Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast

What scene work tools can be learned from martial arts?

In this slightly unusual episode of Draft Zero (but also incredibly on brand), Stu and philosopher swordsperson Damon Young discuss how the les…

How do audience questions shape scenes?

nspired by our earlier episodes on sequences, Chas and Stu narrow their focus to look at the atomic unit of screen storytelling: the scene. In particular, we b…

What effect does adding a ton of characters have on your story?

In Part 3 (the final part? Ha!) of our exploration into ensemble stories, Stu, Chas & Mel examine films whose genres do not conventiona…

How do you give your audience access to a lot of characters?

In Part 2 of our exploration into ensemble stories, Stu, Chas and Mel examine films whose plot and genre require a lot of characters. Thus…

DZ-96: Ensembles 1 - What do we mean by an ensemble?

How can the same story feel different when you have more characters?

In the first part of our series on ensembles, Chas, Stu and Mel start by layi…

How do you maintain hope in the face of, er, screenwriting?

Time for our annual backmatter episode, where we drop any ruse of any objectivity, and fully embrace our subjective opinions!

In this episo…

How can you use physical objects to track character change… wordlessly?

In part two of our two-part series on TALISMANS, we break down the beats used to turn objects (in a broad sense) into talismans…

How can you use physical objects to reveal inner character?

In this series, Chas and Stu discuss TALISMANS. Physical objects that are imbued with meaning by a character or characters. They’re a power…

How can endings prompt an audience to reflect on your story?

Stu & Chas set out to explore what makes certain endings powerful, in particular those of LA LA LAND, INCEPTION, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN an…

How can you keep your audience hooked when they know the end of the story?

Chas, Stu and Mel take a deep dive into stakes, using then lens of biopics to help us think about them. If an audience alrea…

How can you use setups and payoffs to stitch your film together?

In this one-shot, Chas and Stu dive into the awesomeness of EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE. In particular, we focus on its use of s…

How does your opening sequence set up your audience? Inspired by her tweet on how subversive an opening OCEAN’S ELEVEN has, Chas and Stu invited amazing writer/director Jessica Ellis onto the show to…

How can dramas use genre elements to hook their audiences?

Stu and Chas reunite with TV writer & director Kodie Bedford to look at how some films start out as genre but gradually become character dra…

How do you deliver on the emotional contract of a genre while surprising the audience?

In tackling this enormous topic, Stu and Chads enlist professional TV writer and director for Kodie Bedford, som…

How do you determine what is your MVP?

In their annual full backwater episode, Stu and Chas let out their pandemic hair, drop the ruse of objectivity, and allow themselves to have even more options a…

What is difference between choice and decision when it comes to audience experience?

In our second part of our “series” on Choices and Decisions, we take a deep dive into THE FAREWELL and WRATH OF MA…

What is the difference between choice and decision when it comes to characters?

In order to better understand dramatising of character, Chas and Stu take a very draft zero look at very specific tool:…

What can screenwriters learn from the storytelling techniques used by stand-up comedians?

Standup comedians can keep audiences gripped to their every word for over an hour, and often bring them to em…

How can writers dramatise Given Circumstances?

In this final podcast release of last year’s run of LiveSoLation episodes, Chas and Stu are joined by Uber-geek Mel Killingsworth (who else?) in an epi…

How do you make effective pitch decks and look books for your projects?

Chas and Stu are joined by writer/director/producer/multi-hyphenate Marc Furmie of Rezistor Studios to talk all things pitch de…