• 2 hours 32 minutes
    DZ-130: Positive Character Arcs

    Listen to understand how to dramatize a character's internal change.

    Welcome to our third entry in our character arc series; and the first where we talk about characters that actually change. And positively, too.

    We deep dive into BARBIE, WIDOWS and ALL OF US STRANGERS to work out what makes an arc feel positive -- even if the film itself is heartbreaking. All three films are "positive arcs" that feel wildly different. We speculate whether that's due to the nature of the relationship questions, the use of additive/subtractive rewards; and whether it's do with the connection of the characters needs and their goals.

    We further crystalize two tools we've been kicking around:

    • The relationship question — take a character question ("will she learn to connect?") and pose it as a relationship problem ("will these two grow closer or further apart?").
    • Additive vs subtractive rewards — We continue buildling on this idea from our Steadfast episodes. Does the story give the character something or take something away? And is that a good or a bad thing?

    And Mel brings up a third:

    • Repeating a beat from a different angle so we can trace a character's gradual evolution.

    We also debate whether Barbie's void scene is a producer's note personified — a director going into the endless nothing to spell the themes out one more time.

    All this and more on DZ-130!

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

    LIKE THIS EPISODE?

    Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre & Natalie and Lily.

    → Read the transcript for this episode.

    ———

    "A relationship question is taking what we think is an internal question about a character and defining it in terms of the relationship. Will Moana grow closer to their village coming back or will they'll grow further apart?" — Stu Willis @ 00:06:09

    ———

    CHAPTERS

    • 00:00:00 – Cold Open
    • 00:00:21 – Positive Character Arcs
    • 00:04:47 – › Relationship questions as the key to dramatizing arcs
    • 00:09:00 – Followup Questions
    • 00:12:12 – Zero Context Insights
    • 00:13:01 – BARBIE
    • 00:17:16 – › The void scene with Barbie's creator
    • 00:23:13 – › Immortality versus death as the real choice
    • 00:27:02 – › Debating the lie the character believes
    • 00:44:26 – › Gain versus loss framing the ending
    • 00:52:34 – › Contrast and affinity
    • 00:59:47 – WIDOWS
    • 01:05:47 – › Establishing character patterns before the heist begins
    • 01:09:37 – › Do the widows have values before the story starts
    • 01:18:42 – › Skills and goals tightly tied to character growth
    • 01:21:04 – › Alice's escalating value shift through the sugar daddy scene
    • 01:25:04 – › Linda's grief scene and steadfast versus positive arcs
    • 01:27:12 – › Veronica's arc through Harry's betrayal and revenge
    • 01:39:33 – › Comparing ensemble arcs to OCEAN'S ELEVEN and THE TOWN
    • 01:46:46 – › Relationship questions as emotional engine of ensemble films
    • 01:49:36 – ALL OF US STRANGERS
    • 01:55:38 – › Rebuffing Harry sets up the positive arc
    • 02:02:15 – › Isolation to connectedness as the emotional throughline
    • 02:07:24 – › Contrasting coming out scenes with mom and dad
    • 02:11:26 – › The low point as emotional violence not distance
    • 02:18:48 – › Dream logic and touch as physical arc tracking
    • 02:23:20 – Key Learnings & Wrap Up
    • 02:26:20 – › Additive versus subtractive rewards in character arcs
    • 02:29:58 – › Patreon shoutouts and next episode preview

    FILMS

    SCRIPTS

    SHOT ZERO DEEP DIVES

    LINKS

    EPISODES IN THE CHARACTER ARCS SERIES

    RELATED EPISODES

    ———

    More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons.

    If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser.

    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/2026/dz-130/

    1 September 2026, 3:58 am
  • 1 minute 23 seconds
    Teaser: Positive Character Arcs

    Teaser for our next episode: DZ-130. Please watch BARBIE, WIDOWS, and ALL OF US STRANGERS so you can learn about positive character arcs.

    27 August 2026, 2:00 am
  • 2 hours 36 minutes
    DZ-129: Steadfast Character Arcs - Agents of Change

    Listen to learn how to move an audience with a character who never changes.

