John Truby's Top 25 Screenwriting Lessons
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- čas přidán 3. 06. 2024
- John Truby has taught us a lot about screenwriting and story in our two interviews with him. Here are our Top 25 favorite lessons.
00:34 - 1. Key To Understanding Screenwriting
03:52 - 2. Movie Idea Or TV Idea?
06:53 - 3. How To Create The Main Character
10:50 - 4. The First Draft
16:28 - 5. The Most Common Screenwriting Question
18:50 - 6. On The Page
20:32 - 7. How To Break Writer’s Block Quickly
22:53 - 8. Should The Idea Be Written?
27:13 - 9. The Ending
28:54 - 10. Cliffhanger
30:58 - 11. What Is Hollywood Looking To Buy
34:45 - 12. First Rule Of Hollywood
37:12 - 13. Amateur Writers Can’t Do This
41:17 - 14. Audience Feedback
44:22 - 15. Breaking Down The Premise Line
46:26 - 16. Fake Allies
48:50 - 17. Television Story Beats
50:48 - 18. Wine Tasting
54:24 - 19. Total Control
56:51 - 20. The Real Problem That Has To Be Solved
1:00:30 - 21. Writing On Staff
1:03:55 - 22. Realities Of Being A TV Writer
1:09:58 - 23. Crafting A Serial Television Show
1:12:21 - 24. Reading Scripts
1:15:10 - 25. Treating The Craft Like A Business
BUY THE BOOK - THE ANATOMY OF STORY:
22 Steps To Becoming A Master Storyteller
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#writing #screenwriting #screenwriting101 - Krátké a kreslené filmy
![Essential Skill Sets Screenwriters Need To Write Professionally - Corey Mandell [FULL INTERVIEW]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hZgWw5juPJ8/mqdefault.jpg)
00:34 - 1. Key To Understanding Screenwriting
03:52 - 2. Movie Idea Or TV Idea?
06:53 - 3. How To Create The Main Character
10:50 - 4. The First Draft
16:28 - 5. The Most Common Screenwriting Question
18:50 - 6. On The Page
20:32 - 7. How To Break Writer’s Block Quickly
22:53 - 8. Should The Idea Be Written?
27:13 - 9. The Ending
28:54 - 10. Cliffhanger
30:58 - 11. What Is Hollywood Looking To Buy
34:45 - 12. First Rule Of Hollywood
37:12 - 13. Amateur Writers Can’t Do This
41:17 - 14. Audience Feedback
44:22 - 15. Breaking Down The Premise Line
46:26 - 16. Fake Allies
48:50 - 17. Television Story Beats
50:48 - 18. Wine Tasting
54:24 - 19. Total Control
56:51 - 20. The Real Problem That Has To Be Solved
1:00:30 - 21. Writing On Staff
1:03:55 - 22. Realities Of Being A TV Writer
1:09:58 - 23. Crafting A Serial Television Show
1:12:21 - 24. Reading Scripts
1:15:10 - 25. Treating The Craft Like A Business
Wow Gurpreet, thank you for this - much appreciated!
thankx
many thanks man
MVP
Thank you!
Truby is the king of story and character development, his Anatomy book is essential to any writer, book or script.
John Yorke's book Into The Words is better.
That ad placement during the cliffhanger section - pristine.
Wow! Im sure that this is not a co-incidence. Before writing my story i share my creative partner my thoughts. He feels my story, what Im not sure if combining genres is a good idea until I listened to your interview. I wake up very excited abiut my story. Your message brighten my day even more. Omg!!!Thank you so much for sgaring your thoughts. That is why I am no longer slipping the beans because what I about to write next is giving an eery feeling. Listening gives me so much confidence on creating a first scriptwriting with "great" story. I will be forever be grateful to you. I will be very careful even more as if I am watching this movie. I agree that the dualogue is the last one should be made. Wow! Again Thank you for your valuable thoughts.
Trying to take notes on this video. Very difficult. Almost every word he says is valuable.
