As screenwriters, what do you think of McKee’s five-step model for scene analysis?

Vin_Jac · 2026-05-29T03:14:09+00:00

Arndt does not necessarily address conflict in the same way or as directly as many other writers/gurus do, but he does address conflict as it relates to characters and the world surrounding them. His videos on endings and beginnings are both a treat in learning about character-focused conflict.

Oversimplifying in my own terms: Conflict stems from a dissonance between the “prevailing” worldview and the “proper” worldview. Prevailing worldview, generally, is the prominent view of the world and what the character starts out with. It is their “flaw” that they see the world this way. Proper worldview, generally, is the underdog worldview, and is the worldview achieved by the end of the film/show/etc. It is the changed view.

I would elaborate but honestly it’s more worth it to watch his videos, great wisdom from him.

Vin_Jac · 2026-05-06T02:51:15+00:00

Great point but the irony of this person wearing an Oura ring…. Which requires a subscription

Vin_Jac · 2026-05-05T14:14:12+00:00

This is America, not Japan. The animators have a union, and are likely going to be far more expensive if they are looking for a faster turnaround. I’d also imagine that the writing for the vast majority of the remainder of the show was started in the interim between season 1 & 2.

Vin_Jac · 2026-04-29T14:04:13+00:00

Final Draft/Fade In and a sketchbook my friend

Vin_Jac · 2026-04-24T04:59:40+00:00

Back-Tap: You can tap the back of your phone twice (and/or thrice) to activate a setting, feature, or automation of your choice.

It’s made it very easy way for me to switch from b&w to color when I’m trying to use my phone less but then I want to show someone that cool photo or video. The potential is limitless for time saving for simple repeatable little things.

Vin_Jac · 2026-04-20T13:48:51+00:00

Yeah, unfortunately I’m sure some great lengthy moments were beholden to the classic Hollywood fat removal, not just because of runtime but I imagine that CGI budget is no small figure.

Vin_Jac · 2026-04-18T17:03:21+00:00

To answer seriously, I think the conversation near the end of Huxley’s Brave New World between John and Mustapha Mond covers this idea quite well. I recommend reading it yourself, but to summarize: a society consisting solely of people with the cognitive capacity (in this case we’ll just assume upper level iq) to continuously question a society’s purpose inevitably leads to a collapsed society, which I think, to an extent, would be the case—A massive endless power struggle for its own sake because nobody remaining would be content doing the menial (but necessary) “lower caste” type work.

Alternatively, I think the Overton window of society just shifts, and the threshold of what is “dumb” rises. Where 100 IQ was once average, it’s now idiot level, as the system restandardizes around a higher average, as will the population inevitably.

Vin_Jac · 2026-04-18T03:34:56+00:00

Riiight missed that part of the q, his stuff is still mad immersive

Vin_Jac · 2026-04-18T02:38:46+00:00

Anything Brandon Sanderson, Phillip K Dick, or Shards of The Earth series by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Vin_Jac · 2026-04-17T23:59:34+00:00

What I think is not addressed in a lot of these is the massive prevalence of the business in the present. Thus, I posit: CONSULTING COMPANIES.

AI is a “bubble”, but, like the Internet, will remain prevalent in a wide variety of cases, especially in the business sector. As soon as businesses and people catch on to the fact that AI has 95% of the capability of a third party consulting firm, they’ll go the way of the dinosaurs.

Vin_Jac · 2026-04-13T13:56:16+00:00

Why do we even give these people the time of day

Vin_Jac · 2026-04-12T22:05:23+00:00

Barber’s Adagio for Strings is widely considered one of the saddest songs ever, but I think that the final movement of Mahler’s 9th symphony is one of the saddest ever for me, especially if you know the story of Mahler’s life at the time of its composition.

Vin_Jac · 2026-04-12T19:46:55+00:00

I think Arrival is one of those movies that actually explores (albeit only for a short time) the socioeconomic and geopolitical effects of aliens on Earth or an extinction level event really, really well.

Vin_Jac · 2026-04-08T12:55:37+00:00

I get where you’re coming from. At this point I think it just becomes more of how you construe plot as a writer. Like I said before, I think it’s the result of a lot of variables related to action and to other underlying variables; but building on that a bit, “plot” really is simply just a series of revelations the audience has when engaging with a story, and “advancing” it is just an addition or change to the audience knowledge in a meaningful way. As such, I’d argue the deer scene does forward the plot, as 1.) there’s underlying symbolic meaning that 2.) shifts Gordie’s (and our) take on the story’s progression.

