Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast

<p>Listen if you want to understand how hidden information drives character motivation and plot structure!</p> <p>“Getting information puts your character in danger. And danger rewards your character with information."...

<p>Listen if you want to understand how narrative POV, screenplay format, and dialogue craft can elevate a contained biopic into an Oscar-nominated film</p> <p>BLUE MOON is a talky, period-drama that film about an...

<p>Listen if you need audiences to root for characters who do terrible things</p> <p>Mel and Chas continue to explore what Noir (the genre) can teach writers of all other genres. In particular:</p> How to keep the...

<p>Listen if you want to write morally compromised characters without endorsing their choices.</p> <p>In this two part series, Mel and Chas use Noir (the genre) as a lens to interrogate flawed characters. How can...

<p>What happens when a group of filmmakers play a ragtag group of filmmakers in a gritty sci-fi horror?</p><p><br></p><p>"Ignite the fire within and explore unknown territory" - Werner Herzog.</p><p><br>This episode is...

<p>Listen to learn how thinking of your hero as the horror (for your villains) makes your script dynamic.</p> <p>In this episode Chas, Stu and guest Kim Ho continue their exploration into the power(s) of antagonism and...

<p>Listen to strengthen your story by focusing on the antagonistic forces in your script.</p> <p>We often struggle to develop the middle stages of a story. Could this be because we focus on our protagonists’ journeys...

<p>Listen if you're struggling to write subtext without it feeling forced!</p> <p>Or, how focusing on good drama will result in good subtext. We often hear how subtext is important for good screenwriting. We're here to...

<p>Listen if you want to understand how to better dramatise a character's internal journey</p> <p>In this episode, Stu and Chas focus solely on the final choices made by protagonists and how that reflects their...

<p>Listen when you need tension without external stakes--subtext, stillness, and thematic weight do the work.</p> <p>In this episode, Stu and Chas delve into the cultural phenomenon of ADOLESCENCE. We try to find the...

<p>Listen if you want to write tonal pivots that land on the page without a director's toolkit.</p> <p>Following on from our episodes on establishing tone through action lines and through character, this is what we have...

<p>Listen to learn how formatting--white space, caps, dashes--becomes your comedy toolkit without a director.</p> <p>Mel joins Chas to tackle physical comedy. We limited our homework selection to extended scenes (as...

<p>Listen if you want to understand what makes holiday films enduring parts of our seasonal rituals!</p> <p>In this “backmatter” episode of Draft Zero, Stu, Chas, and Mel Killingsworth embark on a festive exploration of...

<p>Listen to understand how withholding resolution can make your story great!</p> <p>While Stu is on show, Mel and Chas sit down to analyse the meaning behind the ending of 2024's CHALLENGERS, especially when - upon...

<p>Listen if you want to explore how you can make your creative hand visible through meta-storytelling and structural choices!?!</p> <p>In our final (ha!) episode looking at Talking Directly to the Audience, we turn...