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DZ-102: Game of the Scene - Bluey, John Wick 4

How can 'games' help us write better scenes?

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

31 AUG 2023

Show Notes

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.

Thanks to Chris Walker for editing this episode.

"I think one of the interesting things about this metaphor that you’ve prompted in my mind is it’s different thing to say which character wins the scene as to say what is the win condition of the scene because the win condition is kind of part of the rules."

— Chas Fisher  |  DZ-102: Game of the Scene - Bluey, John Wick 4

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

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

Resources

Transcript

Read the transcript for this episode.

Chapters

  • 00:00:00 – Cold Open
  • 00:00:18 – Sponsor: ScriptUp
  • 00:01:52 – Intro: What do we mean by Game of the Scene?
  • 00:15:06 – THE LIFE OF BRIAN: "WHAT HAVE THE ROMANS EVER DONE FOR US?"
  • 00:20:03 – BLUEY
  • 00:23:22 – › How the quiet game's rules create scene power dynamics
  • 00:29:33 – › PHONES: learning the rules to change the game
  • 00:35:08 – Sponsor: Arc Studio Pro
  • 00:37:56 – JOHN WICK 4
  • 00:43:16 – › Rules as the engine of satisfying action scenes
  • 00:47:14 – › Scene breakdown: the Osaka Continental negotiation
  • 00:56:14 – › Scene breakdown: poker table reveals who can break the rules
  • 01:00:07 – › The staircase duel and adhering to rules as victory strategy
  • 01:04:04 – › Scene breakdown: the church as a game of seeking peace
  • 01:14:34 – Wrap Up & Key Learnings
  • 01:17:41 – › Win conditions, character decisions, and the GOAT framework
  • 01:22:17 – Many thanks to our Patreons

Films

Shows

Scripts

Episodes in the Game of the Scene series

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