John August

QandA

This Is Working

Episode - 190

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Film Industry, Follow Up, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed, Words on the page

For the first time ever, John and Craig spend an entire episode on a full-length original screenplay, K.C. Scott’s THIS IS WORKING.

Black List founder Franklin Leonard joins us as we dig into this former Three Page Challenge entry, examining character, story and thematic issues. We get very specific about what’s working in the script now — but also what the movie may want to become. Plus we talk about the road ahead for this writer, and the choices he’s going to be facing.

Listeners are going to get a lot out of this episode — and even moreso if they read the script beforehand. So download the script and give it a read first if you have a chance. (Link below.)

This is a very different episode for us, so let us know what you think on Twitter and Facebook.

Links:

* K.C. Scott’s [This Is Working](http://johnaugust.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/THIS-IS-WORKING_screenplay_2015.pdf)
* K.C. on Twitter, [@BlackSitcomDad](https://twitter.com/BlackSitcomDad)
* [Scriptnotes, 187: The Coyote Could Stop Any Time](http://johnaugust.com/2015/the-coyote-could-stop-any-time) featuring This Is Working’s Three Page Challenge
* Franklin Leonard on [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Leonard), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/franklinleonard), and on Scriptnotes episodes [60](http://johnaugust.com/2012/the-black-list-and-a-stack-of-scenes), [123](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-holiday-spectacular) and [124](http://johnaugust.com/2013/qa-from-the-holiday-spectacular)
* Lexicon Valley episode 56 asks, [Is “Try And” an Acceptable Substitute for “Try To”?](http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/lexicon_valley/2015/03/lexicon_valley_english_grammar_quirk_in_which_an_infinitive_morphs_into.html)
* Reddit’s [r/writeresearch subreddit](http://www.reddit.com/r/writeresearch)
* Follow [@theblcklst](https://twitter.com/theblcklst) on Twitter for tomorrow’s announcement
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes editor Matthew Chilelli ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_190.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_190.mp3).

**UPDATE 4-5-15:** The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2015/scriptnotes-ep-190-this-is-working-transcript).

K.C. Scott’s “This Is Working”

Follow Up, Story and Plot, Words on the page

On Tuesday’s episode of Scriptnotes, we’ll be looking at K.C. Scott’s original screenplay This Is Working, a former Three Page Challenge entry.

We just recorded the episode, and it’s already in my top ten.

Joined by special guest Franklin Leonard, Craig and I talk about character, story and thematic issues in ways we never could when only looking at just three pages. We get very specific about what’s working in the script now — but also what the movie may want to become. Plus we talk about the road ahead for this writer, and the choices he’s going to be facing.

I think listeners are going to get a lot out of this episode — and even moreso if they read the script beforehand. So [download the script](http://johnaugust.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/THIS-IS-WORKING_screenplay_2015.pdf) and give it a read this weekend if you have a chance.

We’ve also just added it to [Weekend Read](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/weekend-read/id502725173?mt=8), at the top of the For Your Consideration list.

Take a look and see if you agree with our assessment on Tuesday’s show.

Uncluttered by Ignorance

Adaptation, QandA, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, Words on the page

John and Craig dig into the overstuffed mail bag to answer listener questions about scenes, stagnation, subtitles and script breakdowns. Plus we reveal the consensus opinions on whether we should have ads, and look at possibilities for the Full Script Challenge.

We also have a lengthy digression into probability and the proper way to pronounce Los Feliz.

Links:

* [‘Los Feliz’: How you say it tells about you and L.A.](http://www.latimes.com/local/great-reads/la-me-los-feliz-20130507-dto-htmlstory.html) from the LA Times
* [How To Pronounce ‘Los Feliz’](http://atwater-village.blogspot.com/2006/08/how-to-pronounce-los-feliz.html) from the Atwater Village Newbie blog
* Screenwriting.io on [what constitutes a scene](http://screenwriting.io/what-constitutes-a-scene/)
* A [sample short film budget](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/Shortworkingbudget.pdf)
* [u/temptotosssoon’s story of waking up and realizing he’d dreamt the past decade of his life](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/oc7rc/have_you_ever_felt_a_deep_personal_connection_to/c3g4ot3) on Reddit
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes listener Jon Spurney ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_189.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_189.mp3).

**UPDATE 3-30-15:** The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2015/scriptnotes-ep-189-uncluttered-by-ignorance-transcript).

The first and last thing you see

Directors, Story and Plot, Video

Jacob T. Swinney built a supercut comparing the [first and last shots of 55 notable films](https://vimeo.com/122378469):

Swinney isn’t trying to prove any specific point, only that these images feel very intentional:

> Some of the opening shots are strikingly similar to the final shots, while others are vastly different–both serving a purpose in communicating various themes. Some show progress, some show decline, and some are simply impactful images used to begin and end a film.