    Do characters need to change for you to have a satisfying story? That's a question we've been asking since, like, episode five of this podcast. And we're finally talking about them - whatever you call 'em: steadfast, resilent, or flat arcs.

    To that end, we breakdown MOANA, APOLLO 13, and THE DRESSMAKER to work out what carries a story when a character arc doesn't. If your protagonist isn't going to change, the drama has to come from what they do to everyone else.

    We develop some tools that we reckon carry a steadfast story:

    • doubt and wobble (a character with no doubt isn't steadfast, they're a psychopath)
    • emotional events between characters
    • additive rewards (something is gained) versus subtractive ones (something is taken away) - a distinction we've borrowed borrowed from operant conditioning;
    • and how that difference changes the emotional tone of an ending.

    The subtractive reward is why a happy ending can still feel like loss... and it's the thing we reckon that'll matter most when we get to negative arcs.

    Chas, Mel and Stu also wibble-wobble over WILLOW, TAKEN, FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF, THE MARTIAN, PROJECT HAIL MARY, THE GREY, ALL IS LOST, STAR WARS (as always), GREY GARDENS, PRISCILLA, and how many tampons NASA sent to space.

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

    LIKE THIS EPISODE?

    Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre & Natalie and Lily.

    → Read the transcript for this episode.

    ———

    "If your characters are not going to arc, if they are going to remain steadfast, then creating multiple smaller emotional events is really important to keep the story dynamic." — Mel Killingsworth @ 02:32:01

    ———

    CHAPTERS

    • 00:00:00 – Cold Open
    • 00:00:18 – What Is a Steadfast Character Arc?
    • 00:04:24 – › Character as habitual action defines change
    • 00:06:11 – › Operant conditioning reframes reward and punishment beats
    • 00:09:14 – › Steadfast characters still need emotional stakes and impact
    • 00:10:33 – The Questionnaire for Analysing Character Arcs
    • 00:12:18 – MOANA
    • 00:16:12 – › The I Want song and being pulled versus pushed
    • 00:18:19 – › Doubt as necessary proof of steadfast resilience
    • 00:26:54 – › Distinguishing upskilling and reward from true character change
    • 00:27:25 – › Maui's full arc contrasts with Moana's steadfastness
    • 00:41:15 – › Genre expectations teach the audience to predict steadfastness
    • 00:45:10 – › Tracking Maui's and Moana's dramatized moments of change
    • 00:53:08 – APOLLO 13
    • 00:58:52 – › Riveting problem solving without character values changing
    • 01:01:07 – › Jim and jack relationship as substitute emotional arc
    • 01:12:12 – › Comparing disaster films that punish or reward steadfastness
    • 01:20:02 – › Working through the arc questionnaire for the film
    • 01:33:53 – THE DRESSMAKER
    • 01:38:14 – › Debating whether THE DRESSMAKER is steadfast or positive
    • 01:44:54 – › Tracking Tilly's three objectives and mystery of the curse
    • 01:50:37 – › Teddy's death as subtractive reward and negative punishment
    • 01:57:00 – › GREY GARDENS parallels and the town as social environment
    • 02:03:10 – › How Tilly's steadfastness transforms the town around her
    • 02:16:37 – › Testing audience expectations for change versus subversion
    • 02:24:48 – › Values of beauty, love, and vengeance in the story world
    • 02:31:45 – Key Learnings & Wrap Up

    FILMS

    • MOANA (2016) — (w) Jared Bush, Ron Clements, John Musker, Chris Williams, Don Hall, Pamela Ribon, Aaron Kandell, Jordan Kandell (d) John Musker, Ron Clements
    • THE DRESSMAKER (2015) — (w) Jocelyn Moorhouse, Pj Hogan, Rosalie Ham (d) Jocelyn Moorhouse
    • APOLLO 13 (1995) — (w) William Broyles Jr, Al Reinert, Jeffrey Kluger, Jim Lovell (d) Ron Howard

    EPISODES IN THE CHARACTER ARCS SERIES

    RELATED EPISODES

    ———

    More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons.

    If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser.

    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/2026/dz-129/

    31 July 2026, 3:42 pm
  • 1 hour 30 minutes
    DZ-128: What even is a Character Arc?

    Listen to separate the three layers of an arc -- does the character change? How do they feel about it? And how is the audience positioned to feel about it?