Even his shirt looks valuable o.O
Diz buy his book: The Anatomy of Story. Everything he said here is written there (with examples) and in way more detail. It's basically a Screenwriting bible
its all in his book
The Anatomy of Story
I tried summarising it but all of it is useful. Highly recommend
The book is phenomenal.
As a serial binger, I just want to say that I love binging episodic shows a lot more than serialized shows precisely because the episodic shows don't make me feel like they're trying to prevent me from taking a break. Some serialized shows are great, but when every episode ends in a cliffhanger it becomes emotionally taxing. Just me. Rebinging Breaking Bad thanks to Mr. Truby here. It is amazing, though.
Truby is one of my favorite educators. Using a quote from Anatomy of Story in my next video essay.
I have a hard time reading that book. Not quite as easy to read and follow as Save the Cat.
He has something to say, no doubt. But he's too formulaic.
+signalenergie : Amen. He is one of many who adopts a "my way or the highway" approach. The universe is much bigger than any one way.
I adore his book Anatomy of Story, definitely, one of my storytelling must haves! Syd Field's books are fantastic too!
He is spot on about the sources of criticism. As an aside, I have been in a variety of classes, groups, and workshops in Los Angeles. Some of the MOST resistant to feedback were pro co readers and producers. Most wanted to argue, even if elements clearly didn't work. Few were able to make progress toward sales or wins.
I’m currently reading his book now. His chapter on the Designing Principle is spot on, especially in the examples he gave. 👌🏾🙌🏾
Clear, concise, and loaded with important practical and creative tools for the lengthy screenwriting journey. Thank you John.
Really, really good educator. He’s overturned a lot of the noise we hear about screenwriting.
His book，the anatomy of story，saves my script everytime!
Wow, this is exactly how I build up my music and film scores! Awesoem lecture! Thanks for putting this up!
Thanks for posting this!
Gold, pure writing gold...
Thanks Jason
I love John's teaching! He is correct on every point here.
this is very good information. He's spot on about most efficient way to approach it all.
John will do a Master Class in Paris February.
this is pure gold.
That’s a nice shirt at 3:57. Deep blue. Almost purple. Soft. Velvety. Need to buy a shirt like that. I wonder where he got it from? Much nicer than his other blue shirts. Or is it the same shirt? Just different lighting?
This is a great video. I agree what game of thrones has done for TV in terms of scale is a game changer.
I've been loving most everything Truby has to say about writing and story structure. A lot of these tips are gold for writing of any kind, but does anyone know of teachers/speakers like this that are more oriented towards novels instead of film and television?
Please check out the following books by authors about creative writing
1) On Writing - Stephen King
2) Zen in the Art of Writing - Ray Bradbury
3) Becoming a Writer - Dorothea Brande
If OP or anyone else is still looking, I personally love Brandon Sanderson.
Jim Butcher (writer of Dresden Files) doesn’t have lectures but I’ve pulled some nuggets from interviews, e.g. pick 2-3 distinct features to create visual shorthand for a given character through out a book so readers can identify them (or if you want, misidentify them!!) quickly.
And while not for novels in particular, I do still recommend channels such as Just Write and Lessons from the screen play, as they touch on topics that matter regardless of media - such as Just Writes’ video on the structure of Knives Out.
Also, re: On Writing :
I personally found the advice is mostly generic. No harm in reading it for yourself, and if you glean something from it, great! But don’t worry if it you don’t care for it either.
Micheal hauge
Master class 🙏🙏
I'm a novelist. I've lost track of how many times Truby's tips have saved my book. I know he's a famous Hollywood script doctor, but I wish he was a professional book editor.
I love what Truby has to say about story, far more than other story teachers. That being said, his BlockBuster software is in serious needs of updates. The program keeps mentioning things like CD-rom and FLOPPY DISKS (do teens today know what that is?). Once it's installed, you have to either call or email the creators for an activation code. The software itself is very helpful, I just wish they could have brought in some programmers from this decade to give it an update and a nice UI polish.
Master class
This is my 2nd time watching this mix. His words feels like printing money.
