You're Gonna Need A Bigger Story - Houston Howard [FULL INTERVIEW]

[@2saucedupconvo851]

This dude was a good teacher. He really helped me learn how to expand my characters and fill in the empty emotion an audience can connect with. Los Angeles Film School.

[@Nkanyiso_K]

I love this interview because this is the ethos behind studying *Screenwriting, Photography, Concept Art & Game Design* I want to tell stories and if I can build on all my skills to make great products while still enjoying the projects

[@filmcourage]

We love this one too Nkanyiso.

[@jayroze305]

Nkanyiso Innocent Khwane If possible will you contact me 678-414-9971 Jay

[@sweakley1]

Your channel is by the best content on the subject on KZbin. It's a real oasis of intelligence in a desert of click-bait

[@Thenoobestgirl]

Agreed 👍

[@EtheriumSky]

Most of your videos are very insightful but I think your talks with Houston Howard have been by far most helpful to me. All he says equally inspires and infuriates me. I really wish to hear more from him - especially when working with essentially no budget. I have a project that has great transmedia potential - but I just can't figure out how to practically use transmedia to raise the budget needed for that film. I mean - i can publish a book or a comic as a side product, sure. But omitting the costs and challenges of making those - it just feels to me like they'll be merely extra products facing the same exact issue which is preventing me from making the film. I can make them happen - but there's also already a million more established book and comic IPs. I simply can't compete without a more significant budget. I can make a board game, it's already a part of the plan - but this also takes money and time and effort - and likewise, I end up not being able to compete with millions of others. Based in large part on Houston's advice - I 'translated' my last feature into a live-audio visual show to go side by side with the film. With live music, live artists, installations, water, fire, crazy light shows etc. It was cool - but the tiny bit of money it brought - was not even enough to cover just the expenses of that very show, and certainly there was not a penny left to put into the movie. And that's already with a crew of 20 people and with me pulling all the favors i could, all people working without pay. Social Media - I do that already, I have a healthy subscriber base - but in practice this just doesn't tend to translate into tangible support for my films, transmedia or not. People tend to always seem supportive - until the moment you ask for money. Then all support disappears entirely. I don't mean to be overly negative. I've done 3 features (tiny budgets but still) and had some small successes - but even with nearly 20yrs of industry experience, I'm still a starving artist. Film Courage has been an invaluable resource and Houston's advice is incredibly helpful - but I just can't help feeling that some of those 'trans media' side projects, at the low budget level, end up being just as challenging as shooting a film itself. They still need money, they still need tons of time and effort. And they still feel quite like a gamble.

[@randyaguilar1920]

2021 this has aged so well, what a fantastic interview. What a well versed guy!

[@daviewz9335]

Read his books. They’re really great and make business semse! I’m definitely planning out my film Carreer with his approach.

[@desertpalmproductions9974]

Finally! I spent two decade as an executive in the Hollywood studio system, espousing the notion that the business concerns and the creative concerns of a given IP would both benefit from a symbiotic / synergistic atmosphere of interaction rather than one that was adversarial. The “The Emperor Has No Clothes” was met - on both sides - with reactions in a range from looking at me as if I had three heads to seeing me as a dangerous heretic. It’s good to hear many of the same approaches and prioritizations put before independent filmmakers today. In putting together my current IP, I have found results consistent with much (or all) of what was offered here. Good work all round on this episode.

[@kalebarancelovic]

Far out! This opened my eyes to what is possible when making a feature film. All the opportunities that can spawn from one idea. It involves a lot more planning, but it can generate a lot more exposure and money. Great interview Film Courage, thanks for sharing this with us!

[@filmcourage]

Love Houston and his teachings. Here is a follow up interview if you ever want a little more - kzbin.info/www/bejne/eouwZWitbbSDfrc

[@kalebarancelovic]

@@filmcourage thank you! I will check it out

[@gopro_audio]

Jupiter Ascending, which did have a complex story world, was released on Valentines Day weekend. The release date and story line turned out to be a love based plot. The audience was not properly marketed to, many of the viewers did not go to see the movie for a love story, but the world.

[@Thenoobestgirl]

I guess that explains why it was so bad

[@strictlybizness2013]

Im into music but for some reason I can't stop watching film courage I learn a lot from just watching different interview I actually wrote a a full on movie in my phone lol. This is my teacher Houston everything hes been teaching in the class he's saying in this interview he knows his shit he taught me so much in just a week can't wait to learn more

[@maxhighsmith8171]

I love this! He makes a lot of sense.

