that were horrifically snubbed by the Oscars: THE WOMAN KING, RIDERS OF JUSTICE and...
DZ-97: Ensembles 2 - Servicing Characters
February 28, 2023 00:23 - 2 hours - 117 MBHow do you give your audience access to a lot of characters? In Part 2 of our exploration into ensemble stories, Stu, Chas and Mel examine films whose plot and genre require a lot of characters. Thus we tackle a team sports film (PITCH PERFECT), a murder mystery (GLASS ONION), a slasher (SCREAM 2022) and a family holiday flick (THE FAMILY STONE). By looking at these films, we discover tools for writers to service characters and give them more dimension. These tools include: shifting grou...
DZ-96: Ensembles 1 - What do we mean by an ensemble?
January 31, 2023 07:25 - 1 hour - 63.2 MBDZ-96: Ensembles 1 - What do we mean by an ensemble? How can the same story feel different when you have more characters? In the first part of our series on ensembles, Chas, Stu and Mel start by laying the groundwork for our future episodes. And we begin by asking the seemingly innocuous question: ‘what do we mean by calling a story an ensemble?’ As we unpack our own assumptions, biases and thoughts, we ask (and attempt to answer) more questions: How does an ensemble differ from a si...
DZ-95: Backmatter - Building and Maintenance
December 31, 2022 07:13 - 1 hour - 64.9 MBHow do you maintain hope in the face of, er, screenwriting? Time for our annual backmatter episode, where we drop any ruse of any objectivity, and fully embrace our subjective opinions! In this episode we discuss: potential topics for 2023; the ostensible shortening of first acts; balancing new projects vs current projects; how to maintain hope in the face of an industry as fickle as ours; and end with a discussion of Andor vs Obi-Wan. Yup, Star Wars is the new Die Hard. Get over it. S...
DZ-94: Talismans (Part 2)
November 30, 2022 13:04 - 2 hours - 104 MBHow can you use physical objects to track character change… wordlessly? In part two of our two-part series on TALISMANS, we break down the beats used to turn objects (in a broad sense) into talismans; how talismans can track character journeys and transitions; and how they can be used to create powerful moments without words. While Part 1 looked a range of talismans in a bunch of different movies, in this episode we deep dive into just three examples. We look at how Thor’s crisis of masc...
DZ-93: Talismans (Part 1)
October 31, 2022 08:14 - 1 hour - 83 MBHow can you use physical objects to reveal inner character? In this series, Chas and Stu discuss TALISMANS. Physical objects that are imbued with meaning by a character or characters. They’re a powerful tool to access inner character. In this first part, we lay the groundwork to discuss talismans and present something of a taxonomy. What makes talismans powerful? What makes them different from MacGuffins or characters? What types of Talismans are there? In the second part, we will breakd...
DZ-92: Insightful recognition in powerful endings
September 29, 2022 11:39 - 1 hour - 71.4 MBHow can endings prompt an audience to reflect on your story? Stu & Chas set out to explore what makes certain endings powerful, in particular those of LA LA LAND, INCEPTION, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and TURNING RED. The lens they bring to those endings is Aristotle’s moment of “anagnorisis” (don’t worry - we can’t pronounce it either), traditionally when a character moves from ignorance to knowledge (particularly of self). But in analysing these films, Chas and Stu discover that endings ca...
DZ-91: Raising (different kinds of) Stakes
August 31, 2022 01:00 - 2 hours - 114 MBHow can you keep your audience hooked when they know the end of the story? Chas, Stu and Mel take a deep dive into stakes, using then lens of biopics to help us think about them. If an audience already knows the “plot” outcome of a story, then how do you create stakes to make a story tense for the audience? To explore this, we deep dive into HIDDEN FIGURES (about the NASA Friendship 7 mission), DOWNFALL (the final days of Berlin in WW2), and BRIGHT STAR (the life and death of romantic p...
