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DRAFT ZERO

Tone

Every episode tagged Tone, newest first.

2024

"I agree with everything that you guys have said that the the complexity of the plot every time I rewatch it it keeps me engaged because I know who the baddie is and I know how everyone ends up at the end but I every time I rewatch I've got no idea how they get it every time that he pees on the corpse I'm like oh fuck."

— Chas Fisher  |  DZ-115: A Christmas Special - Rewatching & Rituals

DZ-115: A Christmas Special - Rewatching & Rituals
What magic do Christmas movies use to make them so rewatchable?
AIThe entire episode centers on what makes holiday films so rewatchable that they become seasonal rituals, using KISS KISS BANG BANG, RIDERS OF JUSTICE, and IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE as case studies.
⏱ 1h 56m
Tone · Structure · Theme | 23 DEC 2024
Listen if you want to understand what makes holiday films enduring parts of our seasonal rituals!
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In this “backmatter” episode of Draft Zero, Stu, Chas, and Mel Killingsworth embark on a festive exploration of what makes holiday films so engaging and so re-watchable that they can become part of our rituals. To that end, we breakdown the charm of of Christmas films like KISS KISS BANG BANG, RIDERS OF JUSTICE, and IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE…


DZ-112: Breaking the 4th wall
How is the effect of breaking the 4th wall different to voiceover?
AIChas notes how the physical placement and frequency of fourth-wall breaks–glancing over a shoulder versus barrelling straight at the camera–establishes whether the tone is confessional asides or urgent, immediate intimacy, a choice that flavors the entire show’s personality.
⏱ 1h 52m
Character · Words · Tone | 31 JUL 2024
Listen to understand how breaking the 4th wall directly involves the audience in a character's emotional present.
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As part of our series on how filmmakers can directly communicate to the audience, we finally examine the most blatant tool of them all: when character look directly down the barrel of the camera… and thus look directly at us, the viewer. Chas, Stu and Mel take the craft tools/levers they identified in previous episodes and use them to examine the tv-version-of HIGH FIDELITY (“Top Five Breakups”), ABBOTT ELEMENTARY (“Attack Ad)”) and - of course - FLEABAG…