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FORMATTING TIP: Superimposed Text + Over Black
So we’ve started a YouTube channel! Steven Miao created the opening video sting and Mukul Kandara helped with setting it all up. Thanks, guys! The channel had been in the making for a long time, but I...
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Bad Hombres, Good Homages And 2 Effective Character Intros
In this video, we look at what constitutes a film homage, and what I consider to be the criteria for a good one. As an example, we look at a sequence from FRANCES HA, where Noah Baumbach quoted...
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Courses, Books & Consults Won’t Cut It.
In addition to working with writers, producers and agencies everywhere, I teach screenwriting courses at film schools in Australia, Europe and online. The school gigs largely consist of lecturing...
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Ex Machina’s Secrets Show Garland’s Directing Genius
Alex Garland has mastered storytelling for a long time. I remember the novel The Beach to be a riveting read. Here I will show you how he lifted his own screenplay for Ex Machina from gold to platinum...
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Aaron Sorkin Master Class: Do It! [not for the reason you think]
If I see the face of Aaron Sorkin one more time in my Facebook feed or in a newsletter, I’m going to punch my laptop. Okay, he is among the most interesting screenwriters alive. In fact, he wrote the...
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Scene Structure With Aaron And Gust
Yesterday I told you about where the master learned his craft. Today we’ll learn about scene structure from my favourite Sorkin scene. And you’ll be surprised, as you may have missed it. Sometimes I...
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Kung Fu Hustle [Sixty Seconds of Suspense]
Watching Kung Fu Hustle (2004) reminded me how many amazing movies are out there that we won’t get to see – unless we seek them out. After the release of Batman vs. Superman (2016), articles and videos...
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Final Draft 10 Reviewed
How do you go about writing a screenplay? There are a few of us who sit down at the computer, like some modern day Dalton Trumbo at his trusty Remington, type FADE IN: and keep going until the...
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Wow Them In The End – Give Your Screen Story An Amazing Ending
In 2009, Aaron Sorkin almost made it to the top of the Black List, with The Social Network. You know who beat him? Christopher Weekes, an Australian 20 years Sorkin’s junior, who had penned a script...
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FORMATTING TIP: Accent, dialect and foreign language in dialogue
A powerful tool in creating distinctive characters is their language, using accent, dialogue and even foreign language. In the real world, everyone speaks in a way that is slightly different from...
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