Screenwriting Down to the Atoms: The Absolute Essentials

By Michael Welles Schock

Understanding screencraft just got even easier. This simplified 4-chapter edition of "Screenwriting Down to the Atoms" (full 14-chapter edition also available) hand-picks the most essential sections of Michael Welles Schock's innovative new approach to screencraft - and offers them to screenwriters absolutely free. The selected chapters: The Basic of the Most Basic, The Golden Key, The Sequence Method, and On Character represent the core of the author's unique method to understanding the cinematic narrative, most of it unavailable in any other source. Forget everything else you have heard. These are the real essentials every screenwriter must know - and they are yours for free.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Welles Schock
• Release date: Nov 23, 2013
• ISBN: 9780988848726

Michael Welles Schock

Michael Welles Schock is a screenwriting instructor, narrative theorist, and produced writer. Over the past fifteen years, he has developed a unique and powerful method used to understand and execute the cinematic narrative. His other works include Screenwriting & The Unified Theory of Narrative, Part I and Part II. He was born in Nebraska, educated in Los Angeles, and now lives in Portland, Oregon.

Book preview

SCREENWRITING DOWN TO THE ATOMS

The Absolute Essentials

Michael Welles Schock

Published by Scriptmonk Industries. Smashwords Edition.

ISBN# 978-0-9888487-2-6

Copyright 2013 Michael Welles Schock

www.scriptmonkindustries.com

Smashwords Edition License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. Although this is a free book, it remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied or distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes, except in short, less than 500-word excerpts in the context of a review. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy at Smashwords.com where they can discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

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Author’s Note

This is an abridged version of Screenwriting Down to the Atoms: Digging Deeper into the Craft of Cinematic Storytelling. Whereas the full-length edition contains fourteen chapters covering a comprehensive range of subjects for the beginning to advanced screenwriter, this text limits itself to four chapters the author considers the most essential knowledge for any cinematic storyteller. If you would like to read more, Screenwriting Down to the Atoms is available in its entirety from online retailers and bookstores upon request.

Please note that some edits have been made from the original text. These four chapters are provided for FREE, and may not be sold, altered, or repackaged without the author’s permission. All text and illustrations are © Michael Welles Schock and Scriptmonk Industries.

Table of Contents

Recommended Viewing

CHAPTER 1 – THE BASIC OF THE MOST BASIC

What is a Story?

How Does One Tell a Story?

CHAPTER 2 – THE GOLDEN KEY

What is the Story Spine?

The Story Problem

The Story Goal

The Path of Action

The Main Conflict

The Stakes

CHAPTER 3 – THE SEQUENCE METHOD

Structure within the Sequence

Development & Escalation

CHAPTER 4 – ON CHARACTER

Character Change

Requirements of a Good Protagonist

The Antagonist

Character Spines

Dimensions & Development

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Recommended Viewing

The following twelve films are frequently used for demonstrative purposes. For best results, the author recommends readers become familiar with these films before proceeding.

Alien (1979)

screenplay by Dan O'Bannon

story by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett

American Beauty (1999)

written by Alan Ball

Back to the Future (1985)

written by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale

The Bourne Identity (2002)

written by Tony Gilroy and William Blake Herron

adapted from a novel by Robert Ludlum

Chinatown (1974)

written by Robert Towne

Die Hard (1988)

written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza

adapted from a novel by Roderick Thorp

The Godfather (1972)

screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola

based on the novel by Mario Puzo

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, & Peter Jackson

based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Matrix (1999)

written by Andy & Lana Wachowski

Raiders of the Lost Ark  (1981)

screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan

story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman

Rocky (1976)

written by Sylvester Stallone

Star Wars (aka Episode IV: A New Hope) (1977)

written by George Lucas

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CHAPTER 1

THE BASIC OF THE MOST BASIC

Where to begin? The path from unseasoned amateur to skilled professional is a long journey, and as with any journey, those most likely to succeed are those with the best understanding of the endeavor they are about to take. To begin simply, movies are a form of storytelling. So are novels, plays, children’s books, and the tales told around the campfire. All forms of storytelling share the same basic rules. In addition, each form follows unique rules, specialized to its mode of telling. The storytelling found in cinema is not the same as that found in a book. Nor is it the same as a play. A screenplay is written to be dramatized by actors, photographed with cameras, pieced together through editing, and then presented to an audience as a finished whole. This mode of execution forces cinema to tell its stories with strict rules different from those found in any other form. This gives cinematic storytelling certain strengths and weaknesses; its own set of needs, as well as a wide array of limitations.

Because of this, screencraft can start to feel very complicated, very quick. The cinematic storyteller must learn to keep hundreds of elements in balance, while at the same time give the audience an experience it finds original and entertaining. This seems like a tall order. So where to begin? At the beginning, of course. We learn to read by first learning the alphabet. We begin mathematics by first learning to count. So, we begin our exploration of the cinematic story by asking:

WHAT IS A STORY?

The question is misleadingly simple. Everyone knows what a story is, but defining the term proves surprisingly difficult. What exactly makes a story a story? What specific traits does a story possess to separate it from things which are clearly not?

At first glance, one might define a story as a series of events involving one or more persons. However, a mere series of events does not constitute a story. This, for instance, is not a story:

I woke up this morning. I showered. I sat in traffic on the way to work. I talked to my boss during lunch. I drove home and made dinner.

Just because events occur in chronological order, it does not necessarily mean those events create a story. Such a narrative will fail to hold an audience’s attention for more than the shortest period of time. So, what is the difference between a story and a mere series of events? It all comes down to four basic qualifications. First,

1. A story is about a PROBLEM and the resolution of that problem.

Take a look at the basic ideas behind four well-known stories:

A jaded expatriate re-encounters the woman who broke his heart (Casablanca).

A mafia family is threatened by its violent rivals (The Godfather).

The children of warring families fall in love (Romeo & Juliet).

Pigs in poorly-constructed homes are threatened by a Big Bad Wolf (The Three Little Pigs).

What do these ideas have in common? They all involve characters dealing with a PROBLEM.

Stories are all about problems, whether that problem be physical or emotional, intimate or cosmic, concrete or abstract. The return of the old lover, the rivals’ aggression, the forbidden romance, the Big Bad Wolf; the sudden arrival of these problems trigger characters to take action. Without a problem, a story would never begin. The remainder of the story unfolds as characters take actions to deal with that problem. In Casablanca, Rick spends the story debating whether or not to help his ex-lover. In The Godfather, Michael Corleone takes actions to protect his family. Romeo and Juliet go to great lengths to continue their romance. The Three Little Pigs run for better shelter.

Why are problems so central to storytelling? As learned in the previous chapter (Chapter 2: It’s All About the Audience, contained in the full-length version of Atoms), stories exist as social therapy. They provide the appearance of order and meaning in a chaotic world. By presenting a problem and then the quest for its solution, a story becomes a transformation from chaos to order – from an unstable situation into one where everything has been resolved. This in turn gives the audience comfort and reassurance. When the audience sees characters face and defeat a problem, they feel much more confidence in their ability to deal with problems in their own lives. Stories tell us that no matter how bad things may be, no problem is insurmountable. In this way, a problem and its solution give a story its meaning.

2. Stories are about HUMAN BEINGS.

A story cannot exist without characters. To put it a better way, stories are about people. People doing things; speaking,