Hi everyone, welcome to another Backyard Space Opera podcast! This week we discuss the ever critical story element, the “mentor”. We’ll discuss the benefit of using the Hero’s Journey template to understand the nature of the mentor in genre movies and stories. We’ll examine some great examples from Sci Fi and Fantasy movies to tease out what separates a good mentor from a great one. To learn more visit www.thewritersjourney.com

Backyard Space Opera Podcast is all about low budget science fiction, micro budget filmmaking, and independent science fiction and fantasy media creation. We live in a golden age where technology allows almost anyone to make and distribute high quality science fiction movies right in their own backyards. We’ll be discussing the trials and tribulations of micro budget filmmaking and how we can use classic techniques like stop motion animation and practical special effects in conjunction with the newest computer programs to get the best of both worlds. We’ll review other filmmakers low budget science fiction efforts and take lessons to apply to our own genre filmmaking. We’ll discuss all aspects of production and distribution like screenwriting, costume creation, special effects, props and even marketing. We’ll also be presenting audio narrations of stories from up and coming independent science fiction writers.