If you want to know about screenwriting, the first thing most people will tell you is this: Read screenplays. Lots of screenplays. And analyze them.
I want to know about screenwriting, so I read a whole bunch of screenplays. And to force myself to dive a little deeper, I decided to share my analysis with the world. Thus the Storylanes Podcast.
Every episode, I do a deep dive into some screenplay. I look at how it is structured, at how the pieces fit together, and at what makes it special. And I look at how closely each screenplay follows some of the more popular screenwriting models, things like three act structure, Save the Cat, and the Hero’s Journey. (And spoiler warning: a lot of great movies follow those models, but a lot don’t too.)
And because I’m a computer-geek by trade, I developed a tool to help me analyze the screenplays. I use it to produce a chart that maps key elements of the screenplay. You can find each of these charts here at https://storylanes.com.
I’ve learned a lot about screenwriting from preparing these episodes. I hope that listening to them will help you learn too.