DZ-126: Secrets and Clues
About this episode
The episode explores how hidden information influences character motivation and plot structure through the lens of game design and a deep dive into the film WAKE UP DEAD MAN.
Listen if you want to understand how hidden information drives character motivation and plot structure! “Getting information puts your character in danger. And danger rewards your character with information." — One of three ideas we steal from game design in this episode. In this two part series, we talk about how secrets, clues and hidden information motivate characters and may (or may not) help you plot from a character perspective. Part One (this episode) looks at WAKE UP DEAD MAN; while Part Two looks at SIDE EFFECTS, and the pilot episode of SHRINKING. The other two (related) ideas are: Landmark information (characters just have it), Secret (they know it's there, need to unlock it), and Hidden (invisible until they pay the cost) Narrative velocity — are characters pushed forward or are they pulled forward? To that end, in this episode Stu, Chas and Mel start with the murder mystery (ostensibly the easier deep-dive): Rian Johnson’s WAKE UP DEAD MAN. But this is a complex film made even more complex by being a dual-protagonist film. Uhuh. Benoit Blanc is pulled through the story by his need to solve the case; Father Judd pushed through, against his will, to prove his…
More episodes of Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast
- DZ-128: What even is a Character Arc?
- DZ-127: Secrets and Clues 2 - The Cost of Revelation
- DZ-125: Oscars One-shot - BLUE MOON
- DZ-124: Making the Despicable Compelling
- DZ-123: Flawed Characters in Noir
- 1dZ-01: Arkyvrs - A Mansion Most Vile - Ep1
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