Pixar's 22 Tips on Storytelling

Here are 22 tips on storytelling that were tweeted by Emma Coats, director and Pixar storyboard artist. These were put into a list and posted by Ryan Koo on the excellent web site, No Film School.

1. You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
2. You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.
3. Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
4. Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
5. Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
6. What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
7. Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
8. Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.
9. When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.
10. Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.
11. Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.
12. Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
13. Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.
14. Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.
15. If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
16. What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
17. No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on – it’ll come back around to be useful later.
18. You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
19. Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
20. Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?
21. You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?
22. What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

You might also want to check out No Film School's article on Pixar's story development process.

Ken Burns On Story

"The story is king." A film well shot and expertly edited that fails to tell a good story will not be watched. In this short documentary Ken Burns shares his thoughts on the craft of storytelling in film.

Ken Burns: On Story from Redglass Pictures on Vimeo.

Video Apps for Smartphones

UPDATED August 13, 2016.

Ideally, we would all have access to a "pro-sumer" video camera to make our digital masterpieces, but... well, they're expensive. This class is mainly about learning how movies are made and how to develop skills to tell stories well on film. If you have a nice camcorder, pro-sumer video camera, or DSLR, then please use it. Otherwise your smartphone, iPad, or point-and-shoot camera should work fine.

Smartphone cameras have come such a long way in the last few years. A friend who is a professional videographer told me about a European colleague who finished a broadcast-quality commercial using only an iPhone 4S to capture video. He said it was beautiful. (See this commercial for Bentley automobiles shot on iPhone 5s and edited on iPads.) If you have a smartphone with a good video camera and you can upload shots to your computer for editing, then use it for this class. Recent model iPod Touches do a fine job of capturing video.

I highly recommend that you buy an app called "Filmic Pro" which is now available on Android as well as iPhone. It is an amazing video app that lets you manually set and fix the camera's focus, exposure, and white balance—three critical things for good video. It has many other features also. Here is a good article about setting up Filmic Pro on your iOS device: How to make HD movies on your iPhone 4 or 4S. There are many short films shot on smartphones on YouTube.

Filmic still offers their older app free on iTunes. It is called "Filmic Classic." It is best if you have an older iPhone or iPod Touch with video. It is still quite a capable app.

There are other film shooting apps and editing apps out there for your smartphones. If you want to explore the many options out there, make sure to read reviews and watch videos made on each.

Filmmaking Web Sites

Any search for "filmmaking" or "how to make your own movie" on Google or YouTube will turn up a dizzying list of resources. There are some real gems among a gazillion bad videos and articles, so I will post those I think will help or inspire you most to make your own great short film. If you find any good resources that are not here, please send me a link!

Film & Filmmaking

The Power of Film articles and excerpts from Howard Stuber, Professor Emeritus on Recall, UCLA film school

No Film School is full of articles and videos with practical advice and instruction in every aspect of filemmaking.

Vimeo, sort of a YouTube competitor, now hosts a great site called Vimeo Video School with tutorials to help beginning filmmakers make better videos. A good place to start is their Video 101 page with videos about camera selection, shooting, and editing basics.

Scary Cow is a filmmaking co-op in LA and San Francisco. They have many great articles on their blog including many nice videos.

Screenwriting

Movie Outline great articles and resources on screenwriting.

How to Write a Treatment, from the web site mentioned above.

No Film School web site has a great post about free and inexpensive screenwriting software. Scripts have a very strict format that must be followed to the letter so screenwriting software can be a lifesaver.

Shooting

Robert Rodriguez's 10 Minute Film School Videos, part 1 and 2, are great illustrations how many shots can be combined to make a coherent and exciting scene:

More to come...

Nice Shorts

In this class students will make their own 5-minute short films. "Five minutes? Piece of cake!" you exclaim. Five minutes is nothing: the time it takes to eat lunch, to get your books out for school, to pester your mom for a little more ice cream. Don't be fooled. A good 5-minute film can take many days, if not weeks to make. But doesn't anything worthwhile take planning, hard work, perseverance and follow-through, especially if you want it done well?

Shorts Films make up a significant genre in the art of filmmaking. Every year thousands of short films compete in dozens of film festivals all over the world. Short films are not just for beginning filmmakers - film students and Seasoned professionals make them all the time. For the beginning filmmaker, short films offer a great way to learn how to make movies. Why? Because the key to making good movies is making movies. Making your own short films gives you invaluable experience cheap. Robert Rodriguez—American film director, film producer, writer, composer, cinematographer and film editor—made short films from early childhood. Making short films taught him how to think through a story, shoot compelling scenes and action, light difficult shots, work with actors and assistants.

We learn a lot from watching the successes and failures of others. Below are links to some great short films on YouTube. Some are made by professionals. Others are starving amateurs with a story to tell. Watch good short films with attentive eyes and ears to learn and get ideas for your own film. While watching a short, jot down your thoughts. What did you like and dislike? How does the film open? Is the story carried throughout the film? Are there places where it loses you? Watch camera angles, how often the filmmaker cuts from one scene to another, the use of wide angle and closeup shots.

I will add more as I find them. If you find any really good short films, send me a link!

Sign Language

I love this film. The main actor is very good with subtle expressions. The filmmaker zooms in so close and we're drawn into the character's world.

Seconds

A life can change in a matter of seconds. Thought-provoking story of a moment in time.

Signs

A sweet romantic story.

Table 7
A very clever twist on a lovers' spat.

'Love Sick'

Cute romantic comedy.

The Black Hole

A quiet comedy.

Validation

A heartwarming, delightful film with some known actors.

Bedhead [1991] - A Short Film by Robert Rodriguez