    Stu, Chas and Mel finally begin their long-awaited journey into CHARACTER ARCS. In this "primer" episode, we try find some learnings and analytical lenses that we can then apply in future breakdowns.

    In this episode, we explore differences between a character learning something and a character fundamentally changing, how to dramatise that, and how the show teaches the audience to perceive that transformation (whether positively or negatively).

    Throughout the discussion, we skate over A NEW HOPE, BLUE MOON, BREAKING BAD, BETTER CALL SAUL, the French real-time thriller FULL TIME, A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS, THE GREEN KNIGHT, ALL OF US STRANGERS, PREDATOR BADLANDS, FIELD OF DREAMS, MEG 2, and Stu's receding hairline.

    Ultimately, this discussion synthesises into a series of questions to ask of a story and the main point-of-view character living through that story:

    • Does the audience enter the story with an expectation that characters will change?
    • How does the story teach the audience to expect characters to change or not?
    • Do the characters change? Is it experiential change or internal value change? How is that dramatised?
    • Is the character aware that they changed? How do they feel about that change? Does that matter?
    • How does the story want the audience to feel about that change? If different to the character’s perception, how does the story pull that off?
    • How does the story world punish or reward the change?
    • What are the values explored by the arc? How does this relate to the theme?
    • How is contrast vs affinity/unity portrayed through the characters’ journey? Order vs disorder vs inertia
    • What is the emotional event created between the character and audience as a result of the journey? Does the character end up more intimate or distant from the audience?

    In upcoming episodes, we intend to apply these lenses to stories with STEADFAST/RESILIENT arcs, POSITIVE arcs, NEGATIVE arcs and - potentially - a “WTF is this?!” arc.

    Please check out our homework discussion on Patreon. And if you want to vote on the stories we're gonna breakdown, sign up!

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

    LIKE THIS EPISODE?

    Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre & Natalie and Lily.

    → Read the transcript for this episode.

    ———

    "Character arcs are really difficult to talk about because they're not just in isolation. Rarely is a film only about one character, right? So we're actually talking about how we harmonize other characters around them." — Stu Willis @ 00:12:16

    ———

    CHAPTERS

    • 00:00:00 – Cold Open
    • 00:00:17 – Character Arcs: A Primer on What We're Really Asking
    • 00:03:13 – › Three layers of an arc: character, self-perception, audience
    • 00:07:04 – › The four-quadrant map: change, no change, better, worse
    • 00:10:15 – › Why calling it an arc is already a misnomer
    • 00:13:35 – What We Each Want to Learn from This Series
    • 00:19:56 – › Whether emotional authenticity is becoming more valuable than spectacle
    • 00:23:37 – › Why stories let us safely inhabit experiences outside our own
    • 00:30:04 – The Deep Question: Can Characters Actually Change?
    • 00:35:49 – › Contrast and affinity as the design logic of transformation
    • 00:41:40 – › The rock metaphor: external forces versus intrinsic change
    • 00:46:43 – › Order, disorder, and inertia as the spectrum of arc types
    • 00:50:29 – Three Layers of Judgment: Character, World, and Audience
    • 00:56:45 – › How the filmmaker positions the audience relative to the character
    • 01:00:01 – › Do audiences enter stories expecting change at all?
    • 01:06:09 – › Mapping the inner journey against plot beats
    • 01:09:28 – › Why low points exist to make the climax feel earned
    • 01:12:09 – Key Learnings & Wrap Up
    • 01:26:47 – Thanks to Our Patreons!

    FILMS

    SHOWS

    LINKS

    EPISODES IN THE CHARACTER ARCS SERIES

    RELATED EPISODES

    ———

    More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons.

    If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser.

    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/2026/dz-128/

    28 June 2026, 10:41 am
  • 1 hour 51 minutes
    DZ-127: Secrets and Clues 2 - The Cost of Revelation

    Listen to learn the emotional impact of revealing secrets vs discovering them.

    In this episode Stu, Chas and Mel apply the Landmark–Hidden–Secret framework (from DZ-126) across two very different genres: the thriller SIDE EFFECTS (2013) and the tragicomic pilot of SHRINKING.

