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Given Circumstances

Every episode covering Given Circumstances.

"You can imagine the exact same script on a page that just has pretty sparse, big print and dialogue, having a very different tone if it was Greta Gerwig directing it, if it was Quentin Tarantino directing it, or if it was David Fincher directing it."

— Chas Fisher  |  DZ-107: Establishing Tone through Character

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DZ-82: Dramatising Given Circumstances in WATCHMEN

How can you elegantly convey given circumstances and exposition?
AI✦Chas, Stu, and Mel use WATCHMEN as a masterclass in how writers communicate the unique rules and world of their story -- the alternate history, superhero mechanics, political systems, and character backstories that differ from an audience’s lived experience.✦
⏱ 2h 6m
18 AUG 2021
Listen if you're drowning your readers in world-building and can't figure out how to make it awesome!
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In this final podcast release of last year’s run of LiveSoLation episodes, Chas and Stu are joined by Uber-geek Mel Killingsworth (who else?) in an epic exploration of how Dave Gibbons’ and Alan Moore’s seminal graphic novel WATCHMEN is adapted differently in Zack Snyder’s 2009 film and Damon Lindelof’s 2019 HBO television show… →
Shows: Watchmen

KEY IDEAS

The Work You Skip With Known Transgressions

"Because they've told you that the transgression already happened, You don't need to carry the audience along with a pure introduction into this character. That first decision to do wrong, you don't have to put the work in, in terms of backstory or given circumstances."

— Chas Fisher (00:31:28) · DZ-123: Flawed Characters in Noir

Even More

DZ-107: Establishing Tone through Character

How can we use dramatisation to create tone?
AI✦Stu proposes given circumstances as one vertex of his tone triangle, arguing that the rules of the world and the conditions characters inhabit directly determine what actions and reactions feel appropriate and tonally resonant.✦
⏱ 1h 54m
29 FEB 2024
Listen if you want to understand how character actions and reactions shape a film's tone
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In this episode, Chas and Stu continue their deep dive into how to write tone by examining films with “light” (we use the phrase loosely) tones: LADY BIRD, EMILY THE CRIMINAL, THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS, and SPONTANEOUS. We also talk a surprising amount about DUNE and CRAZY STUPID LOVE… →

DZ-89: Opening Sequences

How does your opening sequence set up your audience?
AI✦The episode examines how openings in ARRIVAL and LONG SHOT establish the world and circumstances in ways that feel subversive to their respective genres.✦
⏱ 1h 48m
31 MAY 2022
Listen if you want to understand how great opening sequences establish character, genre, and theme while defying genre conventions
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Inspired by her tweet on how subversive an opening OCEAN’S ELEVEN has, Chas and Stu invited amazing writer/director Jessica Ellis onto the show to deep dive into opening sequences. How does a good opening setup character, genre, and theme… →

DZ-75: Fury Road & Visual Storytelling

How can you do powerful storytelling... without dialogue?
AI✦Understanding the world of FURY ROAD--its logistics, rules, and physical constraints--becomes the foundation for every choice Furiosa and Max make, and Lia walks through how that’s established visually on both page and screen.✦
⏱ 1h 9m
31 DEC 2020
Listen to hear how visual storytelling can carry an entire narrative with minimal dialogue.
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Stu and Chas are joined by filmmaker, podcaster and writer Lia Matthew Brownn to deep dive into FURY ROAD and its astounding visual storytelling, both on the page and on screen. We talk about setups and payoffs, given circumstances, image systems, environmental storytelling, and how the relationship between Furiosa and Max is built over the course of the story with very little dialogue (besides Tom Hardy’s grunts and the odd bellow of “MEDIOCRE!”). You can also watch the complete live stream on YouTube or just the breakdown of the Furiosa/Max fight (which isn’t in the podcast) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8uYAbEcQeQ&feature=youtu.be… →

DZ-38: Excelling at Exposition (Part 2)

How can exposition twist your story in new directions?
AI✦Pre-existing facts and backstory are the raw material exposition must communicate, and the episode examines how writers decide which given circumstances deserve dramatic unveiling rather than casual mention.✦
⏱ 1h 52m
6 DEC 2016
Listen to learn how to use exposition as dramatic revelation rather than mere information delivery.
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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 provides an emotional payoff - or both!. So how do great writers make exposition work for the story, rather than just tell audience stuff they need to know? And how can writers go wrong… →

DZ-123: Flawed Characters in Noir

What can Film Noir teach us about character arcs and audience engagement?
AI✦Mel argues that because Double Indemnity tells you the murder already happened, ‘you don’t need to carry the audience along with a pure introduction into this character. That first decision to do wrong, you don’t have to put the work in.’✦
⏱ 1h 22m
31 DEC 2025
Listen if you want to write morally compromised characters without endorsing their choices.
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In this two part series, Mel and Chas use Noir (the genre) as a lens to interrogate flawed characters. How can characters doing reprehensible things still engage audiences? How can you ensure representation isn’t endorsement? And whether these characters undergo transformative arcs, or simply reveal their true natures… →