All posts by Michael Welles Schock
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Hollywood’s Four Classic Narrative Types, Part II: Hero Versus the World
The four narrative types established in my previous article, Celebratory, Cautionary, Tragic, and Cynical have one thing in common: they all present... -
Hollywood’s Four Classic Narrative Types, Part I: When the Bad Guys Win
Cinematic stories give lessons on human thought and behavior. This is their most basic social purpose. The story places a certain type... -
First Draft: Conceptualize Courtship in Your Screenplay By Understanding the Romantic Subplot
In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. It is a common narrative archetype found... -
First Draft: Understand The Humility Arc To Allow Your Story’s Heroes To Succeed
In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. What quality makes a hero? What single... -
First Draft: What are Plot Patterns, and Why Should You Identify Them in Movies?
In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. What if I told you Star Wars...
Summer 2018
Spring 2018
25th Anniversary
Guide 2018
Summer 2017
Year in MovieMaker
Inside the Issue: Acting
Sydney on the Map: To Land Breakout Roles, Sydney Sweeney Draws Her Own Maps of the Characters She Inhabits
A reverent initiate of a patriarchal regime; a disturbed young psychiatric hospital ward; a sexually questioning teen with a flair for the dramatic; a mysterious denizen...Inside the Issue: Directing
Think Like A Photographer: Generation Wealth’s Lauren Greenfield Shares How Still Techniques Make Better Movies
The biggest change I experienced when I went from making pictures to making films was the sense of an arc—of creating a story over time, and...Inside the Issue: How To
How They Did It: Casting Unknowns Was Key to Finding the Laughs and Lived-In Feel of Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade
Before I directed my first film, Eighth Grade, I had heard that 90 percent of directing is casting. I’m sure there are other directors who weigh...2