THE VIDEO LOWDOWN

Speaker: Rob Osborn

(00:00) [Music kicks in]

(00:11) [On-screen text] NO ONE WANTS TO READ YOUR SCRIPT...

(00:30) [On-screen text] FINALLY, A SCREENWRITING COURSE THAT ALSO GUARANTEES YOUR SCRIPT WILL GET READ BY A MOVIE PRODUCER

(00:35) Name's Ron Osborn. I'm a screenwriter.

(00:39) [On-screen text] DEFINE THE NEED, CREATE THE OBSTACLE

(00:43) I want you to make a deal with the reader that they are holding the most compelling original script possible—one they put down at the risk of missing the ride of a lifetime. No one wants to read your script. Why? It's nothing personal. No one wants to read my script either. I have to make them want to.

(00:46) [On-screen text] CONFLICT is the basis for all narrative... in fact, without it, you don't have a narrative...

(00:52) You should be able to tell something about a person by the way he or she makes a tuna sandwich. Hollywood is a town run by fear. Fear of losing your job, of having a flop. Hence, it is so much easier for someone to say "no" than to say "yes".

(00:52) [On-screen text] "Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Albert Einstein

(01:04) You can basically reduce all effective storytelling to six words. Define the need, create the obstacle. Your protagonist doesn't have to be likable, they just have to be compelling. Conflict is the basis for all narrative. In fact, without it, you don't have a narrative. Imagination beats knowledge every time.

(01:04) I've always said the two most powerful words for a writer are "what if." You're no longer looking for a story, you're looking for a springboard to a story. The start point, first act break, mid-point, second act break, end, theme. I never start without knowing all that gear.

(01:13) [On-screen text] TWELVE LESSONS. READING AND MOVIE WATCHING ASSIGNMENTS. WRITING ASSIGNMENTS!

(01:20) [On-screen text] "The rule of thumb is 5-10, but it can vary... But the truth is, a script needs to please far more than readers. For all those movers and shakers who can make or break a project, you'd really like to avoid boring them to death in the first 10 pages, because for someone reading 10 scripts in a weekend, those first 10 pages of yours may be all they read. Ergo, above all else, hone the first 10 pages to make them as great as possible, to make sure they keep reading."

(01:32) Knowing this much is huge. For someone reading 10 scripts in a weekend, those 10 pages of yours might be all they read. So, basically, sort those first 10 pages out—make them as great as possible so they keep reading.

(01:43) When I first understood theme and how to properly apply it to my work, it was a proper lightbulb moment—on the level of discovering the value of three-act structure. You should discover a theme. And when you do, it becomes a compass that will always point you true north. The theme is invariably what your film is emotionally about.

(01:56) [On-screen text] "Do you know what makes a movie work? Moments. Give the audience half a dozen moments they can remember, and they'll leave the theatre happy."

(02:05) Do you know what makes a movie work? Moments. Give an audience half a dozen moments they can remember, and they'll leave the theatre happy. Image size controls emotional impact on the viewer.

(02:09) [On-screen text] "What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out." - Alfred Hitchcock

(02:11) What is drama but life with the boring bits chopped out.

(02:12) [On-screen text] BUT THIS COURSE IS NOT JUST TEACHING CRAFT, IT IS ALSO TEACHING THE BUSINESS OF SCREENWRITING. CRAFT + BUSINESS + GUARANTEED ACCESS

(02:18) Dialogue is the hardest thing to teach, as well as for all of us to learn. Dialogue is informed by the definition and establishment of character.

(02:30) [On-screen text] LITERAL TEXT (02:33) [On-screen text] SUBTEXT

(02:34) Every good scene from that point on works on two levels. The first is the literal text and the other is the subtext. Don't be afraid of silence, awkward pauses between characters. It can often be more powerful than any line you could give them.

(02:49) One of the biggest mistakes writers make is to stop the forward motion of a story by simply using a scene to spill a load of information. Maybe examine this from other points of view, just as an experiment, and see what happens.

(02:57) [On-screen text] 2) SERIOUS SUBJECT MATTER AS COMEDY

(03:00) Comedy resists becoming easier. The more serious the subject matter, the more potential for comedy. I don't think of it as writing a script full of funny lines, but rather writing a script full of straight lines from a very funny character. All writing is rewriting. Don't be afraid to produce rubbish drafts first. It can paralyze you with fear. You have to know the rules so you can bend them and break them where they need to be broken. You've got to do better than what you see. You now know everything I do about this craft.

(03:27) [On-screen text]

TWELVE LESSONS, WATCH, READ, WRITE, GET ACCESS. THE ONLY SCREENWRITING COURSE THAT GETS YOUR SCRIPT INTO THE HANDS OF A PROPER PRODUCER WHO CAN GET IT MADE (SEE TERMS AND CONDITIONS). THE ULTIMATE SCREENWRITER WITH ROB OSBORN

(03:36) [End of transcription]