Ulrich Goetz: Author, director and screenwriter in Berlin, Germany.

A wonderful deep dive into a brilliant creator's often haunting work. Thank you, Ulrich!

Thank you, very informative and clear.

Yes, absolutely helpful. Thank you for sharing, Ulrich.

Thank you, Ulrich

Extremely helpful.

Excellent follow-up blog, Ulrich! I like to have an overarching theme and mini themes in a script. I use symbols to deepen the thematic resonance of a story and illuminate the inner journey of the characters. Sometimes I’ll use the same symbol over and over throughout the script.

This has been a wonderful series, Ulrich, thank you! I love learning from the content that I'm watching and it's been great to learn from the insights that you've picked up on in Nic's work.

Thank you, Ulrich

Thank you for sharing these right insightful observations, Ulrich! I think that Nic is a special talent in this industry and we have so much to learn from him!

Thanks, Maurice. I think one of the biggest appeals of this kind of story is the "Aha" moment when the audience realizes, "Ah, so that's how it REALLY happened!" It's great that you're already working with character constellations from which you can derive backstories and more. This approach provides a solid foundation for the story's conclusion and a potential twist.

Helpful information. I especially appreciate the Epilogue suggestion. Thank you for sharing you analysis and suggestions with us, Ulrich.

Thank you, Ulrich

A lot of helpful advice, Ulrich! I don’t think I’ve planned the story’s conclusion first to set the stage for a compelling twist. “Develop Interconnected Relationships.” I’ve been doing that for a while, and it helps me outline backstories, situations, dialogue, and scenes. Thanks for the blog!

Great summary. All of the points mentioned also apply to novels and short stories.

When you outline a script, visualize the trailer. Visualizing the trailer can help you think of scenes, characters, dialogue, etc. You can do this when you're writing or rewriting a script too.

I am fascinated by Harmony Korine's BEACH BUM (2019) because it consistently undermines the basic concept of Blake Snyder's SAVE THE CAT!. The protagonist Moondog (played by Matthew McConaughey) literally rescues a cute kitten in the first scene. Yet he doesn't go through the kind of development Snyder suggests - he doesn't learn a moral lesson nor does he become a "better" person. He's not making the world a better place, and he certainly isn't trying to save it. On the contrary: from the beginning to the end of the film, Moondog remains a guy who always puts his own needs and views above those of his fellow human beings. Even after the accidental death of his wife, which he was responsible for, he doesn't change his mind - if at all, he only feels confirmed in his behavior.

So, by Snyder's logic, viewers should find Moondog quite unlikeable - and quite a few of them certainly do. For me, however, the matter is not so clear; I find the film interesting precisely because of the breaking of the SAVE THE CAT! rules.

Why? Because it makes the film extremely ambivalent. On one hand, Moondog is inconsiderate and lacks empathy. He takes no responsibility for his actions and even accepts that innocent people may come to harm. This gives the film a very dark tone at times. Seen this way, Moondog is a person you definitely don't want to be.

On the other hand, Moondog is a person who never holds grudges or becomes aggressive towards others. He also doesn't want to intentionally harm anyone, but rather tries to make every situation as fun and entertaining as possible. He affirms life and doesn't let anything or anyone spoil his good mood. He is neither jealous nor attached to material goods. And he stays relaxed and confident in every situation; fear is a unknown concept to him. These are all qualities many of us would like to have.

So what about Moondog's potential for identification? It depends on our point of view. Depending on your perspective, you can see Moondog as a sovereign free spirit, an antisocial narcissist, or even an archetypal trickster. We can feel both repelled and attracted to him at the same time. In the end, we have to decide for ourselves whether we find the film hackneyed-cynical, cleverly ironic, or something beyond those two poles. And that's exactly why BEACH BUM is a dramaturgically very elegant film for me, from which the authors among us can learn a lot.

Have any of you seen the film? What do you think?

Greetings. For those of you who are interested in Super 8, you may have wondered what it looks like when you shoot ultraviolet or black light with it. My crew experimented a bit on my last film shoot and this is the result. We also attached a mirror to the camera and used a dolly. If you also want to do something psychedelic without CGI, then this might be an inspiration for you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nVFRKUSnAU&ab_channel=UlrichGoetz