    SIDE EFFECTS is a film of two genres. The first half plays as a drama about depression and over-medication; the second half is a 90s thriller. We talk about how every time Dr Jonathan Banks uncovers a new piece of information, it puts him in danger — and that danger motivates him to uncover more.

    In SHRINKING, we see a different use of the framework. "What are psychologists but detectives of the mind?" Rather than the cost of finding secrets, it's about the cost of sharing them. Chas also comes out of this with a paradigm he's been building toward (but we're keeping what that is secret until you listen!)

    And inevitably we go on some tangents: whether SIDE EFFECTS should even have been an erotic thriller!

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

    LIKE THIS EPISODE?

    Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre and Lily.

    → Read the transcript for this episode.

    ———

    "Every time Dr Jonathan Banks uncovers a new piece of information, it puts him in danger -- and that danger motivates him to uncover more." — Chas Fisher @ 00:26:04

    ———

    CHAPTERS

    • 00:00:00 – Cold Open
    • 00:00:16 – Intro: Secrets and Clues 2 - the Cost of Revelation
    • 00:01:03 – Previously on Secrets and Clues (Recap of Part 1)
    • 00:04:24 – Flashforward Insights
    • 00:09:29 – SIDE EFFECTS
    • 00:20:18 – › The First Half: Push and Misdirection
    • 00:28:41 – › Genre Shift: Banks Becomes the Detective
    • 00:48:06 – SHRINKING
    • 01:00:02 – › The Inverted Paradigm: When Everyone Knows
    • 01:07:47 – › The Cost of Sharing
    • 01:22:02 – › Power Through Honest Acknowledgement
    • 01:35:37 – The Key Tool Chas Learned
    • 01:39:28 – Key Learnings & Wrap Up
    • 01:50:48 – Many Thanks to our Patrons!

    FILMS

    SHOWS

    • SHRINKING — (w) Brett Goldstein, Jason Segel, Bill Lawrence

    SCRIPTS

    LINKS

    EPISODES IN THE SECRETS AND CLUES SERIES

    RELATED EPISODES

    ———

    More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons.

    If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser.

    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/2026/dz-127/

    27 May 2026, 6:22 am
  • 1 hour 28 minutes
    DZ-126: Secrets and Clues

    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 innocence. Breaking down how that plays out — and why it matters for the kind of escalation each character can sustain — is the heart of the episode.

    And inevitably we go on some tangents: pointers, plants, and underpinnings (from our Everything Everywhere All At Once episode) fair play in locked-room mysteries, Narrative POV (as always) and node-based plotting and what dungeon-crawl game design has to do with writing a web of clues.

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

    LIKE THIS EPISODE?

    Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre and Lily.

    → Read the transcript for this episode.

    ———

    "Information puts players in danger and danger rewards characters with information, right? That's kind of the loop with like thriller game design." — Stu Willis @ 00:05:40

    ———

    CHAPTERS

    • 00:00:00 – Cold Open
    • 00:00:18 – What do we mean by Secrets and Clues?
    • 00:04:17 – › Landmark, hidden, and secret information defined
    • 00:08:10 – › Narrative velocity as push and pull for characters
    • 00:13:22 – WAKE UP DEAD MAN
    • 00:17:56 – › Key learnings preview: push-pull and narrative velocity
    • 00:32:33 – › Mapping character awareness of secrets through WAKE UP DEAD MAN
    • 00:58:21 – › Distinguishing secrets, clues, and hidden information
    • 01:13:17 – › Benoit Blanc's character arc and the choice of grace
    • 01:22:50 – KEY LEARNINGS & WRAP UP
    • 01:24:22 – › Character drives how secrets are hidden and revealed
    • 01:25:34 – › Narrative velocity and escalating stakes reveal character

    FILMS

    SCRIPTS

    LINKS

    EPISODES IN THE SECRETS AND CLUES SERIES

    RELATED EPISODES

    ———

    More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons.

    If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser.

