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PODCAST

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast

Chas Fisher and Stuart Willis

Two 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.

tv & film performing arts

All Episodes

DZ-46: Organising your story around Point of View

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2017/12/19

What questions do you want your audience asking at any given time? Waaaaaaaaaay back in DZ-5, Stu and Chas examined how shifting narrative point of view (i.e. what the audience knows in relation to the characters on screen) heightens emotions in any given scene. We've now taken that micro idea and applied it to the macro: how can deciding what the audience knows and when in relation to the characters organise your story? Are whole sequences or even acts driven by the audience following a character,

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02:21:07

DZ-45: Arguments of the Scene

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2017/10/27

How can you dramatise your theme on a scene level? As part of their ongoing exploration of scene-work, Stu and Chas apply their earlier thinking on theme and character worldview to individual scenes. Can examining a scene from a thematic perspective impact the drama, conflict or stakes of the scene? How does your character’s conscious and subconscious world views dramatise the overall theme of the work? How can an individual scene reflect the larger themes of the overall story? Do any of these

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02:07:29

DZ-44: Marvel - First Acts and Establishing Characters

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2017/09/17

How can your first act effectively establish your character journey? First Acts are hard. They have to set so much in motion, especially setting up characters. To help them understand how to write effective first acts better, Stu and Chas turn their analytical gaze to a franchise that has been refining and reiterating its first act "schema" for over a decade... THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE. The MCU has made (to date) six separate origin films, each tasked with establishing their titular characters

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03:16:19

DZ-43: Driving Sequences - Character and Plot Intensity

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2017/07/08

What gives your sequences their intensity? Chas and Stu are joined for the fourth time by the inestimable Stephen Cleary - this time to take a deep dive into sequences. A real deep dive. A 3+ hour deep dive. Stephen postulates that sequences can compel the audience in different ways via the type of dramatic questions being posed. Are they plot questions ("Will she defuse the bomb?") or character questions ("Will she understand what compels her to defuse bombs?") or a combination of both? What is the

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01:52:49

DZ-42: One-Shot - Split, Character Worldview & Macro POV

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2017/04/26

What screenwriting lessons can be we learn from SPLIT? In our first (and perhaps last) one-shot, we take a close look at the M. Night Shyamalan's SPLIT. Rather than having one topic with many examples, we use the one example to look at many topics. Well, okay, a few topics. Firstly, we take the opportunity to revisit theme. SPLIT offers a very clear example of the worldview of the characters and the rules of the world working together to create a coherent theme. Then we look at the SPLIT's use of

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02:32:40

DZ-41: Theme and Worldview

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2017/03/24

How can your characters' worldview dramatise your theme? In this episode, Stu and Chas tackle one of the more esoteric topics in screenwriting (and writing in general): theme! To help us tackle this topic, we decided to look at television pilots, because we felt that television requires the theme to be more explicit. Our zig-zagging (and long) discussion covers thematic engines, music themes, thematic loglines, punishment vs reward, and - perhaps most of all - the worldview of characters. So we

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02:15:51

DZ-40: Tactics and Scenes

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2017/02/04

How do tactics make your characters and scenes more dynamic? In this episode, Stu and Chas turn their gaze to the "tactics" that characters use in scenes to get what they want. Tactics are how the characters try to achieve their goals and (we reckon) can be revealing of the essence of their character. The shifting and thwarting of tactics can make scenes more dynamic; while over the course of a story, the changing of tactics can reflect the growth of characters... even if their goal stays the same

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01:29:41

DZ-39: Backmatter - Hitting LA, Receiving Feedback,...

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2017/01/15

How can writers make use of their time when hitting LA? In another backmatter-only episode, Stu & Chas zig-zag through a range of topics. We talk about Chas' experience(s) hitting both Los Angeles and the Austin Film Festival, effective networking, career capital, the art of receiving feedback, and Stu's harsh Three Strikes Rule. We look back at the most important lessons we've learned about storytelling in 2016 and that leads us to talk about character choices in a little-known and little-talked

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01:52:48

DZ-38: Excelling at Exposition (Part 2)

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2016/12/06

How can exposition twist your story in new directions? In the second part of Draft Zero's two-part episode on "Exposition", Stu & Chas take an even deeper look at this notoriously challenging part of screenwriting. For many stories there are pre-existing facts (or given circumstances) that need to be communicated to an audience, and often we rely on dialogue to do it. But exposition can do more than just communicate, it can serve as dramatic revelation that twists a story into a new direction or

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01:46:37

DZ-37: Excelling at Exposition (Part 1)

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2016/11/23

How can you successfully integrate exposition into your story? In Draft Zero's first two part episode, Stu & Chas take an in-depth look at one of screenwriting's most common challenges: EXPOSITION. For many stories there are pre-existing facts that need to be communicated to the audience — whether those facts be about the rules of the world, the nature of a location, character motivations, character backstories or just character names. So how have great writers made exposition move the story

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01:07:26

DZ-36: Backmatter - Time Risk and Fixing Movies

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2016/10/30

How can writers wisely invest their time in projects? In this "special", backmatter-only episode, Stu & Chas take inspiration from Terry Rossio's excellent article on TIME RISK and ice skate over a range of topics. We talk about time investment in projects, Stuart's project Restoration, doing you down work first, managing feedback, thinking positive being a negative, and we open the listener mail bag for critiques, praise and suggestions. We also explore how we could do Draft Zero episodes exploring

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01:20:50

DZ-35: Driving Characters or Character Driven?

