This short article will explain what Dramatica is all about and will also provide a step-by-step guide on how to use Dramatica to structure your...
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What is Dramatica?  Dramatica is a theory of how story structure works that was developed 25 years ago and is implemented in a line of software...
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(Revised July 2007) I spent nearly sixteen years avoiding reading anything of substance by (Hollywood) story theorists such as Syd Field, John Truby,...
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Dramatica has been a key resource for me in better understanding the elements of a good story, and is by far the most comprehensive tool I know of...
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"It came from outer space." Fascination with aliens--paranoia (objective story thematic counterpoint-threat) in progressive (os concern) times....
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In 60 years, the story you’re writing could be completely meaningless. Sad thought, isn’t it? Why else do we slave over characters and plot and...
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The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is based on a children’s book by C. S. Lewis and follows the book faithfully —...
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Akeelah and the Bee is an uplifting, family-oriented film that rises above its “Afternoon Special” subject matter. While treading familiar...
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Inside Man is a sharp, unexpected, and satisfying film with a solid story structure at its center. Through the use of clever Storyweaving and...
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(Dramatica Users Group Minutes for March 14, 2006) Tonight’s film for analysis was Here Comes Mr. Jordan, the 1941 original adaptation of the play,...
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A History of Violence is a taut, disturbing drama about one man’s past (or supposed past) tearing apart the fabric of his family, risking their...
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We started by identifying the four throughlines in general.  The Overall Story throughline was pretty easy.  The OS involves the meteoric...
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King Kong returns to the screen big as ever with a bit more heart (and story) than the 1933 original. Its detail rich storytelling expands the...
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In Her Shoes is well-rounded family drama (with many comedic elements) that offers more than the usual “chick flick.” Ostensibly about the...
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Doom is a film based on the ultra-violent, ultra-popular first person shooter video game of the same name. As one film critic opined, “Doom is less...
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Good Night and Good Luck is a dramatic recreation of real life events in the early 1950’s between television journalist Edward R. Morrow and...
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Into the Blue is a summer sun-and-skin flick that is about as light as the highlights in its attractive casts’ sun-bleached hair. Beyond the boobs,...
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The Constant Gardener is a relatively straightforward conspiracy thriller made complex through the heavy use of non-linear Storyweaving. In a...
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Flightplan is a taut thriller that successfully exploits the paranoia created by 9/11 but ultimately is more wind than substance. Starring Academy...
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Tim Burton's Corpse Bride is a beautiful, macabre fairy tale that is rich in storytelling. It seems to be structurally sound yet not structurally...
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Just Like Heaven is a frothy, light romantic comedy. It covers familiar territory (live person/ghost romance) with a couple of variations to give it...
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Finding Nemo has two stories in it. The larger story is the title's namesake "Finding Nemo" and can be found as a storyform here. In that story...
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Though the Dramatica User's Group arrived at a single storyform for this film, it was generally agreed that the film is very underdeveloped...
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The dueling visions of Stanley Kubrick and Stephen Spielberg in A.I. Artificial Intelligence A.I. Artificial Intelligence is a film born from the...
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It is quite fitting that Angelo Badalamenti's eerie music creates the mood for screenwriter Ehren Kruger and director Mark Pellington's Arlington...
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The quotation found at the end of story synopsis for American History X also has meaning for another pair of siblings, Hilary and Jacqueline du Pré...
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Wade Whitehouse (main character) is a small town sheriff afflicted by daily irritants and long term dysfunctions and there's just no way he can win....
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Main character Tess McGill is the titular Working Girl in director Mike Nichols and writer Kevin Wade's study of a baby doll Brooklyn secretary (mc...
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Superimposing belief systems on faith in God undermines the very nature of spirituality and carries the consequences we encounter today-religious...
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Obtaining (objective story goal) a living gospel that may render the institution of the Catholic Church impotent is the premise of Stigmata, written...
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Jean Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bete), is the French filmmaker's interpretation of Mme. Marie Leprince de Beaumont's fairy...
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The hard and fast rules of any horror movie are outlined in director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson's Scream. In Music of the Heart, Wes...
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