John August

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The air duct of backstory

Episode - 67

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Fountain, Scriptnotes, Software, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed

John and Craig talk about perspective — both within a scene and the overall story. It’s not always obvious to the reader which characters are in the driver’s seat, so it falls on the screenwriter to make that clear.

We have four new Three Page Challenges this week, with genres ranging from horror to sex comedy. John begs you to never try to establish a character’s backstory by featuring them on a magazine cover.

All this, plus an update on John’s experience writing his most recent script entirely in Fountain, in episode 67 of Scriptnotes.

LINKS:

* [Hanukkah](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah) on Wikipedia
* [Christmas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas) on Wikipedia
* [Krishna](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna) on Wikipedia
* [Fountain](http://fountain.io/) is a plain text markup language for screenwriting
* [Take Fountain](https://app.glassboard.com/web/invitation/code/gsaiw) on Glassboard
* Three pages by [Hunter M. Altman](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/HunterMAltman.pdf)
* Three pages by [Kevin Wolfe & Adam DeKraker](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/KevinWolfeAdamDeKraker.pdf)
* Three pages by [Scott Gorsuch](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/ScottGorsuch.pdf)
* Three pages by [Shawn Morrison](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/ShawnMorrison.pdf)
* [Scanadu](http://www.scanadu.com/)
* [Gizmodo](http://gizmodo.com/5965143/holy-spock-the-star-trek-medical-tricorder-is-real-and-its-only-150) on Scanadu
* [Soulver](http://www.acqualia.com/soulver/) helps you solve on iOS and OSX
* INTRO: [Crystal Light commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWr9rZVvMN0)
* OUTRO: [Three Is a Magic Number](https://itunes.apple.com/us/tv-season/schoolhouse-rock-vol.-1/id123015257) by Bob Dorough on iTunes

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_67.m4a).

**UPDATE** 12-14-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-67-the-air-duct-of-backstory-transcript).

One-step deals, and how to read a script

Film Industry, Scriptnotes, Software, Transcribed, WGA

Craig and John take a break from writing scripts to talk about how screenwriters should read scripts. Paper or iPad? Single or double-sided? And how do you keep track of your notes for future conversations?

Then it’s a session of roleplaying and maximum umbrage as we look at the logic and fallacies behind one-step deals for screenwriters.

Cleansing our palette, we look at Skyfall. Spoilers, folks. Spoilers!

Craig closes the podcast with a remembrance of his friend, screenwriter Don Rhymer, who died last week after a long and wittily-observed battle with cancer.

LINKS:

* [Fade In](http://www.fadeinpro.com/) screenwriting software
* [Fountain](http://fountain.io/), a plain text markup language for screenwriting
* Brett Terpstra’s [Systematic podcast, Episode 20](http://5by5.tv/systematic/20) with David Wain
* adult swim’s [Childrens Hospital](http://video.adultswim.com/childrens-hospital/)
* [FDX Reader](http://quoteunquoteapps.com/fdxreader) for iOS
* [Final Draft Reader](http://www.finaldraft.com/products/mobile/reader/) for iOS
* [GoodReader](http://www.goodiware.com/goodreader.html) for iOS
* [PDF Expert](http://readdle.com/products/pdfexpert_ipad/) for iOS
* [Myers-Briggs Type Indicator](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator) on Wikipedia
* The Myers & Briggs Foundation’s page on [where to take the MBTI](http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/take-the-mbti-instrument/)
* The WGA [Showrunner Training Program](http://www.wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=1190)
* LA Times on [Don Rhymer’s passing](http://articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/30/local/la-me-passings-20121130#mod-a-body-after-first-para)
* Don’s cancer blog, [Let’s Radiate Don](http://radiatedon.com/)
* Todd Downing’s [breakdown](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25S-hXFqLB4) of the Skyfall theme song
* INTRO: [Strawberry Shortcake Intro (Italian)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_QEIF28nVI)
* OUTRO: For Your Eyes Only/Skyfall, arranged and performed by John August

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_66.m4a).

**UPDATE** 12-7-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-66-one-step-deals-and-how-to-read-a-script-transcript).

Making and Remaking Karateka

Karateka, News, Video

Karateka began its life on personal computers — the Apple II, in fact — and completes the cycle with its launch on Steam today. (And it’s [on sale this week](http://store.steampowered.com/app/217270).)

To commemorate the making and remaking of the game, [Earl Newton](http://earlnewton.com) shot a terrific series of how-we-did-it videos, the first two of which are embedded below.

In the first video, I love the dust cover Jordan Mechner’s mom made for his Apple II, complete with cord flaps. In the second video, check out the Super-8 footage Jordan used for rotoscoping. Watching it, you realize how handmade digital things can be.

In some ways, these videos feel like a Kickstarter campaign for something that’s already available in the world. You don’t have to pledge for a dream. You can get it today on Steam and Xbox, and very soon for iOS and PS3.

### Part 1: Inspiration

(link: [Inspiration: Making and Remaking Karateka](http://www.youtube.com/embed/QDaFte42odA))

### Part 2: Animation

(link: [Animation: Making and Remaking Karateka](http://www.youtube.com/embed/Wnutf4XObWk))

The Next 117 Pages

Adaptation, Follow Up, Formatting, QandA, Scriptnotes, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed, Words on the page

John and Craig talk about everything that comes after the oft-discussed First Three Pages, speculating on the kinds of issues they’d spot if they were looking at full scripts.

They also answer listener questions on topics ranging from proper spacing protocol to novelists rewriting their screenplay adaptations.

LINKS:

* [“The exception that proves the rule”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exception_that_proves_the_rule) on Wikipedia
* Stuart’s post, [Learning from the Three Page Challenge](http://johnaugust.com/2012/learning-from-the-three-page-challenge)
* [Brining](http://www.cookingforengineers.com/article/70/Brining) on Cooking for Engineers
* [Cook’s Illustrated](http://www.cooksillustrated.com/)
* [Ticket to Ride](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ticket-to-ride/id432504470?mt=8) for iOS
* [German-style board games](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German-style_board_game) on Wikipedia
* INTRO: [Folger’s “Peter Comes Home for Christmas”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4kNl7cQdcU)
* OUTRO: [Train Song](https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/train-song/id303463575?i=303463582) by Feist and Ben Gibbard on iTunes

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_65.m4a).

**UPDATE** 11-29-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-65-the-next-117-pages-transcript).