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    Screenwriting Down to the Atoms: The Absolute Essentials
    Screenwriting Down to the Atoms: The Absolute Essentials
    Screenwriting Down to the Atoms: The Absolute Essentials
    Ebook115 pages2 hours

    Screenwriting Down to the Atoms: The Absolute Essentials

    By Michael Welles Schock

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    About this ebook

    Revised and updated for the second edition! Understanding screencraft just got even easier. This simplified 4-chapter edition of "Screenwriting Down to the Atoms" (full 14-chapter edition available for $6.99) 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 the cinematic narrative, most of it unavailable in any other source. These are the real essentials every screenwriter must know - and they are yours for free.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMichael Welles Schock
    Release dateNov 23, 2013
    ISBN9780988848726
    Screenwriting Down to the Atoms: The Absolute Essentials
    Author

    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.

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      Book preview

      Screenwriting Down to the Atoms - Michael Welles Schock

      Screenwriting Down to the Atoms

      The Absolute Essentials Edition (Second Edition)

      Michael Welles Schock

      Scriptmonk Industries

      Copyright © 2013, 2024 Michael Schock

      Copyright © 2013, 2024 Michael Schock All rights reserved. For information, contact Michael Welles Schock or Scriptmonk Industries.

      ISBN ​978-0-9888487-2-6

      Second Edition. Last updated November 25, 2024. Original edition published 2013.

      Contents

      Title Page

      Copyright

      PART 1

      THE BASIC OF THE MOST BASIC

      PART 2

      THE GOLDEN KEY

      PART 3

      THE SEQUENCE METHOD

      PART 4

      ON CHARACTER

      SCREENWRITING DOWN TO THE ATOMS

      The Absolute Essentials Edition

      Second Edition

      Michael Welles Schock

      Author’s Note

      This is an abridged version of Screenwriting Down to the Atoms: Digging Deeper into the Craft of Cinematic Storytelling (second edition).

      Whereas the full-length edition contains fourteen chapters covering a comprehensive range of subjects for the beginning to intermediate 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 may not be sold, altered, or repackaged without the author’s permission. All text and illustrations are © Michael Welles Schock and Scriptmonk Industries.

      RECOMMENDED VIEWING

      The following twelve films are used frequently throughout this book for demonstrative purposes. The author strongly suggests 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 Lilly & 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

      PART 1

      THE BASIC OF THE MOST BASIC

      Screencraft can start to feel very complicated, very quick. The cinematic storyteller must learn to keep hundreds of story elements in balance, while giving the audience an original and entertaining experience. This seems like a tall order. But, 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 first 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 stories?

      At first thought, 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. So, what is the difference between a story and a mere series of events?

      To be more specific, the real question is, what is the difference between a story and that which is merely a narrative? You will find I often use the terms story and narrative interchangeably. This is because a story is a type of narrative. Yet while all stories are narratives, not all narratives are stories. A narrative may be simply defined as a series of events related in a logical order. A newspaper article presents a narrative. It says, yesterday this happened, and then that happened, and then later someone said this about it. Science textbooks explain natural phenomena through narratives. They say this sort of thing occurs, which causes that sort of thing, which then creates this reaction. A recipe for chocolate-chip cookies is a narrative: you put the butter in a bowl, add the sugar, mix them together, and so on. But none of these narratives are stories. A story is thus a special form of narrative with a certain combination of qualities. And of these qualities, four are most fundamental:

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

      Take a look at the basic setup 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 two 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 setups 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. Yet once a problem is introduced, the story unfolds as characters take action in response to that problem. In Casablanca, Rick spends his 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? Well, first of all, problems are a story’s motivating force. Without a problem, there is no reason for characters to get off their butts to do anything. Secondly, stories rely on problems to generate their sense of order and meaning. Stories comfort us with an assurance that life is not chaotic or meaningless. When a problem disrupts a story’s world, and characters take actions to correct it, chaos is brought into order in an emotionally-satisfying manner. Furthermore, the way in which problems are solved (or fail to be solved) provides a lesson on how people ought to behave or how the world ought to be. Stories state that by behaving in this manner, rather than that manner, problems may be overcome, leading to a more orderly and meaningful life.

      2. Stories are about HUMAN BEINGS.

      A story cannot exist without characters. You cannot make a story about an empty room. To put it a better way, stories are about people. People doing things; speaking, acting, loving, fighting, wanting, needing. A documentary on soil erosion may present a fascinating problem, but it does not contain a story unless it focuses upon a human being dealing with that problem. Stories are reflections on our humanity. They help us better understand ourselves and others by presenting us with people to whom we can follow and relate.

      Though some stories contain characters who are not physically human, these characters are human nonetheless. While the lead may be a bunny rabbit, a robot, or an animate teddy bear, the characters have been anthropomorphized – that is, given human traits and behavior. They are simply persons in a different form, exhibiting the same emotions, urges, and anxieties as their fully human counterparts. Even live-action franchises starring real animals anthropomorphize their heroes by granting the animals a perceived intelligence and range of emotion far beyond their natural capabilities. With anthropomorphization, audiences are able to connect with non-human characters just as they might any human being.

      3. A story is unified by a PREMISE.

      No matter how thick the novel or epic the film, all good stories are simple at their heart. Events all revolve around a small handful of characters. All actions occur in response to a single problem or related group of problems. All elements work together to express a single set of ideas. Good stories can be summed up in a few words. The Bourne Identity is the story of a man trying to reacquire his lost memory. Finding Nemo is about a father searching for his son. The Sixth Sense is about a man helping a troubled boy. This basic summary is called the STORY PREMISE.

      In the simplest terms, the premise is what the story is about.

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