The Story Toolkit

This week we talk both good ideas and, thanks to comics, bad ones. From BREAKING BAD to the upcoming JUSTICE LEAGUE we talk about how to gauge what an idea might be worth.

Royalty free music from Bensound. Logo design by The Proxy Guy.

2:15 - ‘Premise’ - Breaking down the purpose of a logline and introducing the logline for BREAKING BAD.

8:15 - ‘Concept’ - Breaking Inspiration down into 5 key components and discussion practical application.

27:25 - ‘Example’- Applying the 5 components to the BREAKING BAD logline.

35:25 - ‘Further Examples’ - Discussing further aspects of Inspiration and how they can be useful in the process of creating ideas.

48:05 - ‘Counterpoint’ - Analysing the flawed Inspiration for the upcoming JUSTICE LEAGUE movie.

1:18:20 - ‘Summary’ - Summarising the key writing techniques discussed.

This week: SPOILERS! Recording at the McKee Story Seminar in London we get straight into the new Marvel film, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL.2. Royalty free music from Bensound. Logo design by The Proxy Guy.

1:50 - ‘Premise’ - Breaking down the major story beats of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL.2.

6:10 - ‘Spine of Action’ - Analysing the lack of Spine of Action in the film.

20:00 - ‘Dimensions’- Looking at the dimensions of the cast compared with the original movie.

29:35 - ‘Danger’ - Breaking down the reason for the lack of danger in the story.

42:33 - ‘Credit’ - Discussing some of the great things that GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL.2 tried to do.

56:03 - ‘Summary’ - Summarising the key writing techniques discussed.

This week: SPOILERS! Recording at the McKee Story Seminar in London we get straight into the new Marvel film, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL.2. Royalty free music from Bensound. Logo design by The Proxy Guy.

1:50 - ‘Premise’ - Breaking down the major story beats of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL.2.

6:10 - ‘Spine of Action’ - Analysing the lack of Spine of Action in the film.

20:00 - ‘Dimensions’- Looking at the dimensions of the cast compared with the original movie.

29:35 - ‘Danger’ - Breaking down the reason for the lack of danger in the story.

42:33 - ‘Credit’ - Discussing some of the great things that GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL.2 tried to do.

56:03 - ‘Summary’ - Summarising the key writing techniques discussed.

This week Luke and I talk about the beautiful Netflix series, THE OA and how it's format spells the future of TV. Royalty free music from Bensound. Logo design by The Proxy Guy.

4:10 - ‘Synopsis’ - Breaking down the major story beats of the THE OA.

14:19 - ‘Installments’ - Outlining the different temporal genres, particularly how THE OA uses Installments in a unique way.

24:06 - ‘Global Frequency’- Comparing the example of THE OA to the flawed pilot episode of the excellent GLOBAL FREQUENCY.

31:06 - ‘Empathy’ - Analysing the emotional sensitivity of the writing.

45:00 - ‘Genre’ - Discussing the many genre elements that THE OA uses including values and audience emotion.

1:08:18 - ‘Summary’ - Summarising the key writing techniques discussed.

This week Luke and I talk about the beautiful Netflix series, THE OA and how it's format spells the future of TV. Royalty free music from Bensound. Logo design by The Proxy Guy.

4:10 - ‘Synopsis’ - Breaking down the major story beats of the THE OA.

14:19 - ‘Installments’ - Outlining the different temporal genres, particularly how THE OA uses Installments in a unique way.

24:06 - ‘Global Frequency’- Comparing the example of THE OA to the flawed pilot episode of the excellent GLOBAL FREQUENCY.

31:06 - ‘Empathy’ - Analysing the emotional sensitivity of the writing.

45:00 - ‘Genre’ - Discussing the many genre elements that THE OA uses including values and audience emotion.

1:08:18 - ‘Summary’ - Summarising the key writing techniques discussed.

Willard Foxton returns! He takes us through the first episode of the HBO mini-series, BAND OF BROTHERS, discussing the nature of how and why certain choices were made in the production. Royalty free music from Bensound. Logo design by The Proxy Guy.

Willard Foxton returns! He takes us through the first episode of the HBO mini-series, BAND OF BROTHERS, discussing the nature of how and why certain choices were made in the production. Royalty free music from Bensound. Logo design by The Proxy Guy.

This week we examine the HBO series WESTWORLD and how it uses a unique clueing strategy to intrigue the audience. Royalty free music from Bensound. Logo design by the Proxy Guy.

5:12 - ‘Synopsis’ - Breaking down the major story beats of HBO’s WESTWORLD.

12:33 - ‘Clueing’ - Outlining the 3 different ways of clueing in a mystery story.

22:28 - ‘Detecting’- Discussing the effect different detective styles can have on the solving of your mystery.

27:16 - ‘Mystery’ - Analysing the unique way WESTWORLD guides you through it’s many mysteries.

59:38 - ‘Summary’ - Summarising the key writing techniques discussed.

This week we examine the HBO series WESTWORLD and how it uses a unique clueing strategy to intrigue the audience. Royalty free music from Bensound. Logo design by the Proxy Guy.

5:12 - ‘Synopsis’ - Breaking down the major story beats of HBO’s WESTWORLD.

12:33 - ‘Clueing’ - Outlining the 3 different ways of clueing in a mystery story.

22:28 - ‘Detecting’- Discussing the effect different detective styles can have on the solving of your mystery.

27:16 - ‘Mystery’ - Analysing the unique way WESTWORLD guides you through it’s many mysteries.

59:38 - ‘Summary’ - Summarising the key writing techniques discussed.

This week, we breakdown the nature of one of our favourite episodes of IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA, from it's 9th season, "THE GANG TRIES DESPERATELY TO WIN AN AWARD". Royalty free music from Bensound. Logo design by the Proxy Guy.

1:38 - ‘Synopsis’ - Breaking down the major story beats of “The Gang Desperately Try to Win An Award”.

10:27 - ‘Satire’ - Outlining the principles of Satire and where it sits in the spectrum of comedy.

17:28 - ‘Cast Principles’- Outlining the principles of Institutionalizing your cast.

25:00 - ‘Layering’ - Analyzing how IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA Layers a separate meaning into this episode to create Satire.

29:44 - ‘Institutionalizing’ - Analyzing how the episode Institutionalizes its cast.

32:20 - ‘Elasticity’ - Discussing the Gaps created in Satire and how far you can stretch or contract those for comedic effect.

45:34 - ‘Counter’ - Breaking down the counter example of FAMILY GUY: BLUE HARVEST and certain episodes of SOUTH PARK and why sometimes Satire can fail.

53:25 - ‘Surrealism’ - Examining how Surrealism relates to Satire in terms of creating Gaps and audience expectation.

1:01:30 - ‘Summary’ - Summarizing the key writing techniques discussed.