Central Problem In A Story - Erik Bork

[@FilmMusicMentor]

I think that Erik is right on. It’s the fun of seeing how it works out and unfolds that matters most to me. And believing that it could happen this way. As a composer it’s my job to make the world of the story feel real. The more the story is “out of reality” the more the music grounds you. But it’s all about the story.

[@SpookyMingo]

she's always saying no pun intended yet always says specific puns lol

[@ajtaylor8750]

This is always my biggest niche when writing a script story. I have a rulebook of 10 that I follow during the writing process, and rule #9 is "Write from an authentic place," and that's important because if you write from a place of sincerity and realism, people will suspend all disbelief and will connect to the story no matter the genre. If a great story is one that people connect to emotionally, you have something special.

[@slim..reaper]

AJ Taylor What’s the other rules?

[@rebeccaoliver7977]

Also interested in your 10 rules, AJ

[@apollocobain8363]

Him: The Wire is realistic. (6:37) Her: Forrest Gump is a real person. (!?)

[@10Vernonplace]

Yeah I don't feel Forrest Gump is real LOL

[@veganmaster5963]

She said that it feels real

[@jeremiahswanson3049]

From 'Death of a Salesman' I learned that the main character doesn't have to be so interesting or likable, you don't even have to want to see them personally overcome their problems as long as there is someone else in the story that you really like, love even, and THEY really love said character and want him to do well. Like, I didn't care much for Willy Loman but I really liked his wife and she cared about Willy and loved him so much and I wanted him to overcome because I wanted to protect her from being hurt by his continued failings. I think it actually made me more invested in the story than if I liked Willy. Having that surrogate somehow intensified it for me. Cheers!

[@roathripper]

You didnt find anything worth caring about in the spectacle of a distressed and delusional old man's naked soul disintegrating in front of your eyes?

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

Okay... I'll play. (lolz) Great video btw. Recently, I've been exploring some of the older and higher acclaimed anime' serials. It's in the interest of seeking out totally different perspectives and styles of storytelling, but I have always had a soft spot for animation... so... there is that. Anyway, I've been watching "Tasogare Otome X Amnesia" (The Amnesiac Lady Ghost)... AND the central problem is about a guy who's recently gotten into a College (academy?) and met with... er... rather got haunted by a female ghost. There are legends around her, and apparently she's lost her memory of who she was and how she died. SO he's trying to help her uncover whatever horrible crime was committed against her so she can finally find peace... ...and they're falling in love... at least, sort of(?) Here's the thing. I suspect already (around episode four or five... have to check my "watch it" notes) that as they adventure around the school, and he's dubiously becoming the president of the "paranormal research club" so antics can ensue... BUT as the adventure winds out, the further into this despicable murder come to light, the ghost and the guy are going to grow closer and closer, until there's an awful choice to make. Finish this quest and release her spirit to go to heaven (whatever?) OR greedily stick it out together as long as possible, even if it means deteriorating her spirit into something more like a demon... or worse. I bring this point (of suspicion) up, because anime is a font of interesting techniques for taking an original conflict (boy meets ghost-girl and wants to help her) and replacing it with different and even more compelling conflicts later to pursue a serial (boy and ghost-girl fall in love, even forbidden). It's worth mention that the Japanese don't have a monopoly on stranger story arcs or different structures, and some of this formulaic stuff we (Hollyweird) keep pumping out as "industry standard" or "conventional" gets overused to the degree that "anything different must be better" at least in the eyes of the audience. While we might want to keep the plotlines reasonably simple so audiences can digest them in reasonable time and pacing, it's worth pointing out that from season to season, shifting the conflict over time allows a writer to develop the characters further than just the single arc of convention. Perhaps this is something useful for aspiring writers to consider... ...at least... I'm certainly tinkering with it. ;o)

[@AllenWalker-yp1cn]

Synopsis please

[@howardkoor2796]

Great interview

[@derikjmercado1114]

great content!!!

[@filmcourage]

Thank you, Derik!

[@roger8654]

Many movies have characters who do shit that doesnt make sense.

[@Levifree]

Does the problem have to get solved

[@murrynathan]

I used to watch Star Trek TNG. After the show ended, Worf the Klingon joined the cast of Deep Space 9, but they changed his character, wrote him differently, and I remember actually saying, “I don’t like Star Trek anymore, now they’re just makin’ stuff up!”

[@TheGeoDaddy]

Finally, someone addressing the NEW structure of a (cable) series that takes place over several webespodes... rather than a two to three hour movie or a sitcom...

[@JohnnyOSullivan]

Way behind the times, but I'm currently watching Season 3 of Dexter in which Dexter is struggling with the increasing pressures that conventional domesticity pose on the life of self-perceived unconventional super-hero. Overall, I think the central problem that Dexter faces in all of the seasons that I've watched thus far is how to maintain his lifestyle while there is an obvious antagonist trying to unmask him.

[@babylonkid]

My favorite show!

[@gimmehugs1615]

This is the epitome of the tv series The Wire.

[@TheGeoDaddy]

Outlander... halfway into the 1st season, Claire and Jamie had to go flip flops that made NO sense.. but had to “keep the plates spinning” to setup future storylines that go no where else makes sense... examples of success movies that also break the plausibility would be more interesting...

[@foreignpaul]

So basically, keep it naturally diegetic.

[@DARKLYLIT]

I just started watching the Netflix series "MINDHUNTER" and, like a lot of David Fincher's later projects, everyone it seemed strangely "flat", as in none of the actors seemed to really be connecting with each other for some reason. Everyone was speaking all this dialogue but they weren't really talking to each other. As all the actors seemed to be "affected" this way, I assume it was a directorial choice. It literally took 3 episodes before it felt like there was any real connection between anyone in any of the scenes. Yes, initially, the characters themselves don't know each other and that takes time, but even strangers attempt to actually make contact and that was missing for the first few episodes. A strange choice if it was directorial, as I almost gave up on it. I didn't care about any of the characters and I wasn't interest in them. It was boring. Fortunately things changed and it's a bit more compelling now, into episode 7. Weird but likely a deliberate device. It's funny, I remember the first couple episodes of The Wire being like that too. Everyone was "acting" their asses off and it was really distracting. It totally put me off the show and it took a year before I revisited it. I'm glad I did because The Wire is, in my opinion, one of the most compelling, interesting series ever produced.

[@seanhanlon1061]

damn dan harmon lost a lot of weight

[@backnforth8401]

People need to stop using the Forest Gump analogy. He's a fictional character with a few idealistic qualities and what happened in the movie worked in a way that the writers and other people during production designed to promote what he represents. Our lives are not designed by someone else or being to work in our favor or prosperity. Just use real people as examples because it doesn't make sense to use fictional characters from artificial events as guidance in a very unpredictable and dynamic reality. If people have to rely so much on fictional characters for help instead of real people, it probably means that they are very disconnect with their immediate outside surroundings and there's a good chance that those kinds of characters don't exist for reasons in a way that they are good sources of solutions for other people's problems. In other words, if you have to rely on fictional people to solve your problems where real people don't, there's a good chance that it won't work.

[@gordo6908]

Also, isnt Gump just Sergeant York updated and transported to Vietnam?

[@thepepitochannel6987]

Oh gosh. Again a method with a word making an acronym.

[@gonzaloleon-gelpi9776]

Forrest Gump seems completely unrealistic to me. I tuned it out just because of that. Then I went back just to be able to express my views without someone saying, "you didn't watch it all the way through." And it was annoying to stay with it to the end .

[@gonzaloleon-gelpi9151]

Forest Gump, I could never finish watching that movie. Thoroughly unreal and boring.