Screenwriting Unchained: Reclaim Your Creative Freedom and Master Story Structure - Couverture souple

Oberg, Emmanuel

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0995498113 ISBN 13 : 9780995498112

Editeur : Screenplay Unlimited Publishing, 2016

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

Note: Screenwriting Unchained contains 21 illustrations. These are printed in colour in the hardcover and in black and white in the paperback edition.

“Nobody Knows Anything” and “Structure is Everything”.

In two pithy statements, screenwriting legend William Goldman ( Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; Misery; The Princess Bride; Marathon Man), brilliantly encapsulates the essence of the film industry.

With Screenwriting Unchained, Emmanuel Oberg navigates a perilous journey between these two islands of truth. His refreshingly new approach to story structure leads to a powerful yet flexible way to handle the script development process: the Story-Type Method®.

Having identified three main story-types – plot-led, character-led, theme-led – he explains how each of these impacts on the structure of any screenplay, and how we can use a single set of tools to develop any story. Crucially, he also looks at hybrids and exceptions, those unique gems that don’t fit any of the story-types but still work beautifully because they follow the same principles, just in a less classical way.

This truly innovative book is aimed at screenwriters of all levels of experience as well as anyone involved creatively in the Film and TV development process: directors, producers, development executives, showrunners, story editors and more generally, storytellers keen to reach a wide audience at home and abroad without compromising their creative integrity.

If you’ve ever questioned why screenplays should be structured in three acts, eight sequences, fifteen beats or twenty-two steps then this book was written for you. And if you never have, well… no time like the present!

Using many case studies including films as diverse as Gravity, Silver Linings Playbook, Crash, Billy Elliot, The Intouchables, Birdman, Alien, Groundhog Day, Misery, Edge of Tomorrow, The Secret in Their Eyes, Cloud Atlas, L.A. Confidential and The Lives of Others, Screenwriting Unchained will transform the way you write, read, pitch, design, assess and develop screenplays. Guaranteed!

3 Points of Interest about the Book:

1. Story structure has a fractal aspect, which means that the three-act structure can be used to design not only the whole film but also its parts: acts, sequences, scenes, subplots, strands… This is one of the many differences between what Oberg calls the dramatic three-act structure and the more well-known logistical three-act structure, based on page numbers or minutes, such as the 30–60–30 paradigm. The dramatic three-act structure is more flexible, more powerful and is even optional, at least when it comes to designing the story as a whole.
2. Oberg also dives into other structural elements, such as the way various tools can be used to manage information, which is another part of story structure. Tools like dramatic irony, mystery, surprise and suspense. Many films such as Tootsie, Avatar, The Lives of Others, Sleuth, Infernal Affairs and its remake The Departed have a structure based on managing information rather than simply managing conflict. Unlike the Story-Type Method, the logistical 30–60–30 paradigm on its own can’t explain how these stories are designed.
3. Oberg comes up with a completely new way of looking at Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, a well-known theory of human psychology, and explains how it can be applied to screenwriting. This results in practical applications in relation to potential audience, genre, story-types and ultimately getting the film made. It also leads to a powerful assessment tool called the M-Factor.

Présentation de l'éditeur

In Screenwriting Unchained, Emmanuel Oberg sets out a dogma-busting, innovative method for developing screenplays

This practical, no-nonsense guide leaves behind one-size-fits-all story theories and offers a refreshingly modern approach to story structure, making it a precious resource for anyone involved creatively in the Film and TV industry (or aspiring to be): writers, directors, producers, development execs, showrunners and, more generally, storytellers eager to reach a wide audience at home and abroad without compromising their creative integrity.
Oberg identifies three main story-types – plot-led, character-led, theme-led – then reveals in a clear, conversational style how each of these impacts on the structure of any story and how we can use a single set of tools to develop any screenplay, from an independent crossover to a studio blockbuster. Crucially, he also looks at hybrids and exceptions, those unique gems that don't fit any of the story-types yet still work beautifully.
This leads to the Story-Type Method®, a powerful but flexible way to handle the script development process. Oberg's inspiring framework doesn’t tell filmmakers what to write and when, but focuses instead on why some storytelling tools have stood the test of time, and how to use them in the 21st century.

Here are some of the easy-to-understand concepts explored in Screenwriting Unchained that will help you improve any screenplay:

• How to identify the story-type of your project to make its development faster, easier and solve most story structure problems.
• How to leave behind the prescriptive, logistical three-act structure based on page numbers or minutes and replace it with a flexible, dramatic three-act structure that will help you design a rock-solid screenplay.
• How focusing on emotion, character development and managing information will allow you to go beyond the “protagonist–goal–obstacles–conflict” basic chain of drama.
• How to use the fractal aspect of structure to design not only the whole story but also its parts in order to avoid the dreaded "sagging middle" syndrome and breathe new life into your script.
• How to clarify what’s at stake and increase your chances of getting the project made with a new take on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
• How to use subgoals to Sequence the Action and psychological/emotional steps to Sequence the Evolution of your characters.
• How to keep the audience engaged using tools like dramatic irony, surprise, mystery and suspense, adding a third dimension to your story.
• How to master these tools and principles in scenes through practical exercises before using them in a short film, a feature film, a TV episode or a whole series following hands-on tips and advice.
• How to design an attention-grabbing opening and a satisfying ending.
• How to deal with hybrids and exceptions, as story structure isn't about forcing all narratives into a single formulaic paradigm.
• With The Rewrite Stuff: 12 Ways to a Stronger Screenplay, how to approach a new draft creatively and efficiently.
• How to make the difference between selling documents – used to raise development or production finance – and story design tools.
• Once you've developed a killer script, how to best pitch your project according to its story-type and get enthusiastic partners on board.
• ...and much, much more!

Including case studies from films as diverse as Gravity, Silver Linings Playbook, Crash, The Intouchables, Birdman, Edge of Tomorrow, The Secret in Their Eyes, L.A. Confidential and The Lives of Others, Screenwriting Unchained will transform the way you write, read, pitch, design, assess and develop screenplays. Guaranteed!

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Screenplay Unlimited Publishing
• Date d'édition: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0995498113
• ISBN 13: 9780995498112
• Reliure: Broché
• Langue: anglais
• Nombre de pages: 470