"The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." -- MichelangeloWhile teaching a class, I once mentioned that it wasn’t just luck to repeatedly produce good work as a storyteller. I said that if it were being in the right place at the right time, you could not have people whose successes span decades, such as Alfred
Friday, October 13, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Hero Worship
Posted on 6:35 PM by christofer D
"One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being." -- May SartonWhat happened to heroes in stories? In older films and stories, heroes were characters who made sacrifices. They were people who thought of others before themselves. At some point we decided that this was unrealistic, and characters like a square-jawed Superman were too corny for us. We were more sophisticated
Tuesday, September 5, 2006
WHAT’S WRONG WITH EMOTIONS, ANYWAY?
Posted on 3:07 PM by christofer D
When was that last time you felt anything in the movie theater? I mean really felt something for the characters. Did you care who lived and who died? (I don’t mean intellectually, but deep down in your gut.)When a film is really working people come out fired up. They are still giggling at the funny part, or still worked up by exciting part. Or they are still sad because of the melancholy part.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
SUPERIOR POSITION
Posted on 5:19 PM by christofer D
From an interview with Alfred Hitchcock: "There is a distinct difference between ‘suspense’ and ‘surprise,’ and yet many pictures continually confuse the two. I’ll explain what I mean.
We are now having a very innocent little chat. Let’s suppose that there is a bomb underneath this table between us. Nothing happens, and then all of a sudden, ‘Boom!’ There is an explosion. The public is
Friday, June 16, 2006
"The Humble Improve"
Posted on 5:58 PM by christofer D
“The Humble Improve” – Wynton Marsalis
The sketches in this blog were done by my friend Derek Thompson who works for Pixar and has sat in on two different seminars of mine. This was his way of taking notes.
A few months ago I had the privilege of teaching my seminar at Pixar. Anyone who knows me knows that there are few modern storytellers I respect as much as I do those at Pixar. They
The sketches in this blog were done by my friend Derek Thompson who works for Pixar and has sat in on two different seminars of mine. This was his way of taking notes.
A few months ago I had the privilege of teaching my seminar at Pixar. Anyone who knows me knows that there are few modern storytellers I respect as much as I do those at Pixar. They
Friday, May 26, 2006
The Amazing Disappearing First Act
Posted on 4:37 PM by christofer D
"Learn the fundamentals of the game and stick to them." --Jack Nicklaus
I hate to come back to the whole “three act” thing, but I find over and over again that people are not adhering to it. My belief is that the lack of strong first acts in films in recent years has much to do with the steady decline in movie attendance. No first act, no emotional involvement.
I think that I mentioned
Monday, May 15, 2006
The Other Side of the Rollercoaster
Posted on 6:41 PM by christofer D
It is at this time of the year that the studios put out their big movies – their “tent-pole” films. Their marketers will call these “non-stop rollercoaster rides!” Rollercoaster is the term that they use to describe films with relentless action. They promise all of the thrill, chills, twists and turns of tallest rollercoaster at Magic Mountain or Great America or wherever.Why are these movies
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