Advice — gatekeeper q & a

Question: How does a story analyst become a Story Analyst? Is it worth developing a relationship with a Story Analyst? How crucial can knowing a Story Analyst be to a screenwriters career? Thanks! Marisa D'Vari responds: 'Knowing anyone' in Hollywood is always a great benefit to a career. Friends who work with sound, either on the set or in post-production, can fill your ears about dialogue. Camera people can tell you about shots and perhaps what to avoid at the script stage. Secretaries often know more than the executives who employ them. Ditto for story analysts. The ideal solution is...

Question: How can a great 'non-formula story' get past the gatekeeper? Marisa D'Vari responds: Great question, Stuart. My personal feeling is that several recent events and the national tragedy will pave the way for more personal films. Realize that it all starts with character. The characters in 'Diner' were exceptional, very real, and the audience felt as if they knew them, even if they never met that 'type' before. A gatekeeper is looking for well-turned characters who must resolve universal key issues before the story's end. This is the simple formula for a great film. To test if your characters...

Our Reader Mark McC from Canyon Country (not too near Hollywood), CA writes: Coming to L.A. has not at all been what I expected. I've tried to follow the experts' advice, like get a job in a production company, but that was impossible. My boring job in property management is not why I left St. Louis. How am I going to morph into a working screenwriter? Richard Walter, Chairman of UCLA's Screenwriting Department, responds: First off, time is what makes up your life - your precious time is limited, so pick and choose wisely. First and foremost, you gotta write...

How much thought do you think writers should invest in terms of tracking the broad strokes of the protagonist’s emotional journey when structuring the story?I think all screenwriters should know the emotional journey from beginning to end. If you have the character’s arc clearly in mind, you can then begin to build your story and character utilizing the emotional journey as one of the major leads into the physical journey. Action and character, those are the two things to follow during the unfolding of the script. Take a look at Avatar or The King’s Speech – it’s an emotional journey...

Our reader Tim Kessler asks: I have developed an idea into what needs to become a film treatment. Can you suggest how I can take what I've got into a piece of work that can be properly used to apply for funding for the expedition/ documentary? Do I need an agent? I have friends who are themselves doc makers and producers who have told me that I have the bones of a film treatment but I don't have a clear vision of how to create the product. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated more than I can express. Steven...