You’ve written your story, now how can you test whether or not it’s as good as it can be? John Yorke recommends asking 10 questions to check you’ve got your story straight: an approach as relevant to business stories as it is to dramatic narratives.
You’ve got a great documentary idea, you’ve shot some fantastic material, but are struggling to shape it into a story that works. Experienced documentary maker and Story for Factual TV course director Peter Dale recalls a cutting-room moment when it it all came together.
In his bestselling book on screenwriting Into The Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them, John Yorke argues that all compelling stories share an underlying structure, no matter their format or genre. So what do the great storytellers of film and TV drama have to teach those who work in factual entertainment, current affairs, history/science/the arts, and documentaries – anything, in fact, that’s non-fiction? A new course explores what you can take from dramatic structure to create factual stories that resonate deeply with an audience.