DZ-102: Game of the Scene - Bluey, John Wick 4

Listen to make your scene writing more dynamic (by looking at the underlying game)

Stu and Chas turn their attention to a topic that has long eluded them: the game of the scene. We look at how considering the game that characters are playing — its rules, arenas, players, referees, and win conditions — can help you write more dynamic scenes.

This will be a two-parter, and for this half, we talk BLUEY, “The Quiet Game” (from Season 2) and “Phones” (from Season 3), and JOHN WICK 4. We also touch on GAME NIGHT and LIFE OF BRIAN.

Thanks to Chris Walker for editing this episode.

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

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→ Read the transcript for this episode.

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"So I think there's the referees, there's the arena, the victory conditions important and it leads into this other idea, speaking of board games, of like the path to victory." — Stu Willis @ 00:09:44

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CHAPTERS

00:00:00 – Cold Open

00:00:18 – Sponsor: ScriptUp

00:01:52 – Intro: What do we mean by Game of the Scene?

00:15:06 – THE LIFE OF BRIAN: "WHAT HAVE THE ROMANS EVER DONE FOR US?"

00:20:03 – BLUEY

00:23:22 – › How the quiet game's rules create scene power dynamics

00:29:33 – › PHONES: learning the rules to change the game

00:35:08 – Sponsor: Arc Studio Pro

00:37:56 – JOHN WICK 4

00:43:16 – › Rules as the engine of satisfying action scenes

00:47:14 – › Scene breakdown: the Osaka Continental negotiation

00:56:14 – › Scene breakdown: poker table reveals who can break the rules

01:00:07 – › The staircase duel and adhering to rules as victory strategy

01:04:04 – › Scene breakdown: the church as a game of seeking peace

01:14:34 – Wrap Up & Key Learnings

01:17:41 – › Win conditions, character decisions, and the GOAT framework

01:22:17 – Many thanks to our Patreons

FILMS

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 (2023) — (w) Shay Hatten, Michael Finch (d) Chad Stahelski

SHOWS

BLUEY 2x37 — (w) Joe Brumm

BLUEY 3x16 "Phones" — Joe Brumm (w)

SCRIPTS

Study the script: JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 (2023) — Shay Hatten, Michael Finch

LINKS

Read: Shot Zero on Game Night's Hot Potato Sequence

EPISODES IN THE GAME OF THE SCENE SERIES

DZ-102: Game of the Scene - Bluey, John Wick 4

DZ-103: Game of the Scene 2 - Triangle of Sadness, The Favourite

RELATED EPISODES

DZ-40: Tactics and Scenes

DZ-99: Scene Questions

DZ-100: Scenes through Swords

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We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter.

Full show notes at: https://draft-zero.com/2023/dz-102/