    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/2026/dz-126/

    5 May 2026, 2:17 am
  • 1 hour 18 minutes
    DZ-125: Oscars One-shot - BLUE MOON

    Listen if you want to understand how narrative POV, screenplay format, and dialogue craft can elevate a contained biopic into an Oscar-nominated film

    BLUE MOON is a talky, period-drama that film about an obscure songer-writer in the 1940s. Yet, it attracted world-class talent AND Academy Award nominations, including for it's script. Join Chas & Mel as they explore how narrative POV, interweaving relationships, hooky dialogue, and even the screenplay format itself make the script for BLUE MOON so great.

    While Stu is still on show and we are between the 2026 Oscar nominations and the actual ceremony, our patreons selected BLUE MOON for this one-shot and boy are Mel and Chas glad they did. They dive into many lessons learned in previous episodes, like our character-driven episode… or analysis of French scenes in Adolescence… or the story-telling power that comes from the audience knowing the ending from biopics.

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

    LIKE THIS EPISODE?

    Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre and Lily.

    → Read the transcript for this episode.

    ———

    "When I say rules, I mean the prescriptive rules of when someone posts something on screenwriting and everyone goes *Oh, you broke all the rules*. I'm saying this is good. I'm saying most of those rules are suggestions or most of those rules are given to you when you are learning how to write for a reason." — Mel Killingsworth @ 00:38:42

    ———

    CHAPTERS

    • 00:00:00 – Cold Open
    • 00:00:32 – What Makes a Contained Biopic Compelling?
    • 00:02:19 – Flashforward Insights: POV, French scenes, dialogue craft, and structure
    • 00:04:32 – BLUE MOON: Plot Summary and Structural Overview
    • 00:08:00 – › How script format signals emotional breaks in a real-time story
    • 00:13:34 – Controlling narrative POV
    • 00:17:13 – › Tragedy versus the life he would have chosen
    • 00:24:09 – › Narrative POV as the film's core structural tool
    • 00:27:49 – Using screenplay FORMAT to reflect the emotional story
    • 00:31:56 – › French scenes and real-time spatial staging
    • 00:35:40 – › How rule-breaking formatting signals emotional truth
    • 00:39:27 – Interweaving relationships: Hart's Relationships as the A, B and C Stories
    • 00:44:50 – › Hart and Rogers: the collision of artistic integrity and commercial success
    • 00:49:14 – › Hart and Elizabeth: desire, repetition, and the just-not-that-way callback
    • 00:53:08 – › The bar regulars as audience surrogates and mirror to Hart's self-awareness
    • 00:56:46 – Repetition and pop culture references in dialogue
    • 00:59:48 – › Repetition as lyrical structure in dialogue craft
    • 01:03:49 – › Tonal variety and mixing registers in witty scripts
    • 01:07:54 – Key Learnings
    • 01:09:48 – › The hidden craft beneath real-time, single-location scripts
    • 01:13:42 – › How cultural touchstones establish stakes without exposition
    • 01:16:02 – Thanks patreons and Oscar-nominated listener!

    FILMS

    LINKS

    RELATED EPISODES

    ———

    More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons.

    If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser.

    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/2026/dz-125/

    26 February 2026, 8:41 am
  • 1 hour 10 minutes
    DZ-124: Making the Despicable Compelling

    Listen if you need audiences to root for characters who do terrible things

    Mel and Chas continue to explore what Noir (the genre) can teach writers of all other genres. In particular:

    • How to keep the audience on side of characters doing reprehensible things;
    • How to control your audience understanding of those reprehensible actions; and
    • Distinguishing between characters undergoing transformative arcs against discovering their true natures

    In finding the common craft tools of Noir over 100 years, this Part 2 looks at two modern noirs – DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (1995) and WOMAN OF THE HOUR (2024) – after Part 1 looked at the classic DOUBLE INDEMNITY and THE LONG GOODBYE.

    Despite Chas claiming to have edited this episode it was, in fact, Chris Walker who saved the day and got this done. Thanks Chris.

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

    LIKE THIS EPISODE?

    Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre and Lily.

    → Read the transcript for this episode.