[@smallbrownfox594]

Great interview and advice. I will keep this in mind as I develop my current project. Thank you.

[@filmcourage]

Thanks for watching Nigel! Our best to you.

[@DD-ok2pt]

I get it. I am a "super fan" of a few carefully selected shows. I don't waste my time on shows I can't sink my teeth into. Luckily, nowadays when the creators leave their audience still hungry... and the audience gets up and goes into the kitchen to cook themselves up more content e.g. fanfiction, fan art, youtube reviews, fan forums, videos etc. Houston is so right that these "second helpings" are not as good as the original content and it would behoove the creators to put in more time and energy into the "extras". Mind blown... I've watched this super long vid five times... there is just so much info here.

[@mychalsimmons4177]

I watched this 4x.... amazing informative content I love you guys at Film Courage.

[@muratisik6956]

WoW! What was the most important thing you took from this?

[@thefriendlyaspie7984]

1:03:20 this is quite an interesting conversation, an example of this of someone who said he was not going to do any more stuff was in back to the future.

[@soindifferent_]

Man, nothing put solid advice. Being a creative, I learned a lot from Rockstar Games and how they were able to create such detailed worlds that would make the player stop and watch an ad or listen to a radio station and put the controller down - JUST so they can listen/watch the in-game content. It was that outside of the box thinking that I've thought about when doing anything and everything creative - how can I add more value to the overall experience. It's a game changer, because I'm able to bring the entrepreneurial side of things and blend it in with the creative. I've recently created a children's book with an ecosystem that goes beyond just the book; sketchbooks, journals and digital content. I've even been able to expand the universe into an NFT community as well! Thanks to his other interview about attacking the market, I've jumped in with both feet - only this time I know how to swim :D! Thank you for the content!

[@pallabinaik3686]

He absolutely shares how does the entertainment industry runs today. However, present world's high packaged entertainment products cannot undervalue an honest storytelling with a human approach.

[@mychalsimmons4177]

This guy doesn’t realize how smart he is and how uncommon his ideas are. A.k.a how correct he is. I’m totally blown away with his outlook on the (not birds eye view) but the “Global/Universal View of how it all works together as one big thought or expression of a GLOBAL manifestation of an original idea. ...AWESOME! Karen you know how to pick em’ girl 😎

[@magnuskallas]

The chef/restaurant example really goes both ways. I know quite a few businesses that really do serve only classic items - mains include 2-3 originals - and they have done so for decades. If they blasted out full menu's it might HURT their reputation and/or market share. You can't turn everything into franchise.

[@malikbasso]

Riveting. But why is this guy not on IMDb? Where are his movies?

[@cryohazard6930]

Kinda funny taking tips from a guy who hasn't made it lol that's probably Hollywood in a nutshell nowadays though

[@hannahgaming1724]

This man is brilliant!!

[@Historyprops]

This guy understood it!!! Great guy!

[@ComicPower]

These videos have given some good ideas to stand out. I'm taking the outline of a screenplay I stated and decided to turn it into a comic book series and use my Skill at music in making a theme song for it and doing a kick starter. I think I have a way to stand out now.

[@drunkalfuzzyness]

Really inspiring and helpful!

[@pfeilspitze]

3:25 Holy crap this list of stuff. Intimidating.

[@sketchsmith21]

WOOHOO! Welcome to Nightvale Mention!!!

[@erinaltstadt4234]

Thank you, really interesting

[@danlaws8870]

This is amazing content

[@sweakley1]

Houston is an intriguing speaker. I know you have a limited amount of time, but if you speak with him again I would be interested to hear the evolution of a concrete example. He speaks nebulously about rather general and anonymous success stories and retroactively dissects some past franchises, but he never really gives a good concrete, current example.

[@filmcourage]

Hi Steve, appreciate you spending some time with us. Here is our follow up interview with Houston - kzbin.info/www/bejne/eouwZWitbbSDfrc

[@sweakley1]

Film Courage thank you very much. I really appreciate your work. It’s a real legacy project

[@ScribblebytesWorldwide]

Very intelligent young man 👌

[@silenciothequiet3471]

Interesting take on the benefits of building a coherent world for your story, I understand it can be a bit off-putting to approach a your screenplay from a production\marketing angle for an artistically-minded screenwriter.Yet it is not incompatible with writing an original good story, you just have to look at world-building as a coin with 2 benefits: literary and marketability.

[@ArabKatib]

Is the first book available too? I couldn't find it on amazon nor even eBay.

