§ RESOURCES / FILMMAKER INDEX
Mark Fergus
Writer
Films Discussed 2
- · Children of Men (2006) (w)
- · Iron Man (2008) (w)
Draft Zero Episodes 3
DZ-101: Oners - Creating Immediacy & Anchoring Action on the Page
What can we learn by analysing how 'oners' are written on the page?
Chas, Stu and Mel reunite to talk about writing the feel of camerawork in screenplays. We use “oners” — a long-playing continuous take — as a lens to talk about how some writers have “directed” from the page. We talk immediacy, camera positions, handovers, and anchoring action and more… →
Listen to understand how screenwriters direct the camera without calling shots.
DZ-44: Marvel - First Acts and Establishing Characters
How can your first act effectively establish your character journey?
First Acts are hard. They have to set so much in motion, especially setting up characters. To help them understand how to write effective first acts better, Stu and Chas turn their analytical gaze to a franchise that has been refining and reiterating its first act “schema” for over a decade… THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE… →
Listen if your first act exposition feels clunky--the MCU has a schema for burying backstory inside character introductions.
DZ-43: Driving Sequences - Character and Plot Intensity
What gives your sequences their intensity?
Chas and Stu are joined for the fourth time by the inestimable Stephen Cleary - this time to take a deep dive into sequences. A real deep dive. A 3+ hour deep dive… →
Listen to understand how dramatic questions shape audience engagement and pacing through sequences.
Referenced In
Shot Zero Deep Dives
Time and space in staging "Oners" by Shot Zero
via Goodfellas, Children of Men, and The Adventures of Tintin
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