DZ-95: Backmatter - Building and Maintenance

Listen listen to hear why first acts keep shrinking--and whether yours should too Time for our annual backmatter episode, where we drop any ruse of any objectivity, and fully embrace our subjective opinions! In this episode we discuss: potential topics for 2023; the ostensible shortening of first acts; balancing new projects vs current projects; how to maintain hope in the face of an industry as fickle as ours; and end with a discussion of Andor vs Obi-Wan. Yup, Star Wars is the new Die Hard. Get over it. FYI we recorded this episode with both of us in the same room (for a more casual atmosphere )but that means there’s more technical gremlins like crosstalk. Our apologies in advance! Thanks to Chris Walker for editing this episode. <3 Chris! 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 Casimir, Eduardo, Jennifer, Garrett, Bjorn, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis, Alex and Khrob. → Read the transcript for this episode. ——— CHAPTERS 00:00:09 – Cold Open 00:00:39 – What's Coming in 2023 00:05:56 – › Ensemble films and efficient character tools 00:10:28 – › Fictional podcasts and audio drama as minimum viable product 00:14:50 – › Monologues, rhetoric, and characters speaking to the audience 00:25:42 – Are First Acts Getting Shorter? 00:27:03 – › Streaming, audience patience, and the pressure on early pages 00:32:10 – › Cold opens, inciting incidents, and buying time for character 00:40:09 – Balancing New Projects Against Current Work 00:43:55 – › Cognitive load, burnout, and finding the space to write 00:48:05 – › Sunk cost, paid work, and protecting time for new material 00:49:48 – Maintaining Hope in a Fickle Industry 00:51:22 – › Action over optimism: hope as a process not a feeling 00:54:21 – Lessons from 2022 00:56:41 – ANDOR vs. OBI-WAN KENOBI 00:56:56 – › What Kenobi got right despite its problems 01:00:17 – › Plot armor, scale, and why Obi-Wan never felt under genuine threat 01:05:10 – › How ANDOR earns tension by surrounding the known survivor 01:09:49 – › Thematic scenes, characters alone, and what rebellion costs 01:14:38 – Thanks to Our Patreons! SHOWS ANDOR — (w) Tony Gilroy OBI-WAN KENOBI LINKS Read: LISTEN: Starship Q Star EPISODES IN THE BACKMATTER SERIES DZ-17: Where's my gold-plated ensuite? DZ-36: Backmatter - Time Risk and Fixing Movies DZ-47: Backmatter - A Lost Jedi, White Knighting, and Writers-On-Set DZ-57: Backmatter - Aesthetics and Forgiveness in Writing DZ-64: Backmatter - Controlling your Work, Treatments, and Writing Styles DZ-77: Backmatter - Prioritising and choosing projects DZ-86: Backmatter - Minimum Viable Product DZ-95: Backmatter - Building and Maintenance ——— 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/2022/dz-95/