Story. Screenplay. Sale.
Finally, Karel FG SegersKarel Segers wrote his first produced screenplay at age 17. Today he is a story analyst with experience in acquisition, development and production. He has trained students worldwide, and worked with half a dozen Academy Award nominees. Karel speaks more European languages than he has fingers on his left hand, which he … Read more
Struggling with a passive protagonist? Let’s look into what causes this passivity. Remember, a hero is not ‘active’ because he is always running, fighting, arguing etc. A hero is not ‘passive’ because he is never doing any of those, either. by Karel Segers Here is a list of points that in my view will have … Read more
Because the first shift of POV in a film may jolt the audience’s experience, it works best where this brief ‘disconnection’ doesn’t hurt the story: after a climax. The start of Act Two is a good place to move to the antagonist’s POV. We have just seen that our protagonist is ready to take on … Read more
Should you write a happy ending? Commercial common sense will tell you: yes, you should. Robert McKee says: “Tell the truth.” (see the previous post) McKee means: your story needs to reflect your worldview. If you contradict whatever you believe in for the sake of commerce, you will fail. During his Arthouse seminar, he gives … Read more
The finest writing not only reveals true character, but arcs or changes to that inner nature, for better or worse. In 1998 McKee signed my first edition hardback of STORY. He wrote: “To Karel: Tell the TRUTH!” Ironically with the quote at the top of this article, McKee is not telling his own truth.(*) He … Read more