The ISA Podcast

Half-hour comedies are all the rage! Whether it's multi-camera, or a half-hour Hulu comedy, the sit-coms are back and better than ever. Felicity and Max spend this hour on discussing their favorites, past and present, and why...all while sipping back some wine and answering questions live on Facebook. A big thanks to the Nickelodeon Writing Program for sponsoring!

Enjoy, and don't forget...

Felicity Wren and Max Timm always have open Q&A during every Facebook Live broadcast, so you should tune in when they broadcast their next live chat. Even though most broadcasts focus on a particular subject, every writer is welcome to ask anything they like at any time. Felicity and Max will do their best to give you a straight and honest answer.

This is a podcast recording of the ISA's Facebook Live broadcast of Wine Wednesdays. Please note that some promotions offered during the live broadcast are no longer available. We can, however, assist you if you wish to find out more information regarding ISA events, contests, or consulting offers. Just reach out to [email protected] and we will be happy to help.

You can reach out to Max regarding any type of query: [email protected] If you have particular interest in working with him on a one-on-one coaching and development basis, email him at [email protected]. His Story Farm development and coaching service is quickly becoming the best in the business! Felicity can also be reached at [email protected]. She, too, can work with you one-on-one, so don't hesitate to inquire. We can't wait to support you.

Subjects and themes for the broadcasts change from week to week, so stay tuned on most Wednesday evenings at 7:00pm Los Angeles time. For a specific schedule and set of announcements, "Like" the ISA Facebook page and keep up to date.

SYS Episode 290:

In this week's episode of the SYS Podcast I talk with writer/director (and actor) Cal Barnes about his move from Oregon to Los Angeles, what he did when he arrived, and how he's been able to get himself into a position to write and direct a feature film.

We have a special episode today. I wanted to discuss a topic that NEVER gets discussed until minutes before the cameras begin to roll, shooting sex scenes. Loving making or sex scenes are like walking through a field of landmines. I’ve shot these kinds of scenes in my life and it’s just uncomfortable for everyone on set. Today we have a guest who literally wrote a book on the subject, John Bucher.

He is the author of six books including the best-selling Storytelling for Virtual Reality, named by BookAuthority as one of the best storytelling books of all time. John has worked with companies including HBO, DC Comics, The History Channel, A24 Films, The John Maxwell Leadership Foundation and served as a consultant and writer for numerous film, television, and Virtual Reality projects. The book that inspired this episode is A BEST PRACTICE GUIDE TO SEX AND STORYTELLING.

A great deal of storytelling in film and television involves narratives that include sexual situations and nudity. The increased amount of on-line and streaming content outlets has in turn increased the number of narratives that involve these once-taboo subjects. Often, even though directors and producers desire to handle such issues with professionalism, sets become awkward when producing these scenes. 

I hope this episode serves as a helpful tool for guiding creators through these waters.

Enjoy my conversation with John Bucher.

Today on the show we have the chairman of the legendary Cooke Optics empire. For over 100 years, Cooke has been at the centre of the filmmaking business. We’ve been listening to the community of which we are a part. We lead by introducing new products such as /i Technology, and we remember our success is built on a simple idea – do what the filmmaker needs.

From Cooke Optics website:

Our factory in Leicester, England has generations from the same family working side by side. That experience is un-beaten anywhere. We manufacture a full range of primes and zooms for 35mm, digital and Super 16mm photography, plus a range of large format stills lenses.

We know our customers, and they know us, as individuals. Our rental partners do their training next to the craftsman who built their lenses. There are no barriers. We meet our customers at our factory, at trade events, distributors and rental houses and of course on the set.

We’re intolerant when it comes to tolerances. We research continuously to drive innovation. Our lenses are dependable and practical in use on the set; our optics superb. The lenses are straightforward to maintain – which is why so many rental facilities carry our products. Our manufacturing and testers keep going until we get each lens within our very tight specification. We get it right, whatever it takes. At the heart of what makes Cooke special is the “Cooke Look”. The Cooke Look® is about the science of creating beautiful images for the motion picture industry.

As a result, for over a century, cinematographers have chosen Cooke lenses for a smooth roundness and dimensionality to the picture and for the velvety skin tones that flatter.

Enjoy my conversation with Les Zella.

Bulletproof Screenplay Episode 50:

We made it to 50 EPISODES! So grateful the show has taken off. Thanks for all the support!

Today on the show we have storytelling guru John Bucher, who is a renowned strategist, communicator, and cultural mythologist based out of Hollywood, California. Disruptor named him one of the top 25 influencers in Virtual Reality in 2018.

“John Bucher is an influencer. He’s one of our most prolific contributors.” — HBO

He is the author of six books including the best-selling Storytelling for Virtual Reality, named by BookAuthority as one of the best storytelling books of all time. John has worked with companies including HBO, DC Comics, The History Channel, A24 Films, The John Maxwell Leadership Foundation and served as a consultant and writer for numerous film, television, and Virtual Reality projects. Currently, he teaches writing and story courses as part of the Joseph Campbell Writers Room at Studio School in Los Angeles and at the LA Film Studies Center. He has spoken on 5 continents about using the power of story to reframe how products, individuals, organizations, cultures, and nations are viewed.

