Boingboing.net is hosting a terrific manifesto by Craig Adams (AKA Superbrothers). It speaks about the narrative experience of video games, but storytellers of all sorts can find something here.
Here are a few excerpts to whet the appetite:
When there’s just a little bit of talk…it has a peculiar, haunting, poetic effect. It tickles the intellect just enough for it to stir, but not enough to irritate it.
An entire generation seems to have become used to experiences …choked by voice acting, mangled by incongruent narrative…These elements serve to undermine the aesthetic coherence of the work — they can dilute the magic, they can interrupt the flow, they can disrupt the basic audiovisual communication, they can break the spell.
MakingOf.com has an interview with John August about his screenwriting process. As always, John August demonstrates his knowledge of the craft by breaking down concepts into relatable terms, and sharing really original insight into the craft — no respun Syd Field here.
Normally I’d embed the video here, but MakingOf.com has some weird Iframe code going on, so I’m just providing the link.
Ira Glass is the host of arguably one of the most popular programs in radio, This American Life.
Over four segments of an interview (presumably for Current.TV), Ira basically lays bare the nature of storytelling, the difficulty of it, and what it takes to make it.
It took me years to figure out what he explains in a few minutes. It’s something every creative person should hear. Here are the rest of the segments:
Ira Glass Part Two (Finding a Decent Story: Be Brutal)
Ira Glass Part Three (On Good Taste, And Sucking Major)
Ira Glass Part Four (Two Common Errors of the Beginner)