    ———

    "I think these films have got really strong control over the questions and that's how they get us to follow, compelling us to follow characters who are doing terrible things." — Chas Fisher @ 01:06:08

    ———

    CHAPTERS

    • 00:00:00 – Using noir as a lens
    • 00:01:56 – DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS
    • 00:07:06 – › Period setting, race, and noir's embedded worldview
    • 00:10:30 – › Voiceover as access to morally compromised decisions
    • 00:22:02 – › How the film justifies rooting for Easy's transgressions
    • 00:29:09 – › Character worldview versus film worldview in noir
    • 00:31:33 – WOMAN OF THE HOUR
    • 00:37:15 – › Why WOMAN OF THE HOUR qualifies as noir
    • 00:43:25 – › The system as collective villain enabling the killer
    • 00:53:12 – › Depiction without endorsement, empathy without sympathy
    • 01:04:30 – Key Learnings
    • 01:08:50 – Thank you Patreons!

    FILMS

    LINKS

    EPISODES IN THE NOIR SERIES

    RELATED EPISODES

    ———

    More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons.

    If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser.

    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/2026/dz-124/

    30 January 2026, 1:58 am
  • 1 hour 22 minutes
    DZ-123: Flawed Characters in Noir

    Listen if you want to write morally compromised characters without endorsing their choices.

    In this two part series, Mel and Chas use Noir (the genre) as a lens to interrogate flawed characters. How can characters doing reprehensible things still engage audiences? How can you ensure representation isn’t endorsement? And whether these characters undergo transformative arcs, or simply reveal their true natures?

    Part 1 (DZ-123) focuses on two (now classic) noirs: DOUBLE INDEMNITY and THE LONG GOODBYE.

    While Part 2 (DZ-124) looks at two more contemporary examples DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS and WOMAN OF THE HOUR.

    Despite Chas claiming to have edited this episode it was, in fact, Chris Walker who saved the day and got this done by the end of 2025. Thanks Chris.

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

    LIKE THIS EPISODE?

    Thanks to our Patrons, especially Lily, Paulo, Alexandre, Malay, Jennifer, Thomas, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis and Khrob.

    → Read the transcript for this episode.

    ———

    "This is the philosophical question, right? When you get drunk, do you change what you do or do you simply allow your inhibitions to fall and do what you would normally want to do?" — Mel Killingsworth @ 00:42:04

    ———

    CHAPTERS

    • 00:00:00 – Cold Open
    • 00:00:17 – Flawed Characters and Noir
    • 00:03:06 – › Writing morally compromised characters without endorsing their worldview
    • 00:08:41 – › Defining film noir as genre, style, and worldview
    • 00:14:27 – › Noir's reach across decades of screenwriting
    • 00:16:40 – DOUBLE INDEMNITY
    • 00:21:41 – › Diegetic confession and its structural function
    • 00:27:17 – › Telling the audience the crime upfront removes justification burden
    • 00:32:24 – › How everyman framing sustains complicity in a morally bankrupt protagonist
    • 00:41:43 – › Whether morally compromised characters genuinely change or self-reveal
    • 00:49:17 – › Film worldview versus character desire: crime without endorsement
    • 00:53:38 – THE LONG GOODBYE
    • 01:00:17 – › Save the cat: establishing a morally complex protagonist
    • 01:06:26 – › Transgression, personal code, and the inevitability of noir failure
    • 01:14:13 – › Character change versus worldview shift at the ending
    • 01:21:15 – Wrap Up and Key Learnings

    FILMS

    SCRIPTS

    SHOT ZERO DEEP DIVES

    LINKS

    EPISODES IN THE NOIR SERIES

    ———

    More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons.

    If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser.

    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/2025/dz-123/

    31 December 2025, 1:41 am
  • 2 hours 8 minutes
    1dZ-01: Arkyvrs - A Mansion Most Vile - Ep1

    What happens when a group of filmmakers play a ragtag group of filmmakers in a gritty sci-fi horror?


    "Ignite the fire within and explore unknown territory" - Werner Herzog.


    This episode is unusual, even by Draft Zero standards. It's an "Actual Play Podcast" where Chas, Stu, & Mel are joined by Kim Ho and Luke Clark to play MOTHERSHIP, the sci-fi horror game we talked about in episodes DZ-121 and DZ-122. Stu is the GM while everyone else is a ragtag crew of freelance filmmakers. We debrief the experience (so far) at the end of the episode)


    Mel plays Zara, the glamorous face of the operation. Chas plays Winston, the cynical and egoistical "photojournalist". Kim is Cal, the scrappy scrounger and sound recordists, while Luke is Tarsos the steadfast producer of the group. The crew are enlisted to record a sensationalist report on a missing corporate president before the mercenary retrieval team arrives.