DZ-90: Setups & Payoffs in Everything Everywhere All At Once
July 27, 2022 00:12 - 1 hour - 74.8 MBHow can you use setups and payoffs to stitch your film together? In this one-shot, Chas and Stu dive into the awesomeness of EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE. In particular, we focus on its use of setups, payoffs and reversals; breakdown the difference between Pointers and Plants and Stitches; deep dive into its Michael Arndt inspired ending. And, of course, we talk hotdog fingers and butt-plugs. As always: SPOILERS ABOUND. Audio quotations used for educational purposes only. Timestam...
DZ-89: Opening Sequences
May 31, 2022 02:56 - 1 hour - 88.6 MBHow does your opening sequence set up your audience? Inspired by her tweet on how subversive an opening OCEAN’S ELEVEN has, Chas and Stu invited amazing writer/director Jessica Ellis onto the show to deep dive into opening sequences. How does a good opening setup character, genre, and theme? In exploring how best to open your story - instead of looking at the almost mandatory studio note of “dropping you in the action” - Stu, Chas and Jess look at the inventive openings of OCEAN’S ELEVEN, ...
DZ-88: Drama in Genre clothing
April 30, 2022 23:43 - 2 hours - 104 MBHow can dramas use genre elements to hook their audiences? Stu and Chas reunite with TV writer & director Kodie Bedford to look at how some films start out as genre but gradually become character dramas. Or, as Stu never said on the episode "Genre in the streets, Drama in the sheets". Together, they break down HUSTLERS, PIG and POWER OF THE DOG, to see how these films use their genre trappings to hook their audience while ultimately delivering something else entirely. We discuss chapter ...
DZ-87: Keeping Genre fresh
March 28, 2022 02:48 - 2 hours - 109 MBHow do you deliver on the emotional contract of a genre while surprising the audience? In tackling this enormous topic, Stu and Chads enlist professional TV writer and director for Kodie Bedford, someone who has somehow managed to defy genre pigeon-holing by writing mystery, comedy and vampire shows. The three of them look at GET OUT, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN and THE INVISIBLE MAN (with reference to PARASITE, JOHN WICK, TAKEN, KNIVES OUT and more) to see what tools the writers have used to ...
DZ-86: Backmatter - Minimum Viable Product
February 01, 2022 08:54 - 1 hour - 72.2 MBHow do you determine what is your MVP? In their annual full backwater episode, Stu and Chas let out their pandemic hair, drop the ruse of objectivity, and allow themselves to have even more options about writing and the business of writing. In this Backmatter entry, they go deep on: future episode topics; their screenwriting lessons from 2021 (especially on control); pitching projects; the minimum viable product & minimum loveable thing; and share their exper iences with running a writer...
DZ-85: Choices & Decisions 2 - The Farewell & Wrath of Man
November 17, 2021 12:17 - 1 hour - 89.3 MBWhat is difference between choice and decision when it comes to audience experience? In our second part of our “series” on Choices and Decisions, we take a deep dive into THE FAREWELL and WRATH OF MAN, with a sidebar on NOMADLAND. In THE FAREWELL, we consider how the choice/decision to lie underpins every sene of the film (to great effect). In NOMADLAND, we consider how using choice and decision is a great way to show how a character doesn’t change. And in WRATH OF MAN, we look at ho...
DZ-84: Choices & Decisions 1 - Booksmart
October 30, 2021 07:38 - 1 hour - 60.1 MBWhat is the difference between choice and decision when it comes to characters? In order to better understand dramatising of character, Chas and Stu take a very draft zero look at very specific tool: choices and decisions. We analyse three films through the decisions made by their characters. In particular, how the audience understanding of: the choice available, the considered decision itself, and the consequence changes how we feel about these characters. And how separating those three t...
DZ-83: A Very Thematic Stand-up Special!
September 08, 2021 04:25 - 2 hours - 124 MBWhat can screenwriters learn from the storytelling techniques used by stand-up comedians? Standup comedians can keep audiences gripped to their every word for over an hour, and often bring them to emotional climaxes by the end. So how do they do it and what tools can apply to scripted narratives? For this deep dive into standup, Stu and Chas are joined by the super-talented comic and podcaster Alice Fraser. Which is rather fortuitous. Because not only are we schooled on comedy techniques...
DZ-83: A Very Thematic Stand-up Special!
