[Watch the video interview on YouTube here]
Film Courage: For writers would you say that story structure is 80% of the work?
Matthew Kalil, Screenwriter/Author/Instructor: Yes! No. I’m going to try and expand on that.
I think Syd Field was the one who said structure, structure. structure. I feel it was him, someone like that or maybe it was McKee? One of them was like:
Story is structure.
It does seem to be that way I think.
Here is the thing though, the structure of a story is its own thing for each story. Each story has its own internal logic and its own internal structure that’s very delicate but very strong.
As a writer, we have to create moments and scenes that fit together perfectly in a particular order but the order is not universal. The order is specific to that story.
The trick as a writer, in particular as a story editor, actually a script editor, is to recognize the structure in each story that is unique to that story and apply it to that story.
If you look at a movie like TÁR which is very different structurally, very different. It still has its own internal logic and its own internal structure. If you remove something or change something, it’s going to fall apart a little bit.
I would say that it’s 80% structure specific to that film but again it’s applying a universal cookie-cutter to each story. Where it gets a little bit problematic but I would say that with feature films in particular and again to TV series, to the extent you’ve got more time.
We want to hold the audience’s attention from the moment we have the first frame to the last frame. That is done mostly through structure, so yeah maybe it is 80% but it’s 80% specific structure to a specific story.
Film Courage: Forgive me, TÁR…I wanted to see it. This [came out] a couple of years ago?
Matthew: Yeah.
Film Courage: Can we just talk about the story?
Matthew: Sure, if I can remember. In the story TÁR, they did something very different: she’s a conductor who is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with someone who was in her orchestra. But it’s very complex. He does something with that film that is purely sort of artistic.
As a matter of fact, the opening sequence is like the credits start and they roll (all the credits for the whole movie) right in the beginning with the singing in the background that you found out later the character possibly recorded in a jungle somewhere. The audience sits there for that 8 minutes or 10 (however long it is) and just watches credits. They are arranged in a way that they look a little bit like orchestra members…(Watch the video interview on YouTube here).
BUY THE BOOK – THE THREE WELLS OF SCREENWRITING: Discover Your Deep Sources Of Inspiration
CONNECT WITH MATTHEW KALIL
Matthewkalil.com
CONNECT WITH THE THREE WELLS OF SCREENWRITING
Thethreewells.com
Facebook
Soundcloud
Instagram
About:
Matthew Kalil is a writer, director, script editor, author and speaker. He has written and co-written over 40 produced episodes of TV and has received various grants, development funding and awards. Matthew’s productions have been screened and broadcast in Canada, Denmark, Morocco, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Kenya, South Africa, Thailand, the United States and the United Kingdom. Since receiving his MA in Screenwriting, he has been teaching, writing and mentoring students for over 20 years. Matthew has developed a unique system of screenwriting theory that helps beginners as well as established screenwriters get in touch with their creative core. His book, The Three Wells of Screenwriting, published by Michael Wiese productions with a foreword by Christopher Vogler, has been describes as a “breakthrough in the writing craft.” His workshops have touched and inspired thousands of participants and his gentle and insightful script editing guidance has helped many writers realize the stories they were always trying to tell. A charismatic speaker, Matthew has enjoyed presenting many times at the London Screenwriting Festival, the Cape Town International Animation Festival and the University Film and Video Association. Matthew is currently an Assistant Professor at the David Lynch MFA in screenwriting in the USA.
Advertisement – contains affiliate links
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)
More affiliates:
Camera we use for interviews – https://buff.ly/3rWqrra
Sound we use for interviews – https://amzn.to/2tbFlM9
Other books on Amazon that Film Courage recommends – https://buff.ly/3o0oE5o
