DZ-72: Theme & The Story Synopsis - Development Tools 2

Listen tolearn concrete tools for developing theme in the early stages of your writing. Continuing our look at tools used in development, Chas & Stu are joined by Stephen Cleary to talk about Theme, The Thematic Logline and what Stephen calls The Story Synopsis. All are tools to help writers better understand their theme and how it is dramatised. We use the classic film WITNESS as an example, so spoilers abound. Thanks to Meegan May for reading the examples. Meegan May is an emerging queer screenwriter and former military intelligence analyst with plenty of award winning scripts and extensive experience in development. Look her up! http://meeganmay.com As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes. LIKE THIS EPISODE? Send us feedback. Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre and Lily. ——— CHAPTERS 00:00:00 – Intro: Theme in Development 00:01:54 – The Story Synopsis 00:04:19 – Plot & Theme / Praxis & Mythos 00:11:12 – Back to the Story Synopsis 00:13:45 – Witness 00:16:09 – Thematic Logline 00:17:00 – Using the Thematic Logline in development 00:22:26 – Witness - 1st Act in Story Synopsis 00:25:46 – Witness - 2nd Act in Story Synopsis 00:28:55 – Characters, Plot & Theme 00:30:27 – Witness - Book drops his facadé 00:33:25 – Witness - 3rd Act in Story Synopsis 00:40:49 – Witness - Complete Story Synopsis 00:41:51 – Using the Story Synopsis in development 00:48:04 – Rewriting using the Story Synopsis 00:54:53 – Wrap Up FILMS WITNESS (1985) — (w) William Kelley, Earl W Wallace, William Kelley, Earl W Wallace, Pamela Wallace (d) Peter Weir LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) — (w) Michael Wilson, Robert Bolt (d) David Lean MACBETH (1971) — (w) Kenneth Tynan, Roman Polanski (d) Roman Polanski SCRIPTS Study the script: WITNESS (1985) — William Kelley, Earl W Wallace, William Kelley, Earl W Wallace, Pamela Wallace Study the script: LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) — Michael Wilson, Robert Bolt SHOT ZERO DEEP DIVES Editing an Emotional Jolt: WITNESS LINKS Website: Meegan May EPISODES IN THE DEVELOPMENT TOOLS SERIES DZ-106: How do you know if you have enough story? DZ-71: Treatments & Loglines - Development Tools 1 DZ-72: Theme & The Story Synopsis - Development Tools 2 DZ-81: Pitch Decks & Look Books - Development Tools 4 DZ-73: Selling documents - Development Tools 3 RELATED EPISODES DZ-41: Theme and Worldview DZ-54: Thematic Sequences DZ-71: Treatments & Loglines - Development Tools 1 ——— More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser. We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter. Full show notes at: https://draft-zero.com/2020/dz-72/