HOW TO WATCH A MOVIE

 Avoid review,trailers and previews

 See movies uninterrupted
 See it the first time for fun
 See the good stuff twice
 Analyze your emotional reaction
 Did it follow the rules (what the screenwriter employ for creating the character identificatio
n ,aniticipation,curiosity ,believability ,conflict ,character growth and theme)
 Pitch the movie (how do you express the story concept in single sentence ,if you have been an
executive ,would you have given it a green light ,why or why not )
 Research the prodcution (check the box office success of the film , domestically and
internationally )
 Write a scene (pick a scene from the movie you enjoyed ,watch the scene two or 3 times and
then try writing it yourself ,how would you describe the action as simply as possible without
losing its emotional impact)
 Read the script

Source of story ideas

Personal Experience

Headlines

Other movies

Adaptations

A hero

The story must have at least one hero ,main character who is on screen most of the time ,whose

Motivation drive the plot and with whom the audience is deeply involved

Empathy

The reader must put herself inside the hero emotinally ,must experience through the character
Desire

There must be at least one clear ,specific objective that the hero hopes to achieve by the end of the
story

Conflict

Desire drives story forward,but it’s the conflict your hero must overcome that elicits the emotion.

The hero faces a huge hurdle or where the hero is rewarded for having conquered it

Risk:

in facing these challenges ,hurdles and obstacles in pursuit of his motivation ,your hero must utlimately

put everything at risk.Such as life ,reputation ,emotional protection .

A high concept:

The story idea alone is sufficient to attract the audience ,regardless of casting ,reviews and word of
mouth.

A commercial goal :

To win : competition movies (Friday night lights , kicking and screaming ,akeelah and the bee)

And Heros desire to win the love of other characters(romantic comedies)

To Stop : heros aim is stop something bad from happening

Example : Collateral ,Eagle eye ,the ring ,armageddon ,district 9 ,Speed

To escape : to get away from the threatening situation

Example : panic room , the truman show

To deliver :

Hero must take something of value to some faraway or atleast well protected

Example : Up ,the book of eli ,the lord of the rings .

To retrieve :

The desire here is to get something of great value and either to get away with it
Example : thomas crown affair ,the bank job .

To bring it back to safety ,da vinci code ,ransom,indiana jones ,kidnapping movies

Orginality and familiarity:

Character Arc : The hero becomes more evolved ,individuated person

Theme