September 08, 2021 04:25 - 2 hours - 124 MBWhat can screenwriters learn from the storytelling techniques used by stand-up comedians? Standup comedians can keep audiences gripped to their every word for over an hour, and often bring them to emotional climaxes by the end. So how do they do it and what tools can apply to scripted narratives? For this deep dive into standup, Stu and Chas are joined by the super-talented comic and podcaster Alice Fraser. Which is rather fortuitous. Because not only are we schooled on comedy techniques...
DZ-82: Dramatising Given Circumstances in Watchmen
August 18, 2021 07:39 - 2 hours - 104 MBHow can writers dramatise Given Circumstances? In this final podcast release of last year’s run of LiveSoLation episodes, Chas and Stu are joined by Uber-geek Mel Killingsworth (who else?) in an epic exploration of how Dave Gibbons’ and Alan Moore’s seminal graphic novel WATCHMEN is adapted differently in Zack Snyder’s 2009 film and Damon Lindelof’s 2019 HBO television show. For this podcast release, we focus on a single craft tool: GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES. Traditionally an acting tool, we l...
DZ-81: Pitch Decks & Look Books - Development Tools 4
June 30, 2021 12:45 - 1 hour - 59.1 MBHow do you make effective pitch decks and look books for your projects? Chas and Stu are joined by writer/director/producer/multi-hyphenate Marc Furmie of Rezistor Studios to talk all things pitch decks and look books. Coming from an advertising and music video background, Marc shares his experience in putting together visual materials to pitch a project. We discuss the difference between pitch decks and lookbooks, how they help you sell your projects, what buyers are looking for, televis...
DZ-80: Interweaving Timelines 3 - Little Women
May 31, 2021 13:48 - 2 hours - 108 MBHow can interweaving timelines elevate the emotional experience for the audience? In our final part, part 3, of our Interweaving Timelines series, we — Chas, Stu & Mel — take a deep dive into Greta Gerwig's 2019 adaptation of Little Women. In her adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's iconic novels, Greta chose to interweave the seperate timelines of Little Women and it's sequel, Good Wives, to create a thematically and emotionally potent work. This differs from all the other adaptations, which...
DZ-79: Interweaving Timelines 2 - The Social Network
April 30, 2021 13:51 - 1 hour - 80.6 MBHow can interweaving two timelines change how we feel about a character? In this Part 2 of Interweaving Timelines (aka The Stu Monologue Episode), Mel, Chas and Stu tackle Sorkin/Fincher's The Social Network. As you’ll hear, it is clearly Stu’s favourite of the examples we cover and, ah, *not* Mel’s favourite. While all three bring their own biases and opinions on the reality of Facebook as it has become, we do manage to put the destruction of democracy to one side to actually analyse the ...
DZ-78: Interweaving Timelines 1 - Destroyer
April 01, 2021 12:48 - 1 hour - 84.5 MBHow does interweaving two timelines change how the audience feel? Stu and Chas are joined by Mel Killingsworth to dissect interweaving timelines. Not anthology films. Not Cloud Atlas. But films where two plot lines featuring the same characters, but from different timelines, are woven together. How do you manage stakes when you know a character’s future? What questions does this prompt in the viewer? And how the hell do you orient the reader? To answer these questions, it will take thr...
DZ-77: Backmatter - Prioritising and choosing projects
February 28, 2021 09:32 - 1 hour - 79.5 MBHow do you choose which project to start next? In their now-annual full backmatter episode, Stu and Chas let their hair down, drop the guise of objectivity, and allow themselves to have an even more subjective opinion about writing and the business of writing. In this particular Backmatter entry, they wax lyrical on [deep breath]: character journeys, hyperlink cinema, keeping genre fresh, beginning a new co-writing relationship, managing multiple projects, choosing your next project, and...
DZ-76: Spotlight on Sofia Coppola
February 01, 2021 06:55 - 1 hour - 94 MBWhat can we learn from Sofia Coppola’s on-the-page skills over her career? Following the success of the Tips from Tarantino episode, we have again decided to look at three different scripts from over the course of a long screenwriting career from a single writer to see what we can learn. Our beloved patreons not only selected Sofia Coppola as said writer, but also selected the scripts to analyse: LOST IN TRANSLATION, THE BLING RING and THE BEGUILED. Stu and Chas are joined by repeat Draf...