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2016/10/06

How can films maintain audience interest without stakes or plot questions? Continuing their focus on "character", Stuart and Chas take a close look at films that may be considered character-driven... or rather character studies... or just plot-lite films? Whatever you call them, these films —CHEF, HAPPY-GO-LUCKY, and AMOUR — let their plots take a back seat to a closer examination of their characters. Stuart and Chas dive in to investigate how, without plot driving the story forward, do these films

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01:26:25

DZ-34: Game of Choices - Decision Making and...

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2016/08/14

How does the audience experience of a character's decision impact our feelings towards that character? After a spectacular end to Season 6 of GAME OF THRONES, Chas and Stu were struck by the very different portrayals of Sansa in Episode 9 - Battle of the Bastards and Cersei in Episode 10 - The Winds of Winter. Despite both characters having an enormous impact on the narrative, the audience's experience of those characters is very different -- largely because Sansa is absent from 98% of Battle of the

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01:58:20

DZ-33: Protagonist vs Hero - Dawn of Character Function

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2016/07/15

How does splitting 'character functions' enhance theme? We are often told that our 'protagonist' needs to be a active. That they need to be compelling. That they need to change. And - old faithful - that they need to be likeable. But after looking at MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, STAR TREK (2009), THE FIGHTER, and SICARIO, Chas and Stu learn that your primary character does not need to do all these things. In fact, they learn that splitting these functions between your primary characters can reinforce theme

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02:23:13

DZ-32: High-Tension Sequences

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2016/06/12

How can you recreate the feeling of cinematic high-tension on the page? Chas & Stu take a close look at sequences of high-tension - the ones that make you lean forward in fear, or jump backwards in terror. Without camera angles, lighting, music or sound, how can screenwriters can evoke those emotions in readers using only the page? These sequences can be found in any genre of film, not just thriller or horror. To that end, Stu and Chas dive into high tension scenes from NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN,

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02:05:06

DZ-31: Tools for Better Dialogue 1

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2016/04/10

How does dialogue serve to reveal character? Chas & Stu are joined once again by the renowned script developer and producer, Stephen Cleary. In the first part of our series on writing better dialogue (there will be more!), we take a close look at how dialogue serves character: individuating characters, revealing characterisation, shifting status, and much more. Together, they (well, mostly Stephen) break down scenes from ANALYSE THIS, NOTTING HILL, REMAINS OF THE DAY and THE AVENGERS. In a first for

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01:43:36

DZ-30: Oscars revisited - Spotlight and Carol

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2016/02/28

What makes a script so compelling that it ends up with an Oscar nod?This week, Stu and Chas return to their first ever episode by tackling two Oscar-nominated screenplays. But this time - instead of exploring the rigid structures laid down by gurus - they use it as an opportunity to explore what they've learned in the last three years and apply them to the phenomenal writing in SPOTLIGHT and CAROL (with slight digression towards THE EXPANSE* and GAME OF THRONES). And so this slightly meandering

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01:41:29

DZ-29: Showdowns & Scene Structure

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2016/01/25

What can fight scenes - whether physical or verbal - teach us about structuring any scene? In exploring how to write good fight scenes, Stu and Chas compare how writers structure memorable showdowns - both verbal and physical. Fights vs arguments. Swords vs insults. Lightsabres vs passive aggressive subtext. To do this, they analyse the showdowns in EASTERN PROMISES, ROB ROY, THE FORCE AWAKENS (yes, yes, we finally let Stu officially discuss Star Wars), A FEW GOOD MEN, BREAKING BAD and BEFORE

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01:55:35

DZ-28: Containing Your Script

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2015/12/21

How do you keep contained movies engaging? Contained Thrillers seem to be a genre that never goes out of fashion. But being contained is not just limited to thrillers. It's a way of telling stories on a lower budget, regardless of genre. So - while allegedly easier to make / get made - limiting a story to a single location also limits the tools that maintain an audience's interest. Changing audience or character point of view, intercutting between locations or characters are all much harder (if not

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01:42:12

DZ-27: Competing views on Screenplay Competitions

Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast ·

2015/11/15

Can screenplay competitions be worth it? After being repeatedly asked by listeners for thoughts on screenplay competitions, Stu and Chas go full back matter for this special episode. They tackle the question - do comps just feeding the hope machine or are they a valid investment? - in their typical detailed (i.e. long) style. With their differing perspectives, Stu (a director looking for material) and Chas (a writer keen for exposure), talk to an impressive roster of guests. We start with Gordy

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118 results

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