I'd love to know what the beats are for all 12 genres he talks about.. Are they in his book?
Really great stuff
Love shorts and new content, Drama’s , Psycho Drama’s , Sci/Fi? Come visit my channel. Let me support you , sub to my channel and I can subscribe back - Happy NewYear. 🎥 🎥 🍿 💥💥💥
Great video 👍
That was interesting i can find this step in his book Anatomy this is a great idea to give the point in oral for a better understanding, i'm never annoyed by watching video, 1 hour ? Wow i didn't see all time passed
"With a good script, a good director can produce a masterpiece. With the same script, a mediocre director can produce a passable film. But with a bad script even a good director can't possibly make a good film." Akira Kurosawa
I really like your repackaging of the two different interviews.
Thanks Alan, we appreciate you watching.
@@filmcourage Thanks for the Thanks. Karen, do you know about Temperament Theory (the Please Understand Me books) and Enneagrams ? Are their certain biases that work better for writers than other biases ?
Babylon 5 and Witcher season 1 are my two favourite TV structures. Witcher had three structures: episodic (Geralt’s story), multi-episode stories (Yen), and a season-wide story arc with Ciri. I think some were confused by the structure, and I had the advantage of reading the books several times. Either way, I think everyone should read the books before watching the show because the show uncovers more about the characters more quickly than the books - I don’t think there is any major grand design differences between the show and Sapkowski, more that Sapkowski hadn’t thought of some of the stuff yet, and delivered information differently and in a different order…. But some fans claim they know best, Asimov, for example, felt it was best to read the books in Chronological order, but most fans find the story more surprising to read it in publication order: the TV Show (while it changes a lot of details, keeps major elements fairly close) follows more Asimov’s recommendation so Demerzel is used at the beginning of the story instead of at the end; and that’s how Asimov recommended it, but most fans recommend doing the prequels last and having Demerzel as a big surprise. So, I don’t think there’s a wrong answer for watching Witcher show first or reading the books first, but IMO the books should be read first so as to not spoil all elements. The Witcher games are a separate thing.
Babylon 5, is another favourite - the first season was episodic and used for world building. The real arc starts right at the end of the season, but much of what happened in season 1’s episodes is the foundation for the next 3 seasons. Season 1 was all setup, but it didn’t feel like setup. It’s kind of like Lord of the Rings Chapter 1, which feels like a low stakes short story, but so much is set up by that one chapter, including character motivation stuff about the world, and other things-then chapter 2 (Shadow of the Past) is where it hits with the exposition, but it’s no longer overwhelming because you know the characters, how they’ll react, and what they’re looking for-A Long Expected Party is the tent polls and the containers/coolers, A Shadow of the Past is the Tarp and the contents of the coolers, and the Chapter 3 onward is the camping trip. I think Babylon 5 is kind of like Lord of the Rings, in how it has these little episodes that surround the idea of a space station to act as a connecting place for all the powers of the galaxy, and the stakes seem lower, and it’s really easy to see the mini-story of each episode, establish the characters and such, and then when it starts dumping on the exposition for the main arc, it’s not at all overwhelming. So, I think that’s kind of where a lot of shows are missing, is that they lack that satisfying episodic content in the early episodes.
Many shows these days I kind of struggle to get into, even if I usually do… IMO, TV is so much greater now than it was when I was growing up, BUT, they most often start in a way I don’t like. I want to see the characters in shorter bite sized stories, or at least the main character, before I jump into a larger story. Babylon 5 did that. Witcher had Geralt’s bite sized stories (based on several of the short stories from the pre-Saga collections), Yen’s larger bites, and Ciri as a full arc, a little for everyone. Season 2 was interesting in starting with an episode (literally just worked in the second short story) then jumping to the Saga.