[@ThomasDavis5213]

I appreciate this info much 😂

[@stanislavstashchuk711]

God bless KZbin!!!

[@rODIUMuk]

This is amazing

[@dianazimmerman3107]

Fantastic!!!

[@lawrencekajura7580]

Can't find anything on IMDB on this guy. Sounds great, but I wish he had something online to show for it. His method does sound very broad in it's scope and appeal but I fear he's providing a very commercialized approach to storytelling, which, although intuitive, is perhaps lazy. It's a teleological approach that narrows the execution of art by making the the core elements subservient to the grandiosity of the idea. And although this may work in a novella and tv, film is a more fine-tuned medium for exploring humanity. While I do find his ideas worth implementing in my work, I would not recommend it to anyone that doesn't understand what a story is really about. This is a very advanced technique that if used in a brash manner would really pervert the entire the enterprise that is film. It seems strange that we would ever want a film that sets up a music video or vice versa. Sounds like a scheme straight out of the marketing department. This is the kind of thing that's going to lead to a kind of fatigue that we see with super-hero films today, where we walk into a film not knowing how, if when it will ever end. Or worse, where it is going.

[@chrischaney7485]

Law K you may be misinformed. Look up his book your gonna need a bigger story. I think thats it. He didn’t create Transmedia it’s been around since maybe before Star Wars, but he is definitely one of the experts on it. Transmedia is the greatest method to use for those staring out. You have star wars and Marvel comics as leading example. If you create anything or have enjoyed a great movie the fact is you never want it to end and there are so many unanswered question that’s a grand opportunity for trans media. So many people or denied by investors for various reasons and this gives the advantage to those starting out. Some people have great stories but can’t afford to make a quality movie to compete with the various movies being released. With Transmedia you can release a amazing story through poetry or a letter once people enjoy your art there is your start , now you can take it wherever you would like it doesn’t have to be music or anything else you named, once you show your investor’s that you not only have so many followers on social media but that they are following your story and your fan base is increasing every time you release another part of the story through Shortstory, Web series, books, stage plays, short film I promise you they will invest or forget them you’ll be able to pursue you dream or story while getting paid

[@lawrencekajura7580]

How am I misinformed? - I didn't say he invented it. -You seem to be under the assumption that I don't like it. I even said, "... is worth implementing in my work". - You also seem to misunderstand yet again, by inferring erroneously that I don't see the value it would make to investors. - In fact 99% of your response is arguing against something that you conjured up on your own. I will concede that my understanding of movie fatigue was fairly narrow minded. - Why are you under the assumption that what's great must go on. Being great can be an end in and of itself. Just because you have questions about something doesn't mean they need to be answered. It's childlike in it's approach. Or maybe you could answer them on your own. - And your last point about social media basically buttressed my point about being "straight from the marketing department". - Because at the end of the day what is the point of having a universe that answers no burning questions i.e Star War was all about rebellion and hope. That's the entire point of it. Everything else is predicated on that.

[@Genus2525]

@@lawrencekajura7580 You made a valid point in your former post. I add that the best margin of ancillary income arises from the theatrical release of the film. The prints and ads expenses still reach a wider audience, because 75% of that revenue comes from overseas theatrical markets. Beginning a film production with dribs and drabs of patrons over personal devices and gizmos to establish the widest girth of revenue appears to be flying an arrow backwards, at this point in film marketing genesis. Stories are attempts at expressing matters of life that are larger than life. No other medium has achieved that mark as the cinema in the service of story. The "thing" still begins with the script that goes through the door to a production company and depends upon one of the seven major studios for wide release and distribution. Meanwhile, other markets exist for other kinds of stories and artistic presentations which are limited to the unique nature of the consumer points. So far, the cinema brings home the amplest catch, in the shortest space of time during the first months of release, and investors prefer short-term ROI. Studios have remained afloat by making blockbusters and a balancing number of smaller movies that maintain the cinematic art form. For the latter, secondary markets make up the deficit dollar balance, over time. Therefore, Houston Howard's "rolling stories" of the nouveau business plan has no advantage over the studio system, and only serves as an alternative that still has a gate and an entry-level choke point.

[@universemediallc]

INCREDIBLE information

[@filmcourage]

Love this stuff with Houston. Glad you found this one.

[@futurestoryteller]

I don't know about this... Pretty sure the movie "Beastly" followed his business model. Watch Jenny Nicholson's video to see how that turned out...

[@daviewz9335]

They didn’t. Beastly was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Retelling is a form of adaptation. Houston is talking about expansion.