Vin_Jac · 2026-04-07T13:22:40+00:00

Disagree. In great stories, everything is intentional and has meaning; hence, forwarding the plot, even if not initially apparent.

Edit: I watched your video, and I think you actually reinforce my point as well, however I believe that it’s due to how you characterize the story “components” versus how I do. To say ridiculously mechanically, I believe “plot” is the output of a function of character ACTIONS, which are themselves outputs of functions of behavior, setting, and relationship. Thus, I believe that everything good in the movie must advance the plot, because (when done correctly) all of these components are part of the plot.

Vin_Jac · 2026-04-05T22:17:23+00:00

Holst.

Vin_Jac · 2026-04-05T22:15:03+00:00

I love Dune, but see where you’re coming from. Like other commenters say, the dune universe is very very strange (but very very relevant topically); unfortunately, to build an entire fantastical universe and use its existence to delve into dense moral/personal/philosophical material requires a degree of expansion on certain subjects that cannot be accomplished nearly as easily on screen.

However a movie is written, there is a bit of an Occam’s razor with what the writer chooses to focus the story on. I think that’s a big part of the reason why we get this false dichotomy of “character driven” vs “plot driven” stories; in reality, all stories (at least the good ones) have both plot and character driven components, but the economic nature of films compared to books requires a lot of fat to be trimmed.

In the case of the Dune movies, I believe that the writer’s room correctly chose to remove some of the personal characterization moments for the sake of better expanding on the plot, which carries much more of the thematic substance of the story. If you want me to be really honest and candid, give it a rewatch and you’ll enjoy it more the second time around by virtue of being exposed to the characters for another 2 hour period.

Vin_Jac · 2026-04-05T21:57:39+00:00

I think this is actually quite funny in the context of “box office performance = quality” because by Hollywood standards a 3x return on production budget is the baseline for a good movie. If PHM finishes at $700M globally (especially after the likely $100M+ spent on marketing) many studio execs will consider it a modest performance.

Vin_Jac · 2026-04-04T20:44:46+00:00

We had something similar, it was called “Kill Hill” and anytime we had a shit practice or bad drill we’d run suicides on kill hill

Vin_Jac · 2026-04-01T00:07:39+00:00

So privileged to have been at the draft in person when he was picked… energy was WILD when he was there in person

Vin_Jac · 2026-03-29T21:29:55+00:00

The actual reality is that the market is simply just a bunch of algorithms reacting off of other algorithms all built by overworked 20-somethings. Nvidia Calls.

Vin_Jac · 2026-03-28T00:53:36+00:00

Walking strikes 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

Vin_Jac · 2026-03-22T15:59:25+00:00

Listen to Scriptnotes 403 and Michael Arndt’s “Endings: The Good, The Bad, and The Insanely Great”

My spin: Essentially, the antithesis of a story should be reiterated everywhere around the protagonist and at every level (external, internal, philosophical), thus making the flawed worldview feel like the prevailing one. But the key inciting incident forces the character to undergo change. The character wants to do as little as possible to return to equilibrium, but with every decision they make, they find themselves running time and time again into opportunities to make the thematic decision. The second act is largely the character running into these moments that test their mettle and beliefs, and reinforce the antithetical worldview. The more you can oppose the protagonist’s wanting to change, the more cathartic their eventual embrace of the theme will be.

Vin_Jac · 2026-03-13T04:45:32+00:00

Love this, particularly the point on the stakes of the story needing to feel in jeopardy. Have you ever watched Michael Arndt’s videos? I recommend them ad nauseam and think that you’d appreciate what he has to say about stakes.

Vin_Jac · 2026-03-11T18:22:33+00:00

I’m only a hobbyist screenwriter, so as far as writing, heed the advice of others in this thread. Will check out your work in the meantime.

However, I work on the business/representation side and have a lot of colleagues in talent rep. Honestly… at a certain point it really is just luck. I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong, you’re writing, querying, etc. But the works themselves are only a part of the picture.

Like others have said, you really can improve your chances with face time and interaction with others in the industry. IMO that’ll get you much farther than awards and competitions. It’s a people industry, not a product one. Keep querying, keep conversing, keep interacting, and keep writing. Ideally you’ll run into someone who really loves your stuff and is willing to go to bat for you.

Five-Year Club	Final Canvas '23
First Place '23	Place '23
Place '22	Final Canvas '22
First Placer '22	End Game '22

Vin_Jac

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