DAY 1
The writer and the art of story
The decline of story in contemporary film, television, theatre and literature
Story design: the meaning of story, the substance of story, the limitations and inspirations of story structure and genre, the debate between character versus story design.
Premise Idea, Counter Idea, Controlling Idea
Story Structure: beat, scene, sequence, act, story
Mapping the Story universe: Archplot, Miniplot, Antiplot
Shaping the source of story energy and creation
DAY 2
Act design: the great sweep and body of story
The first major story event (the inciting incident)
Scene design in Story: turning points, emotional dynamics, setup/payoff, the nature of choice
Ordering and linking scenes
Exposition: dramatizing your characters, the story setting, creating back story
The principles of antagonism
Crisis, climax and resolution
DAY 3
Putting the elements of story together
The principles of character dimension and design
The text: description, dialogue, and poetics
The spectrum of story genres
Story adaptations
Scene analysis: text and sub-text; design through dialogue versus design through action
The writer's method: working from the inside out; the creative process from inspiration to final draft.
How it all works: the principles of the previous 2-1/2 days applied in a 6-hour, scene-by-scene screening and analysis of Casablanca
1 comment:
Hey Tom, if you are talking about McKee's class, read Joe Eszterhas' book, "The Devil's Guide to Hollywood," first. It might give you some insight to McKee and his class. While the media insists on making the book only a Hollywood 'tell all,' there are really some very good insights regarding writing as a skill to be learned. Hey, there are worse things than learning from one of the highest paid screenwriters anywhere, right? Be well, my brother - I miss you greatly.
Mark
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