    And yeah, this means we're soft-launching yet another project that's called 1dZ, which looks at how we can use tools from ttrpgs in screenwriting… and vice versa.

    To get future episodes go to: http://www.1d-zero.com/


    CHAPTERS

    • 00:00:11 - Intro for DZ Listeners
    • 00:01:51 - Meet the Snortin' Betsy
    • 00:06:22 - A Mansion Most Vile (Ep 1)
    • 01:52:32 - Debrief through TOMBS

    RELATED EPISODES

    LINKS

    More Draft Zero is brought to you more often by our awesome Patreons. Especially Lily, Paulo, Alexandre, Malay, Jennifer, Thomas, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis, and Khrob.

    Please considering rating or subscribing to us on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on the Social Medias! We like finding new listeners.

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

    SUBSCRIBE TO SHOT ZERO via Substack

    SUBSCRIBE TO 1DZERO via Substack

    ACKNOWLEDGES via our website: https://draft-zero.com/2025/1dz-01/


    26 October 2025, 2:20 am
  • 1 hour 44 minutes
    DZ-122: Escalating Antagonism Across Genres

    Listen to learn how thinking of your hero as the horror (for your villains) makes your script dynamic.

    In this episode Chas, Stu and guest Kim Ho continue their exploration into the power(s) of antagonism and how focusing on them can develop story.

    While Part 1 looked at the horror film SINNERS, in Part 2 we venture into genres beyond horror with the action-thriller REBEL RIDGE, and the comedy classic MEET THE PARENTS.

    To both these films we apply the generative story framework TOMBS (Transgression – Omens – Manifestation – Banishment – Slumber) and are surprised at just how well it maps. TOMBS comes from the MOTHERSHIP sci-fi horror table-top role-playing game. Which we love.

    We explore how TOMBS, and thinking about antagonism in general, allows writers to deepen their understanding of their characters, their relationship of the heroes with the antagonists, and generate story fuel in a way that escalates the story.

    We discuss how thinking of your hero as the horror for your villains helps everything become more dynamic.

    Oh, and we talk about launching an actual play podcast. Which is happening. Stay tuned!

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

    LIKE THIS EPISODE?

    Thanks to our Patrons, especially Lily, Paulo, Alexandre, Malay, Jennifer, Thomas, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis and Khrob.

    → Read the transcript for this episode.

    ———

    "There's a great line from Don Johnson later where he says, the deal was fair. The issue is that you felt that you were allowed to offer it. He tells him that he has transgressed against the rules of the laws or the rules of this system of this world." — Chas Fisher @ 00:12:09

    ———

    CHAPTERS

    • 00:00:00 – Cold Open
    • 00:00:12 – Escalating Antagonism Part 2
    • 00:03:29 – REBEL RIDGE
    • 00:09:30 – › Writing loglines from the antagonist's perspective
    • 00:14:36 – › Tombs cycle maps onto hero and villain escalation
    • 00:25:07 – › Solve, survive, save structure in action films
    • 00:33:16 – › Self-restraint as survival within systemic corruption
    • 00:45:30 – MEET THE PARENTS
    • 00:51:55 – › Greg's lying as the true transgression engine
    • 00:57:41 – › Structural turning points and escalating disaster beats
    • 01:01:28 – › Jack versus Greg's insecurity as twin sources of antagonism
    • 01:19:33 – › Applying TOMBS structure to map omens and manifestation
    • 01:30:29 – Key Learnings & Wrap Up
    • 01:34:38 – › Mapping antagonism sources to escalate story conflict
    • 01:38:53 – › Expanding beyond Western storytelling structures
    • 01:41:38 – Thanks to our Patreons

    FILMS

    LINKS

    EPISODES IN THE ESCALATING ANTAGONISM SERIES

    RELATED EPISODES

    ———

    More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons.

    If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser.

    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/2025/dz-122/

    1 October 2025, 8:51 am
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