Here's what started the phenomenon: the best seller, for over 15 years, that's been used by screenwriters around the world! Blake Snyder tells all in this fast, funny and candid look inside the movie business.

Save the Cat! is just one of many ironclad rules for making your ideas more marketable and your script more satisfying, including: The four elements of every winning logline The seven immutable laws of screenplay physics The 10 genres that every movie ever made can be categorized by -- and why they're important to your script Why your Hero must serve your Idea Mastering the 15 Beats Creating the Perfect Beast by using The Board to map 40 scenes with conflict and emotional change How to get back on track with proven rules for script repair This ultimate insider's guide reveals the secrets that none dare admit, told by a showbiz veteran who's proven that you can sell your script if you can save the cat.

Originally an influential memo Vogler wrote for Walt Disney Animation executives regarding The Lion King, The Writer's Journey details a twelve-stage, myth-inspired method that has galvanized Hollywood's treatment of cinematic storytelling. A format that once seldom deviated beyond a traditional three-act blueprint, Vogler's comprehensive theory of story structure and character development has met with universal acclaim, and is detailed herein using examples from myths, fairy tales, and classic movies. This book has changed the face of screenwriting worldwide over the last 25 years, and continues to do so.

Intended to be kept at a screenwriter's fingertips, The Hollywood Standard provides what even the best script software can't: clear, concise instructions and hundreds of examples to take the guesswork out of a multitude of formatting questions that perplex even seasoned screenwriters. Contents include: - When a new scene heading is appropriate and when it isn't - How to format shot headings, dialogue, direction and transitions - How to control pace with formatting - How to make a script page visually inviting to the reader - What to capitalize and why - How to get into and out of a POV shot - How to handle text messages and Zoom meetings - How Hollywood's most innovative screenwriters are pushing the boundaries of format - How format for animation differs from live action formats Simply put, Riley knows more about script format than anyone in Hollywood and shares it all in this indispensable guide.

Collaborating with actors is, for many filmmakers, the last frontier--the scariest part and the part they long for--the human part, the place where connection happens. Directing Actors: 25th Anniversary Edition covers the challenges of the actor-director relationship--the pitfalls of result direction; breaking down a script; how to prepare for casting sessions; when, how and whether to rehearse--but with updated references, expanded ideas, more detailed chapters on rehearsal and script analysis (using a scene from The Matrix)--and a whole new chapter on directing children. For twenty-five years the industry standard for instilling confidence in filmmakers, Directing Actors perseveres in its mission--to bring directors, actors and writers deeper into the exhilarating task of creating characters the world will not forget.

Action and suspense films have almost always been made by 'seat of the pants' filmmakers. Crafting their films on gut instinct and intuition their innate talent often leads them to exciting results. Badham examines and explains the elements of action and suspense that are needed to make a great film. Badham also dissects the elements of any good scene from any genre of film and gives valuable tools that the reader can apply in directing and acting for maximum impact. This edition features a brand new section: The Director's Survival Guide to Episodic Television and explores the political danger zones faced in the ever expanding world of Streaming, Cable and Network television. Badham has created a much needed First Aid Kit for all directors and the newly expanded list of 14 Must Ask Questions Before Rehearsal- an absolute essential in any filmmakers toolbox. Intended for actors, directors, cinematographers, production designers or other creatives, Badham gives you the tools to deconstruct and understand your scenes. Continuing the work begun in Badham's best-selling book I'll Be In My Trailer he shares more insights from talented directors on how they work with the difficult actor, rehearsal techniques and getting the best performance from any actor whether novice or pro.

Shot by Shot is the world's go-to directing book, now newly updated for a special 25th Anniversary edition The first edition sold over 250,000 copies, making it one of the bestselling books on film di-recting of all time. Aspiring directors, cinematographers, editors, and producers, many of whom are now working professionals, learned the craft of visual storytelling from Shot by Shot, the most com-plete source for preplanning the look of a movie. The book contains over 800 photos and illustrations, and is by far the most comprehensive look at shot design in print, containing storyboards from movies such as Citizen Kane, Blade Runner, Dead-pool, and Moonrise Kingdom. Also introduced is the concept of A, I, and L patterns as a way to sim-plify the hundreds of staging choices facing a director in every scene. Shot by Shot uniquely blends story analysis with compositional strategies, citing examples then il-lustrated with the storyboards used for the actual films. Throughout the book, various visual ap-proaches to short scenes are shown, exposing the directing processes of our most celebrated au-teurs -- including a meticulous, lavishly illustrated analysis of Steven Spielberg's scene design for Empire of the Sun.

This ultimate insider's guide reveals the secrets that none dare admit, told by a show biz veteran who's proven that you can sell your script if you can save the cat!