One big recommendation for any fan of anything is to stay away from fanbases of anything. Generally, unless it’s a very old TV show, they’re going to be dominated by insufferable pessimists… particularly in fantasy and sci-if. This often goes for films as well. Sometimes as shows go on the fanbases she’s their pessimists (Better Call Saul and Last Kingdom are great examples of shows that started off with very pessimist filled fanbases and then filled with optimists in time. Well, the pessimists we’re still there, they just no longer dominated the conversation. Even with optimistic fanbases, I find (with new shows, at least) is that it’s more of a pessimist rebellion against some other major show/film and aren’t really optimists at all. That’s why I tend to stay away from fandoms.
I wished that some of the masters, provided details/examples to explain the techniques rather than generalizations and promotion their classes.
I always think of my idea as a film not as a series.
Is it wrong to switch and make it a series?
If so how can I do that?
Thanks 🤍
Is there any genere audio classes pls let me know
I'm reading "The anatomy of story". Heavy stuff
Love shorts and new content, Drama’s , Psycho Drama’s , Sci/Fi? Come visit my channel. Let me support you , sub to my channel and I can subscribe back - Happy NewYear. 🎥 🎥 🍿 💥💥💥
Truby understands story
What is good literature about genres and bits of a genre?
Gems gems gems
How much of one genre makes a script a Drama rather than a Thriller? Thriller vs. Action?
Drama is everything not comedy. It's a wide category. Thriller, mystery, horror, etc. are genres, with specific conventions that must be employed for the script to work.
But was has he written himself except for books on screenwriting? What scripts has he written? I can only find three episodes of Jump Street?
It probably is who you know but only if you want to make money writing scripts for mockbusters. How does "Beyond the Trek" get made? Did they hire a screen writer? Did they pay money for that script?
Please, make a subtitle for this. Proper english subtitle, pls!
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
John doesn't like to wear a lav mic?
Russell T Davies was writing series tv well before the USA writers caught up.
If you are reading this: STOP WITH THE LEARNING AND START WRITING your stories! GO!
how can i be a script consultant..? why are they trying to do it all the selves?
:o
Let's have a look at all the big award winning blockbusters he has written on IMDB then shall we?
*He keeps saying “structural problems inherent to a story”. Like what...?*
In his book, he says that every story has a inherent problem. Therefore, we should discover and solve the problem before we start our writing. You could read the book. Highly recommend.
Ie. if the character and plot are inextricably symbiotic. Think Luke Skywaker in Tony Stark's role. It wouldn't work.
He never gave out any content of his master class. This video is a long version of his Sales copy for his master class....just the sales pitch no actual value in this video...even for a simple thing like premise line formula...he didn't give any.... boring and useless. Robert McKee gives lots of value in 2 to 3 minute videos..real things that you can use... he's far superior in his quality, precise and to the point without all this wordplay...no wonder he is considered a legend
Only amateurs write right away? But Richard Walter says idea are worthless, just write right away. Did he train only amateurs? Did all the great movies get written the Truby way? I'm sensing a hint of ideologue fluff coming from this guy.
Yeah hes a bit too methodical, sometimes you need to strike while the irons hot. He just wants you to have a completely sound framework to build on before you start adding detail, but i've found that you need to throw yourself into the deep end and just write your way out of corners in order to find the right direction for the story. When your in the moment with your characters a lot of the story reveals itself to you, and thats not something you can learn from just studying your outline.
But he is right in a sense, i wrote a 3 part fantasy saga that was pretty mediocre, and i tried to rewrite it but like he said it felt like it was set in stone. I had to tear it apart and rewrite whole segments from scratch in order to break free of the gravity well the initial draft exerted on me. But hes wrong to say you cant rewrite a bad script, its just very hard, it takes a lot of microanalysis and lateral thinking. Now im fairly proud of my saga because all the deficiencies have been corrected.
Everybody has a different strategy
Watch this entire video czcams.com/video/fFWODEPd2wg/video.html there’s no screenwriter in the world more inspirational than this guy
I was surprised by that too.
