Filmmaking / Directing : Are Directors Sensitive to the Contrast between Plot or Theme Driven Scripts? by Roberta M Roy

Congratulations, Roberta M Roy!

Theme driven films include: Sister Act, American Graffitti, Momma Mia, Paddinton Bear, Drive My Car, Nomadland, The Rider, Memoria, however typically the theme is a feel good one . . . quite in contrast to Morning's survival theme.

@Roberta Directors can be very sensitive to just Theme if audience is made to really care about the fate of each individual character within that particular world. Usually parallel narrative films, theme is the Macro umbrella that holds the Micro stories of characters together opposed to hook/plot-lines. Therefore one has to be careful not to make it seem an anthology or documentary type film but magic can be made. Thinking here about Nashville, Magnolia, Traffic. Thanks for the share and The Morning After The Morning After is on my bucket list.

Very insightful! An excellent statement of the importance of theme in relation to sub-plots and characterization, Debbie!

Is this my brand? - Hookless, a theme of survival weaves a comforting blanket of the intertwined characters' paths in these Jolt survival scripts.

Or is this? - Theme rules the day. There is no hook. The theme of survival weaves a thick blanket of the stories of the characters in the Jolt scripts’ separate but intertwined story lines.

I think "hookless" and "there is no hook" might turn off some producers, directors, and companies, Roberta M Roy, since they look for what's unique about projects.

Agree @Maurice Never mention the “Absence” of anything, only say what it is. Not what it doesn’t have. What world characters are in EG Apocalyptic, corporate, mass unemployment in small town etc. Then the “Threat” to their survival & plant a “Question” in readers mind to replace absence of “Hook.” Who will survive? Example:- A property developer plans to wipe out an entire farming community forcing people from all walks of life to leave or stay and fight against all odds. If all the stories are not from one threat alone Example:- In the age of zoom and lack of human socialisation how will a community survive when the Wi Fi mast is destroyed and they have to interact face to face. If not describing individual story but brand as a whole. “My theme is un plumbing the innermost sanctum of mankind when struggling to survive against all odds.” @All Happy Easter

So insightful, Debbie and Maurice. Much appreciated.

Your thoughts? : Jolt is a theme driven work based on the need for survival and cooperation. As such, the stories of a family and a community are intertwined within that theme as well as the necessity to at times attend more to individual and community survival rather than previously set life goals.

I like "Jolt is a theme driven work based on the need for survival and cooperation," Roberta M Roy. I think the second part could be shorter.

Roberta - What terrible atrocities do your characters resort to in order to provide for their survival?

Better? Jolt is a theme driven work based on the need for survival and cooperation in which the stories of a family and a community are intertwined with individual efforts to also move forward with one's life goals.

That's better, Roberta M Roy. It's clear and brief.

That's the beauty of a theme driven script - it's about the characters and immersive. This type of story is hard to pull off, but when it's done well a true cinephile will appreciate the art that went into your writing.

One thing to point out is that if you are getting the same note over and over again look for the note behind the note and see if you can address that in a way that YOU feel comfortable without compromising your story. But if multiple people are seeing and saying the same thing you might want to digest that note in a way that works for you to give you the best chance of success when you go out wide with your script. We actually have a great webinar on this: https://www.stage32.com/education?p=8944853287219

For Richard Buzzell: Oddly there are no atrocities committed as studies suggest that when survival is the goal, people work together to find community based solutions.

Roberta: That's your hook - people working together to find community based solutions.