John August

Transcribed

Places, Everyone

Episode - 704

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News, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John welcomes back Liz Hannah (The Post, The Girl from Plainville) to discuss how to construct and communicate setting in a script. They talk about the balance between establishing a sense of space while avoiding the beginner’s mistake of over-blocking.

We also follow up on accountability groups, last looks, and French composers. Then, we answer listener questions on revisions and getting your Hollywood Card revoked.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Liz consider how to explain screenwriting to your kids (and others).

LINKS:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 10-15-25: The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Getting Period Right

Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig ask, how do you keep your period films from being a boring history lesson? They offer ten tips to keep your setting from taking over your story, defining the scope of your research, and how to balance the reality of the era with what’s relevant to audiences today.

We also follow up on navigating industry connections and answer three period-appropriate listener questions on transitions across time, accurate dialogue, and how to handle historical sensitivities on the page.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig get into some toil and trouble as they give their rankings of the most iconic witches.

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 9-25-25: The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Connections

Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig examine how to best use your connections to help yourself and others. They look at ways to identify the strength of a connection, leverage them without being manipulative, the nitty-gritty of approaching others for a favor, and the important ways to be generous in return.

We also look at the good news in the WGA’s 2025 Screen Compensation Guide, follow-up on creator pay through streaming services, and answer listener questions on how to tell if you’re improving something, and whether having kids changes our storytelling.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig piece together their feelings on modern LEGO sets.

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 9-10-25: The transcript for this episode can be found here.

The Live Call-In Show

Scriptnotes, Transcribed

To celebrate our 700th episode, John and Craig open the phone lines for a live late-night call-in show (recorded at 10 a.m. on a Wednesday). Through the power of Zoom (and YouTube), listeners ask questions about rewrites in post, avoiding traps as a production designer, changing characters in a rewrite, and advice on leaving the entertainment industry.

We also welcome back familiar faces from Scriptnotes history for a brand-new segment, “People, Places and Things,” where we look at movie stills and ask how we might describe them on the page.

Also for debate, what is the boundary between “spoiler” and “what’s happening in culture”?

In our bonus segment for premium members, we keep the videophone lines open for more listener questions on juggling multiple projects, preparing alt lines for production, and whether studios option projects just to kill them.

You can (and should!) watch the entire episode on our YouTube channel. Just search for Scriptnotes Podcast. While you’re there, give us a Like and a Follow.

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 9-10-25: The transcript for this episode can be found here.