He hardly wrote anything himself. It's fun listening to he's advice, but remember, he could say the complete opposite of what he's saying (for instance has could go: "don't care about genre",) and people world be equally impressed.
this dude hasn't written anything since 21 jump street in the 1980s
You're missing the point of lecture.
it's true
It's like anything..You can be a great guitar player, know every scale, but to play, say like Hendrix..you need to go beyond the surface. But to even do that, you first need to know how to play it well, and Truby does.
I've spent more than an hour listening to this man, and the advice was good, until, he said that "American TV is the best in the world". Hilarious. I think British TV is far better, but I would not say so; well, unless prompted to do so in response! Of course if you're American (US) you're going to understand the cultural framework for your programmes better, but the same applies to me as a British person and to other people from elsewhere. Writing is an art-form and what is good and what is not is subjective. This man's advice is good but he is pedalling opinions as facts, because therein lies his commercial power. If he was just giving opinions how could he charge people to listen to him?! I'll get my advice elsewhere.
A lot of Americans lack understanding or the ability to appreciate British television. And the Brits will do things Americans wouldn't dare, like making a television adaptation of Mervin Peake's Gormengast novels, as an example. But on the other hand purely from a technical perspective alone I think the overall quality of the creme de la creme of American television exceeds that of the equivalent subsection of British television. In terms of writing, even some of the best British TV shows tend to be plagued by a veneer or corniness and by rampant cliches (I'm thinking of Sherlock, Downton Abby, stuff like that; maybe there are better shows and I haven't been exposed to them). But just to name some examples, are there any British equivalents of shows like The Sopranos, The Wire, or Breaking Bad? Those aren't my personal favorites but they fall into the category of fairly well-written, highly respected dramas.
@@allegoricalstatue British TV is becoming more risk averse now as it opens out to a wider international audience, like US TV, and so becomes more influenced by ratings and a lack of risk taking due to investors wanting a return. For the last 10 years or so there has been less comedy produced year on year for example, and more reality TV. It's easier to make and cheaper but makes money based on a 'broad' appeal. This lack of creativity I think has historically been around for longer in the US, but now is just as strong here in the UK, and is essentially the same process, where money trumps creativity. If you look at Monty Python for example that wouldn't be made now. I think the same applies either side of the pond. I liked Taxi but I can't see that being made now either.
I know what you mean about stuff here being cliched. Nonetheless I think most British people, certainly those over a certain age anyway, can still relate to it better. For example like many people here I have visited several stately homes, boring summer Sunday day out, and wondered how the people there lived. My grandmother used to work in one, just like the servants in Downton Abbey, so for me it being cliched does not stop it being relatable. The US 'shows' you mention I've not seen because I imagine them to be, I'm pretty sure correctly, jam-packed full of guns and violence, reflecting US culture being the country with the largest gun ownership in the world. Many British people don't relate to this, some do of course, but that's the thing; it's subjective. For me I would like to see more stuff written where more than 80% of the main characters make it to the last episode; I think it's too easy to just pull the trigger to create drama.
There are lots of detective 'programmes' here like Cracker, Bodyguard and my personal favourite, Life on Mars, that are very well written in my view. That said, what I put in my previous post, that British TV is better, to be honest I don't really think. I think it depends on genre, personal taste and cultural understanding. I do think that there tends to be differences in what genre each country produces more of and values more though. For example, I would say British comedy TV, not sure about films, is better, but US sci-fi, is far better. Fawlty Towers and Star Trek would perhaps be two main examples. I rarely watch US comedy TV or British sci-fi. Stuff like Friends, though I'm sure many Americans aren't fans either, for me, is about as funny as going to a funeral in my lunch hour, and Doctor Who is complete nonsense (all subjective of course).
Well, clearly, I'd better stop at some point!
1:12:10 - End.... Please stop fucking breathing like Darth Vader, thanks. 🙏
Truby may be a great teacher, but he doesn't say a single useful thing here, but rather speaks in generalities without giving specific practical advice.
At 7 min. He talk about.
Whats most imp thing about character,
I think that's only useful advice in this video.
I don't agree. He's explaining very well and is supremely informative.
Buy his books if you want techniques
"History is written by the victors;" Joseph Stalin.