6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
My experience with these dvd's thus far, September 14, 2007
This review is from: Chris Soth's Million-Dollar Screenwriting: The Mini-Movie Method (DVD)
I have had these dvds for quite some time and I'm ready to tell you my general impressions about it.
In the first dvd you see Chris Soth teaching to a class a brief history of drama. He does this in a very effective and relatively fast way considering drama has been around for thousands of years. In this brief history of drama he explains the structural paradigms that emerged throughout two millenia.
As he is doing this he suddenly stops and says he is now going to teach you the most important thing you will ever hear about storytelling,what makes us take pleasure in drama?
His explanation of that "thing" is simple and powerful. It makes much sense, it is extremely logical and it blew my mind. I have been reading quite a lot about drama and what makes good drama, still in very few places have I seen this topic covered. And I'm yet to see a book with such a good explation of why this is the most important thing in drama as it is in Chris's class.
The second dvd talks in much more detail about the sequencing method of storytelling. While I was watching this dvd I realized that indeed the sequencing method can explain hundreds if not thousands of movies I have seen. In other words, it really works. It's out there, screenwriters are using this stuff. Now, don't you think it is the most magic secret ever, or a very difficult thing to understand. Actually, I felt a little bit embarased when I realized how simple and straigth forward secuencing is. It's just common sense!
The third dvd is about how to apply the mini movie methods to different genres. It is quite enlightening. It's sort of an advanced class in secuencing. Though it is still just common sense!
The fourth dvd I will not comment much because I have not watched it much. I guess I didn't like this one much. Though can't really say why.
The quality of the dvds is average, it is no great, though it is good enough to watch it with out feeling much interference from bad video or audio.
Now the big question. Is it worth more than 100 bucks? Now that's a difficult question.
With 100 bucks you can get some pretty good screenwriting books from which you could learn much more than from these dvds.
On the other hand there are two things that make it worth it depending on your level of achievement and how much you want this.
1. Though you wont find tons and tons of information, the info presented in the dvds is paramount, fundamental, basic. So you must be ready to not find much info or too many topics covered. There is no talk about characters, theme, screenwriting format, etc. Basically this is a class about structure. It is about some structure gold nuggets.
2. The idea of having a dvd on screenwriting is very well welcomed after you have tired your eyes reading countless books. So the dvd is an excellent way to study screenwriting in a fresh manner. I have watched these dvds probably 12 or 15 times. Which has been good to me because those nuggets I have told you about have now become second nature to me as a storyteller. When I write, imagine, create my story those very basic but paramount structural foundations are there with me.
I would say having these dvds is a luxury. If you can't afford it better not buy it because you might think there is not much info. If you don't mind paying the bucks, you might find it is a nice bonus to your screenwriting education, a paramount bonus. With that I can't help you. You will have to decide for yourself.
I do have to add that they might teach you this stuff in film school at a much higher price, so it all depends on how you approach the bucks stuff. On one hand you could get a lot of books instead of the dvds, on the other hand they charge you an infinite greater amount in film schools to teach you screenwriting. You decide the approach that works better for you. Since I can't go to film school, I choose the dvds... and also read the books.
Finally, there is a book. I would like to see that book. I would like to see it in Amazon and not in Chris Soth' web page. I really would like to learn more about these nuggets and he has written a book about the same topics but the book is not in Amazon. It's a shame. Chris, if you are out there reading this, please, sell your book through Amazon!
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2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Resource for Screenwriters, September 14, 2006
This review is from: Chris Soth's Million-Dollar Screenwriting: The Mini-Movie Method (DVD)
How movies are made has changed dramatically in recent years. In addition to character and dialogue, tension and maybe location, speed of action has become a new and demanding element.
Chris Soth's "Million Dollar Screenwriting" seminar program (four DVDs with a running time of some 300 minutes) provides an analysis on how to meet the new requirements of the million dollar movie in today's volatile film industry. The three-act structure was designed for the theater. Today's movies, he argues, are "sequences" or "mini-movies" that keep the action moving forward and he shows how they meld to create a strong and vibrant story.
In an industry that has so much information available to new and veteran screenwriters in book, tape or DVD, "Million Dollar Screenwriting" is a breath of fresh air that shows not only how each "mini-movie" is played out and works towards forming the entire story, but how each scene also fits to propel the story forward.
This seminar DVD set is on the expensive side, but compare it to other seminar programs, many of which include trevel and lodging, and the expense of this seminar seems little for what is gained. Highly recommended.
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