The Location Sound Bible is a complete guide to recording dialog on location. Topics include audio basics, microphone selection, wireless systems, recording and mixing techniques, and the Ten Location Sound Commandments, but it's more than just cables and connectors. This book takes you behind the scenes of Ric Viers' work on feature films, television shows, broadcast news, courtroom dramas, music videos, and more.

My Story Can Beat Up Your Story! is the same powerful, easy-to-learn system that industry insiders have used to generate millions of dollars in script sales and ?assignments. In a clear, step-by-step fashion, this book is a fun, eye-opening, ?brain-expanding, and often irreverent guide to writing stories that sell. Covering everything from Heroes to Villains, from Theme to Plot Points, from cooking up good ideas to a business plan for smart writers, this book forever eliminates that horrible feeling every writer goes through -- staring at the blank page and wondering what comes next?

What gets your heart rate going more: reading a story about dinosaurs, or being chased by one? The emerging discipline of immersive storytelling recognizes the power of creative works that put the viewer at the center of the action. In Immersive Storytelling, theme park designer Margaret Kerrison shares tips and tricks for writers on teams tasked with bringing a narrative to life. How do you take an idea from inspiration to manifestation? How do you move from telling a story to creating a world? In this richly illustrated book, the first of its kind written specifically for writers, Kerrison lays out the craft of immersive storytelling. She uses case studies to show what works, and highlights the essential role of the writer on a complex creative team. Ready to take the kernel of an idea and turn it into a full-fledged experience? This book gives you the blueprint.

Originally an influential memo Vogler wrote for Walt Disney Animation executives regarding The Lion King, The Writer's Journey details a twelve-stage, myth-inspired method that has galvanized Hollywood's treatment of cinematic storytelling. A format that once seldom deviated beyond a traditional three-act blueprint, Vogler's comprehensive theory of story structure and character development has met with universal acclaim, and is detailed herein using examples from myths, fairy tales, and classic movies. This book has changed the face of screenwriting worldwide over the last 25 years, and continues to do so.

Through interviews with current ASC cinematographers, and a balance between technical, aesthetic, and historical content, this book guides the director into a powerful collaboration with their closest on-set ally. Topics include selecting a cinematographer, collectively discussing the script, choosing an appropriate visual style for a film, color palette, film and digital formats, lenses, camera movement, genres, and postproduction processes--including the digital intermediate (DI). Interwoven are quotes from working ASC cinematographers.

Offers user-friendly knowledge and stimulating exercises to help compose story, develop characters and create emotion through skillful creation of the sound track.

The comprehensive bible for low-budget, independent film producing for emerging and professional producers.

Designed to use for production meetings with every aspect of the film producing process outlined in detail, including checklists to keep you on track, from pre-production to the first day of principal photography through to post production and delivery.

A comprehensive guide that grows with your career from Production Coordinator to Production Manager, and from low budget to big budget. It is designed to be used every day open on the desk to mentor you through the production process on features and series from getting hired and hiring crew in prep to post and audit.

While other books give you tips on how to write funny, this book offers a paradigm shift in understanding the mechanics and art of comedy, and the proven, practical tools that help writers translate that understanding into successful, commercial scripts. The Hidden Tools of Comedy unlocks the unique secrets and techniques of writing comedy. Kaplan deconstructs sequences in popular films and TV that work and don't work, and explains what tools were used (or should have been used).

Breaking News!
The Power of Film Series (based upon this book) is now available on MAX. (Formerly HBO)


Make sure you tune in to see this amazing six part series.

One of America's most distinguished film professors provides the definitive A to Z course on the intricacies of film. Each entry in this remarkable book, which represents a lifetime of teaching film, has already inspired and educated several generations of Hollywood's greatest filmmakers and writers. This book examines the patterns and principles that make films popular and memorable, and will be useful both for those who want to create films and for those who just want to understand them better.

Eric Edson has developed a new tool for bringing depth and passion to any screenplay - the 23 Steps All Great Heroes Must Take. It's an easy to understand paradigm that provides writers and filmmakers the interconnecting, powerful storytelling elements they need. With true insight, a master teacher of screenwriting pinpoints the story structure reasons most new spec scripts don't sell; then uses scores of examples from popular hit movies to present, step by step, his revolutionary Hero Goal Sequences blueprint for writing blockbuster movies.

This is a comprehensive bible to low-budget film producing for emerging and professional producers. Structured to guide the reader through production meetings, every aspect of the film-production pro-cess is outlined in detail. Invaluable checklists -- which begin 12 weeks before shooting and continue through principal (and secondary) photography and postproduction -- keep the filmmaker on track and on target. Ryan is co-producer of James Marsh's Man on Wire, winner of the 2009 Academy Award for Best Documentary

There is magic in the short form - a style that has evolved to create an entirely new universe of stories for us to uncover.

Short form captivates the world through narratives, documentary shorts, web series, music videos, social media, and more. In The Short, Rae Shaw helps you deploy the tools of screenwriting through a short form lens, helping you master a powerful tool of creative expression.