John is a prolific writer.

STORYTELLING FOR VIRTUAL REALITY

Storytelling for Virtual Reality serves as a bridge between students of new media and professionals working between the emerging world of VR technology and the art form of classical storytelling. Rather than examining purely the technical, the text focuses on the narrative and how stories can best be structured, created, and then told in virtual immersive spaces. Author John Bucher examines the timeless principles of storytelling and how they are being applied, transformed, and transcended in Virtual Reality. Interviews, conversations, and case studies with both pioneers and innovators in VR storytelling are featured, including industry leaders at LucasFilm, 20th Century Fox, Oculus, Insomniac Games, and Google.

A BEST PRACTICE GUIDE TO SEX AND STORYTELLING

A great deal of storytelling in film and television involves narratives that include sexual situations and nudity. The increased amount of on-line and streaming content outlets has in turn increased the number of narratives that involve these once-taboo subjects. Often, even though directors and producers desire to handle such issues with professionalism, sets become awkward when producing these scenes. A Best Practice Guide to Sex and Storytelling serves as a helpful tool for guiding creators through these waters.

MASTER OF THE CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

Master of the Cinematic Universe is a guide to the future of transmedia storytelling. Content creators of every flavor are constantly needing to expand the mediums they can work in. This volume serves as a resource for using the timeless truths of story structure to craft established as well as up and coming short-form media formats.

STORYTELLING BY THE NUMBERS

Storytelling By The Numbers is a collection of essays and articles that John Bucher has written for LA Screenwriter and a variety of other outlets. All are meant to strengthen storytellers and scriptwriters. Bucher examines trends and tropes found in current film and television and uses these examples to demonstrate how and why they work as storytelling devices. Writers from any genre, working with any type of narrative can finds jewels of wisdom and applicable nuggets for their own ideas. The collection also features ten powerful writing prompts to assist writers in creating or developing a script idea from a single character.

Enjoy my conversation with John Bucher.

Bulletproof Screenwriting Episode 49:

Today on the show we have Hollywood screenwriter, director, producer, podcaster and novelist John August. He is known for writing the hit Hollywood films Go, Charlie’s Angels, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Big Fish, Charlie, and the Chocolate Factory and Frankenweenie, the Disney live-action adaptation of Aladdin and the novel Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire. Here are some of the trailers of his work.

He hosts the popular screenwriting podcast Scriptnotes with Craig Mazin, maintains an eponymous screenwriting blog and develops screenwriter-targeted software called Highland 2.5 through his company, Quote-Unquote Apps.

Enjoy my conversation with John August.

In this episode of “Just Click Submit,” the ISA’s Scott Markus speaks with Stephen Zimmer, the creator of Louisville’s Imaginarium Convention, a festival celebrating writers and all things pop culture.

The Imaginarium Convention made its debut in 2014 with a central focus on providing creative writers and other creative talents educational, networking, professional, and mentoring opportunities. In 2019, The Writer Magazine named the Imaginarium Convention the best writing conference in Kentucky and the 2nd best writing conference in the Southeast USA.

The Imaginarium Convention welcomes all genres and levels of experience, maintaining an inclusive, welcoming environment that brings together the vibrant atmosphere of a convention with the content-rich nature of a major writers conference. Three days filled with over 130 panels and workshops provide creative individuals an abundance to choose from to develop skill-sets to further their professional and artistic journeys.

In supporting creative writing in all forms, The Imaginarium Convention embraces Game Development and Film/TV production, including programming content in each of these areas, a weekend-long gaming room, and an independent film festival with juried awards.

More recently, The Imaginarium Convention has begun to develop the Imaginarium Initiative, to help facilitate support and educational opportunities for communities in need. Our first target area for this program will be the Eastern Kentucky region.

A positive event that provides a wide range of support and beneficial elements to a diverse array of attendees, Imaginarium is dedicated to continue growing and expanding what we can offer to those pursuing a creative path.

Episode 288

In this episode of the SYS Podcast I talk with screenwriter Aaron Harvey about his career and how he got his new film, Into The Ashes, into production. Like many aspiring screenwriters, Aaron grew up far from Hollywood and without any industry connections. In the interview he goes through his journey moving to LA and building a career for himself.

Episode 287

This week on the podcast I talk with writer/director/actor Christopher Bradley about his new indie drama, The Trigger, which he shot in Arizona. We talk through his process making this film as well as his career and what brought him to this point.

Episode 286

This week on the SYS Podcast episode I talk with Writer/Director Jérôme Cohen-Olivar about his early days growing up in Morocco and how that lead him to a career writing and directing, including his latest horror feature film, The 16th Episode.