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DZ-72: Theme & The Story Synopsis - Development Tools 2

How can I develop my theme without writing script pages?

Legacy Episode — Migrated from our original site. Will take time to tidy up!

⏱ 1h 0m
28 SEP 2020

Show Notes

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.

Thanks to Meegan May for reading the examples. Meegan May is an emerging queer screenwriter and former military intelligence analyst with plenty of award winning scripts and extensive experience in development. Look her up! http://meeganmay.com

Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre and Lily.

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

Chapters

  • 00:00:00 – Intro: Theme in Development
  • 00:01:54 – The Story Synopsis
  • 00:04:19 – Plot & Theme / Praxis & Mythos
  • 00:11:12 – Back to the Story Synopsis
  • 00:13:45 – Witness
  • 00:16:09 – Thematic Logline
  • 00:17:00 – Using the Thematic Logline in development
  • 00:22:26 – Witness - 1st Act in Story Synopsis
  • 00:25:46 – Witness - 2nd Act in Story Synopsis
  • 00:28:55 – Characters, Plot & Theme
  • 00:30:27 – Witness - Book drops his facadé
  • 00:33:25 – Witness - 3rd Act in Story Synopsis
  • 00:40:49 – Witness - Complete Story Synopsis
  • 00:41:51 – Using the Story Synopsis in development
  • 00:48:04 – Rewriting using the Story Synopsis
  • 00:54:53 – Wrap Up

Films

Episodes in the Development Tools series

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We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter.