[Watch the video interview on YouTube here]
Film Courage: Do you get mad when people say that story is just entertainment?
Adam Argot, Story Artist/Instructor/YouTuber: No, I don’t think they’re wrong. In fact, I think that’s true.
I think it’s that one word “just” that is the qualifier. It’s just entertainment.
That implies that they don’t have a lot of regard for what entertainment is.
But entertainment is the single most important aspect of storytelling.
Entertainment, I talk about this probably too much, but it comes…the etymological source of entertainment literally comes from inter tenere which means to hold between. Inter between, tenere to hold or to carry.
It literally comes from this idea of you’re carrying the attention of the audience from moment to moment.
It’s just entertainment.
It is the single most difficult thing to do in any situation.
To hold someone’s attention is to connect with someone’s mind.
So that means like two physical beings that have separate bodies are connecting through some, usually arbitrated through art, which ultimately that’s what story is.
Story is art and entertainment is the connection of those two minds.
It’s an artist putting forth effort to say Hey, I’m building a bridge inviting the person to build their own half of the bridge and meeting them in the middle.
When you connect with somebody, when you really connect with somebody, you feel entertained.
It’s the hardest thing to do.
For people to say, “Well, at least it was entertaining.”
It’s like to say it’s entertaining is…(Watch the video interview on YouTube here).
About:
Adam Argot has worked in film, TV, games, and publishing as a director, writer, author, story and concept artist for over 15 years for both major and independent studios. Along with in-depth podcasts and interviews like Film Courage, Story Kinetics, and a YouTube video series The Art of Story, Adam has also taught story structure at Calarts and as a guest lecturer in the USC Screenwriting Program.
BUY THE BOOK – THE STORY RITUAL: Character Arcs & Rites of Passage
BUY THE BOOK – STORY BY NUMBERS
MORE VIDEOS WITH ADAM ARGOT
CONNECT WITH ADAM ARGOT
Advertisement – contains affiliate links
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)
New book from Film Courage! – See it on Payhip here
