A Storylanes analysis of Back to the Future, the great 80's time-travel comedy written by Robert Zameckis and Bob Gale.

As usual, you can find more, including the Storylanes analysis and the script to this episode, at Storylanes.com.

A Storylanes analysis of Back to the Future, the great 80's time-travel comedy written by Robert Zameckis and Bob Gale. As usual, you can find more, including the Storylanes analysis and the script to this episode, at Storylanes.com.

Back to the Future

If you want to know about screenwriting, the first thing most people will tell you is this: Read screenplays. Lots of screenplays. And analyze them.

I want to know about screenwriting, so I read a whole bunch of screenplays. And to force myself to dive a little deeper, I decided to share my analysis with the world. Thus the Storylanes Podcast.

Every episode, I do a deep dive into some screenplay. I look at how it is structured, at how the pieces fit together, and at what makes it special. And I look at how closely each screenplay follows some of the more popular screenwriting models, things like three act structure, Save the Cat, and the Hero’s Journey. (And spoiler warning: a lot of great movies follow those models, but a lot don’t too.)

And because I’m a computer-geek by trade, I developed a tool to help me analyze the screenplays. I use it to produce a chart that maps key elements of the screenplay. You can find each of these charts here at https://storylanes.com.

I’ve learned a lot about screenwriting from preparing these episodes. I hope that listening to them will help you learn too.

TV & Film

TV Reviews

Film Reviews

If you want to know about screenwriting, the first thing most people will tell you is this: Read screenplays. Lots of screenplays. And analyze them. I want to know about screenwriting, so I read a whole bunch of screenplays. And to force myself to dive a little deeper, I decided to share my analysis with the world. Thus the Storylanes Podcast. Every episode, I do a deep dive into some screenplay. I look at how it is structured, at how the pieces fit together, and at what makes it special. And I look at how closely each screenplay follows some of the more popular screenwriting models, things like three act structure, Save the Cat, and the Hero’s Journey. (And spoiler warning: a lot of great movies follow those models, but a lot don’t too.) And because I’m a computer-geek by trade, I developed a tool to help me analyze the screenplays. I use it to produce a chart that maps key elements of the screenplay. You can find each of these charts here at https://storylanes.com. I’ve learned a lot about screenwriting from preparing these episodes. I hope that listening to them will help you learn too.

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Back to the Future

Back to the Future