[@futurestoryteller]

@@daviewz9335 Not really relevant

[@daviewz9335]

@@futurestoryteller Dude, you’ll never understand the power of additive comprehension and dynamic connections 🙄! Every standalone story in your narrative universe needs to include and communicate something new and unique about your storyworld that can’t be found in any other standalone story set in it. Information that’s communicated in the standalone story can’t be found in any other story and can’t ever use the information again. Ever! SERIOUSLY!! You’re gonna need unique information the audience will unlock about the event your standalone story dramatizes in the timeline of your universe. The audience has to experience a unique, “visual,” part of your setting’s geography rather than simply learning new details. New things must be revealed about your characters. Reveal a new piece of information about another standalone story in the universe. Every standalone story plot is impacted by at least TWO prequel standalone story plots. Every standalone story plot impacts at least two sequel standalone story plots. Every standalone story has to connect to at least one extensive (or innovative) experience of another story in some way. Every standalone story connects to every other standalone story you have in the 24 story beats of your world’s overall story in some way at least three times. Standalone stories should always be both impacting and being impacted by other standalone stories in your storyworld. Your standalone story will deal with an event or action that takes place in a past story’s plot. Plots from a past standalone story needs to affect the actual plot in the current standalone story you present. The plot of every standalone story needs to be somehow impacted and altered due to the plot of a standalone story that is located earlier on your narrative universe’s timeline. The only minor exception to this is if your standalone story is actually the very first standalone story on your universe’s timeline. Obviously, since it’s the first, there’s no standalone story that takes place before it. The plot of every single standalone story needs to somehow impact and alter the plot of a single standalone story located later on your narrative universe’s timeline. This means all of your standalone stories will be dealing with the past while also affecting the future. Make chameo appearances of your characters in multiple stories. A character from one standalone story should be referenced in another standalone story. A family member of a character from one standalone story should appear in another standalone story. An exact same location from your storyworld should physically appear in multiple standalone stories. If you can’t actually revisit them, at least talk about them because when you do, your standalone stories will begin to feel like one big story. A location from one standalone story should be simply referred to in a different standalone story. An exact same object from your storyworld should physically appear in multiple standalone stories. If you can’t actually reuse it, at least talk about it because when you do, your standalone stories will again begin to feel like one big story. An object from one standalone story should be simply referred to in a different standalone story. There has to be a reference to an event that took place in a previous standalone story and the audience has the ability to go to the previous standalone story and see firsthand the event that was referenced. Like callbacks, story seeds refer to events that take place in other standalone stories. However, there’s one major difference between the two. Unlike with callbacks, the audience can’t go and experience the referenced event because that particular standalone story has never actually been produced or released to the public. Because the audience members can’t get their hands on the standalone story, the reference simply plants a seed in the audience members’ minds (hence the name) and sets them up for a future story. Beastly didn’t do any of this. So, it’s not a good example of the transmedia 360 degree Storyweave Super Story model.

[@futurestoryteller]

@@daviewz9335 Are you trying to win an argument, because it seems like you're trying to get me to join a cult

[@daviewz9335]

@@futurestoryteller This is not a cult. It’s a new way of telling stories.

[@ChicaPhoto]

58:21 Entrepreneurial view of storytelling

[@MrJohnleggio]

what does P & A mean? He uses this term frequently, google searches show nothing!

[@filmcourage]

Thank you watching. "Prints and Advertising" - This link might explain more? stephenfollows.com/prints-and-advertising/

[@MrJohnleggio]

nvmd haha

[@astrothsknot]

fandoms are funny things and can't be guaranteed.

[@mychalsimmons4177]

This is like WOW!

[@daveprice3095]

cocaine is a helluva drug - loved it - great video - thanks

[@mywifesjunk]

Stanley Rubric over here

[@SquaredbyX]

14:17, 1:52:01

[@keithrideout3245]

The loneliest cowboy zombie says I have created a trans media storyline formula that produces Action Poetry and drives a character through an event

[@NikoFranghias]

Interesting... I wonder what Aristotle would say...

[@mychalsimmons4177]

Never mind I looked in the show notes kool

[@victorallencook7107]

.

[@EvilDogFilmsOfficial]

I feel like all this is useless unless you do have marketing funds to get all this extra content to people's eyes

[@mychalsimmons4177]

OMG he spoke of an idea I dreamed of in 1973........ thinking about future television not knowing what the future would turn into Karen. Please contact me I need to speak with him. Where can I give you my info to forward to him?

[@christianmogildea4963]

+

[@susanmajek]

Easier said than done...And even worse consistently...