Customer Reviews

James Bonnet's Storymaking: Master Your Understanding Of Story To Create Powerful Films and Novels

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James Bonnet,even though he doesn't know it is one of my favorite mentors in the art and business of storytelling through the film medium. His lessons can apply to everything from adding more dimension to an RPG video game to making a concept album or rock opera. His main argument is that the best stories mirror the happenings in our own psyches and the way the higher and lower brain functions feud ala good vs. evil. You are stuck in the middle of the tug-of-war between a spiritual against physical centered-consciousness.

A good example is when somebody thinks short-term versus long term (is this decision going to be damaging in the long run despite the pleasure I will get in the short-term?). You can put a short-term decision like stealing or having an affair (physical) against the better long-term decisions of keeping integrity and faithful. What makes the conflict hard is that the physical options are usually more attractive to us even though the spiritual options are much better overall (I can use this money even though it's not mine and I could get in trouble for it to go on a month long vacation! This lady might not be my wife but when will I ever get a chance to fool around with a person this sexy again?). When crap hits the fan (the accountant stealing money is caught by the chairman or the wife finds out about the affair) the person caught up in the battle is an antihero. If they resist temptation and do the right thing, they are a hero. Great stories magnify these simple psychological conflicts in numerous ways Mr. Bonnet will expertly explain.

There are so many nuggets of wisdom in this DVD that I've watched it twice since receiving it a week and a half ago and plan on watching it once again in about a week. I hope James has a Vol. 2 come out soon that perhaps will focus on some more of his concepts not really covered in this volume, such as the sugar coat and the process of using feelings to guide you in the creation of stories. I cannot wait for his new book coming out "Cracking the Story Code" in 2010!

I expect the impact of this DVD will be different for different people. In short, it's a great overview of the detailed content in Bonnet's book 'Stealing Fire from the Gods', but it's really just an introduction to the whole theory; which means it may even function as a good introduction to mythic storytelling theory in general.

The DVD is a great taste of the countless insights in Bonnet's book, which I highly recommend.