Skip to main content
DRAFT ZERO

DZ-101: Oners - Creating Immediacy & Anchoring Action on the Page

What can we learn by analysing how 'oners' are written on the page?

3 JUL 2023

Show Notes

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 pounding ‘Zed attack’ from CHILDREN OF MEN. We also briefly discuss THE BOURNE IDENTITY, HEREDITARY, THE BEAR, ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN and TOUCH OF EVIL.

And we do this breakdown by closely reading the actual words on the page!

So thanks to Meegan May (of Starship Q Star) for performing the big print / action lines. Script Pages available on our Patreon -> https://www.patreon.com/posts/dz-99-scene-82312058

Thanks to Chris Walker for editing this episode.

"This scene is all about how Karen feels. She’s seeing him interacting with all these people. He’s the one that’s physically active in the scene."

Mel Killingsworth  |  DZ-101: Oners - Creating Immediacy & Anchoring Action on the Page

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.


Resources

Chapters

  • 00:00:13 – Cold Open
  • 00:00:23 – Sponsor: ScriptUp
  • 00:01:58 – Directing from the Page: Writing the Feel of Camerawork
  • 00:07:26 – › Writing camera direction versus writing the feeling of a shot
  • 00:09:50 – BOURNE IDENTITY & HEREDITARY
  • 00:13:15 – › Narrative purpose as the test for any oner
  • 00:16:30 – GOODFELLAS
  • 00:16:57 – › Excerpt: the Copacabana follow shot
  • 00:18:22 – › How breathless prose mirrors Karen's point of view
  • 00:25:00 – › Modernising the we-see style for spec scripts
  • 00:32:48 – THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN
  • 00:34:14 – › Excerpt: the Bagghar chase set piece
  • 00:37:23 – › Capitalisation and handovers as the connective tissue of a oner
  • 00:43:48 – › Anchoring action through micro-plotting and clear victory conditions
  • 00:49:34 – CHILDREN OF MEN
  • 00:53:38 – › Excerpt: the Zed ambush
  • 01:00:32 – › Mini slugs and car-interior POV as 360-degree orientation
  • 01:06:17 – › Real-time big print and the moment-by-moment obligation of action lines
  • 01:12:24 – Key Learnings & Wrap Up
  • 01:16:50 – › Intentionality as the writer's true directorial compass
  • 01:21:03 – Thanks to our Patreons

More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons.

If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser.

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