DZ-75: Fury Road & Visual Storytelling
December 31, 2020 02:08 - 1 hour - 58.3 MBHow can you do powerful storytelling... without dialogue? Stu and Chas are joined by filmmaker, podcaster and writer Matthew Brown to deep dive into FURY ROAD and its astounding visual storytelling, both on the page and on screen. We talk about setups and payoffs, given circumstances, image systems, environmental storytelling, and how the relationship between Furiosa and Max is built over the course of the story with very little dialogue (besides Tom Hardy’s grunts and the odd bellow of “ME...
DZ-74: Midsommar & Folk Horror
December 01, 2020 03:56 - 2 hours - 100 MBWhat can we learn from folk horror? Draft Zero return with their next YouTube livestream! Stu and Chas are joined by previous guest (and successful screenwriter) C.S. McMullen for a deep dive into MIDSOMMAR! We analyse the film through the lens of Folk Horror, but tackle broader topics such as horror vs dread, rising tension, transgressions, unfilmables, and portraying toxic relationships. You can also watch the recorded live stream on YouTube. As always: SPOILERS ABOUND Audio quota...
DZ-73: Selling documents - Development Tools 3
October 21, 2020 10:42 - 39 minutes - 31.6 MBHow do I write selling documents differently to development documents? In developing our stories and scripts, we have probably written some combination of treatments and loglines and outlines. Some of us have probably even sent these development materials out to producers or agencies when “selling” a project — as a step towards getting someone to read or *gulp* produce your material. If so… have you written them differently? Should you have? You probably should have... In this final part...
DZ-72: Theme & The Story Synopsis – Development Tools 2
September 28, 2020 07:51 - 1 hour - 54.4 MBHow can I develop my theme without writing script pages? Continuing our look at tools used in development, Chas & Stu are joined by Stephen Cleary to talk about Theme, The Thematic Logline and what Stephen calls The Story Synopsis. All are tools to help writers better understand their theme and how it is dramatised. We use the classic film WITNESS as an example, so spoilers abound. Audio quotations used for educational purposes only. Timestamps indicated below. Chapter markers included i...
DZ-71: Treatments & Loglines - Development Tools 1
September 01, 2020 01:40 - 1 hour - 72.6 MBHow can I develop my plot before writing the screenplay? Stu and Chas are joined by fan-favourite, Stephen Cleary, to NOT look at what makes great screenplays work -- but what makes great "short documents" work. We draw on Stephen Cleary's wealth of experience in developing work with writers, as a producer, as a script editor and as a former head of development. This recording turned especially epic and so we have divided it into three parts that can be listened to in any order. Part...
DZ-71: Treatments & Loglines 1 - Development Tools
September 01, 2020 01:40 - 1 hour - 72.6 MBHow can I develop my plot before writing the screenplay? Stu and Chas are joined by fan-favourite, Stephen Cleary, to NOT look at what makes great screenplays work -- but what makes great "short documents" work. We draw on Stephen Cleary's wealth of experience in developing work with writers, as a producer, as a script editor and as a former head of development. This recording turned especially epic and so we have divided it into three parts that can be listened to in any order. Part...
DZ-71: Treatments & Loglines - Development Tools
September 01, 2020 01:40 - 1 hour - 72.6 MBHow can I develop my plot before writing the screenplay? Stu and Chas are joined by fan-favourite, Stephen Cleary, to NOT look at what makes great screenplays work -- but what makes great "short documents" work. We draw on Stephen Cleary's wealth of experience in developing work with writers, as a producer, as a script editor and as a former head of development. This recording turned especially epic and so we have divided it into three parts that can be listened to in any order. Part...
DZ-70: Joker & Melodrama
July 23, 2020 09:42 - 1 hour - 80.3 MBHow does Joker use melodramatic techniques to elevate its storytelling? Draft Zero return with their next YouTube livestream! Stu and Chas take a deep dive into JOKER and analyse the film through the story paradigm of melodrama. Is it a melodrama? Why or why not does that matter? And does that influence how it has been written on the page? They then answer listeners questions on JOKER and more. If you want to listen in on the next live recording, find details here: https://www.patreon....
DZ-11: Adventure for the MacGuffin! [Remastered]
July 03, 2020 02:00 - 1 hour - 90.9 MBIs the MacGuffin truly interchangable, and how does it impact on your character writing? Stu and Chas are joined by a special guest - Scriptmag contributor Brad Johnson - to discuss how the choice of the MacGuffin can impact on the quality of an action/adventure film. To test this thesis, our heroes compare the auspicious originals of two iconic franchise with their, um, less-than-auspicious 4th instalments (in other words we compare RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK with KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SK...
DZ-69: Parasite & Audience Questions
June 10, 2020 09:07 - 1 hour - 69 MBHow can you use audience questions to heighten emotional investment? Draft Zero return with their next YouTube livestream! Stu and Chas take a deep dive into PARASITE and how its mastery of audience questions elevates the film. They then answer listeners questions on PARASITE and much more. If you want to listen in on the next live recording, find details here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/dz-livesolation-35770237 and/or subscribe to us on YouTube via http://www.draft-zero.com/YouTube ...
DZ-68: One-Shot - Using POV to structure KNIVES OUT
May 17, 2020 13:22 - 1 hour - 77 MBHow can shifting narrative point of view drive your sequences? Born out of isolation madness, this episode is an edited version of Draft Zero’s first YouTube livestream. Stu and Chas both watched KNIVES OUT and - together with our listeners - broke down each sequence and turning point by reference to what the audience knows in relation to the characters (aka narrative point of view). hey then answer listener questions on KNIVES OUT and much else besides live on air. If you want to liste...
DZ-68: Using POV to structure KNIVES OUT
May 17, 2020 13:22 - 1 hour - 77 MBHow can shifting narrative point of view drive your sequences? Born out of isolation madness, this episode is an edited version of Draft Zero’s first YouTube livestream. Stu and Chas both watched KNIVES OUT and - together with our listeners - broke down each sequence and turning point by reference to what the audience knows in relation to the characters (aka narrative point of view). hey then answer listener questions on KNIVES OUT and much else besides live on air. If you want to liste...
DZ-67: Writing “Passive” Protagonists & Melodrama
April 30, 2020 09:27 - 2 hours - 147 MBHow do I tell a powerful story where the protagonist cannot drive the plot? Stu and Chas are joined by Stephen Cleary following his exploration into Melodrama, and together they try to reclaim the word from its pejorative meaning. By examining powerful Melodramas - like THE HANDMAID’S TALE, LADIES IN BLACK and STRANGER THINGS… with many a tangent on MARRIAGE STORY, PETE’S DRAGON, MILDRED PIERCE, GAME OF THRONES, LOST, THE JOKER, THE KILLING, THE WITCHER, war movies and survival films - t...
DZ LiVEsolation Annoucement
April 07, 2020 10:08 - 5 minutes - 5.48 MBHow does Draft Zero cope with lockdown? LINKS Facebook: http://facebook.com/draftzeropodcast/ Patreon: http://patreon.com/draftzero/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIEz5b9FMNa7Tj8DkcJQWRA Dear DZ Listeners, We hope you are all staying healthy and safe. Due this difficult time of lockdown, Chas and Stu have decided to “regularly” do special live-streamed episodes (via YouTube Live) of Draft Zero that we are calling LiVEsolation. They different from (and in addition to...
DZ-66: The Mandalorian and The Rise of Skywalker - Audience Knowledge vs Character Motivation
March 17, 2020 07:02 - 1 hour - 88.3 MBHow does audience knowledge affect your character’s motivations? Chas and Stu are joined by special guest - filmmaker Mel Killingsworth - to talk all things Star Wars. Well. Focusing on The Mandalorian and The Rise of Skywalker and wherever else our tangents take us. Our primary lens is look at how both shows handle “fan service” — but really its about how you handle character motivations when your audience has more knowledge than your characters, especially knowledge from outside the sh...