Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast

DZ-15: World Building Rules, Okay?


Listen Later

How does setting up rules help you build a world?

In our most epic/longest episode yet, Chas and Stu tackle world building in films. Specifically, how the rules make something a world and not just a setting. Starting with world-centric genres like sci-fi and fantasy, we also cover horror, crime drama and - er - "other". We discuss a variety of techniques for setting up the rules of the world, including cold opens, voiceover, title cards and outsider characters! We've limited ourselves to the opening 3-5 pages... mostly... because (so the theory goes) they're the pages that teach the audience how to read/watch your story/film.

Like with the character introductions episode, we cover a lot of scripts. In no particular order... [deep breath]... THE MATRIX, THE MATRIX RELOADED, MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, INCEPTION, GRAVITY, MINORITY REPORT, MOON, LOOPER, ELYSIUM, JURASSIC PARK, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, MADAGASCAR, FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, PAN'S LABYRINTH, SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN, NIGHT WATCH, VAN HELSING, THE ONE I LOVE, 28 WEEKS LATER, WORLD WAR Z, DAWN OF THE DEAD, 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, ZOMBIELAND, WOMAN IN BLACK, BRICK, ANIMAL KINGDOM, DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE, THE UNTOUCHABLES, GOODFELLAS, SHORT TERM 12, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, MOONRISE KINGDOM,THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS, and FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL.

Damn that was a lot! And we've probably missed some, too. So have a listen and please let us know!

LINKS

  • Draft Zero: DZ-09: Characterising Introductions
  • Draft ZeroDZ-14: Old Underwear and Actor's Tools
  • Diary of a ScreenwriterStanley Kubrick : Thoughts of Narrative
  • A Constatinework Orange: Non-Submersible Units
  • Reddit: Kate Powers (from Breaking Bad) on Non-Submersible Units
  • Visual Memory49 What are Non-Submersible Units?
  • io97 Deadly Sins of Worldbuilding
  • THE MATRIX by Larry and Andy Wachowski
  • THE MATRIX RELOADED by Larry and Andy Wachowski
  • INCEPTION by Christopher Nolan
  • MINORITY REPORT by Scott Frank
  • MOON screenplay by Nathan Parker, story by Duncan Jones
  • LOOPER by Rian Johnson
  • ELYSIUM by Neill Blomkamp
    • Think Progress‘Elysium’ Wants To Be A Lacerating Movie About Health Care, But It Has No Idea Why Inequality Exists
    • io9Here's What Elysium did wrong -- and what it did right
    • JURASSIC PARK screenplay by David Koepp
    • HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON by Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders
    • SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN by Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock & Hossein Amini, Story by Evan Daugherty
    • LOTR: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson
    • TrailerNIGHT WATCH (YouTube)
    • PAN'S LABYRINTH by Guillermo del Toro
    • 28 WEEKS LATER by Rowan Joffé, Juan Carlos Frensadillo, E.L. Lavigne, Jesus Olmo (uncredited, undated script)
    • ZOMBIELAND by Rhett Rheese & Paul Wernick
    • 30 DAYS OF NIGHT by Steve Niles, Revisions by Stuart Beattie, Revisions by Adi Hasak
    • WOMAN IN BLACK by Jane Goldman
    • BRICK by Rian Johnson
    • GOODFELLAS by Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese
    • ANIMAL KINGDOM by David Michôd
    • SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK by David O. Russell
    • TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan
    • MOONRISE KINGDOM by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
    • THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS by Wes Anderson & Owen Wilson
    • ScriptnotesEp 149: The Long-Lost Austin Three Page Challenge (on Van Helsing)
    • Scriptnotes: Ep 135: World-building
    • Scriptnotes: Ep 160: A Screenwriter's Guide to the End of the World
    • Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or RSS.

      Please send feedback to ask at draft-zero.com or via our web form or @draft_zero on twitter. 

      Please considering rating us on iTunes! or sharing us on the Social Medias!

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store

      Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcastBy Chas Fisher and Stuart Willis

      • 4.8
      • 4.8
      • 4.8
      • 4.8
      • 4.8

      4.8

      114 ratings


      More shows like Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast

      View all
      The Business by KCRW

      The Business

      670 Listeners

      Scriptnotes Podcast by John August and Craig Mazin

      Scriptnotes Podcast

      2,435 Listeners

      The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast by Directors Guild of America

      The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast

      748 Listeners

      Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso by Higher Ground

      Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

      1,469 Listeners

      The Watch by The Ringer

      The Watch

      5,425 Listeners

      Blank Check with Griffin & David by Blank Check Productions

      Blank Check with Griffin & David

      6,190 Listeners

      The A24 Podcast by A24

      The A24 Podcast

      1,078 Listeners

      Unspooled by Paul Scheer & Amy Nicholson | Realm

      Unspooled

      4,763 Listeners

      The Big Picture by The Ringer

      The Big Picture

      5,748 Listeners

      The Screenwriting Life with Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna by Meg LeFauve & Lorien McKenna

      The Screenwriting Life with Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna

      974 Listeners

      Team Deakins by James Ellis Deakins, Roger Deakins

      Team Deakins

      1,120 Listeners

      SmartLess by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett

      SmartLess

      58,365 Listeners

      The Prestige TV Podcast by The Ringer

      The Prestige TV Podcast

      1,701 Listeners

      The Town with Matthew Belloni by The Ringer

      The Town with Matthew Belloni

      1,132 Listeners

      Good Hang with Amy Poehler by The Ringer

      Good Hang with Amy Poehler

      12,559 Listeners