Thousands of years ago, human beings huddled around campfires to listen to stories. Since that time, we’ve moved indoors and the campfires that we once hovered around have become digital screens. However, stories remain a vital part of the human experience. It’s been said that those that can offer the most compelling story in a society have an edge in advancing their ideas in the world. Our culture has never had more avenues for telling our stories, though few of us have much understanding about what makes one story enchanting and another forgettable.
In this 6 week course, John Bucher, mythologist, Hollywood story consultant and Executive Director of the Joseph Campbell Foundation, will guide you through the craft of creating a story for the screen. Special attention is given to creating characters from a depth psychological perspective. Exploring the fundamentals of storytelling, the course will also provide insights on mythic motifs such as the Hero’s Journey, the Heroine’s Journey, the Collective Heroic Journey and other frameworks. The course will include talks and instruction on creating visual stories, the form and format of telling stories for the screen, and opportunities to workshop your own stories with the instructor and other participants. Surprise guest speakers from the world of storytelling will join the class in various sessions offering insights for better storytelling.
This course is ideal if
- You are a storyteller
- You are a writer and would like to learn to tell stories in a new medium
- You are a screenwriter wanting to add a mythic perspective to your writing
- You’ve wanted to understand your favorite stories in a deeper way
- You’ve wanted to create stories for film, television, or streaming
- You work in a creative field and want to improve your storytelling
Course Overview
WK 1: Understanding the Basics of Storytelling and Mythic Structures
WK 2: Creating Characters from a Depth Psychological Perspective
WK 3: Conflcit, Shadows, and Antagonistic Forces
WK 4: Set Ups, Pay Offs, and Resolutions
WK 5: The Poetry of the Craft
WK 6: Workshopping Our Stories
By the End of This Course You Will Be Able To
- Create your own story for the screen, informed by mythic ideas and depth psychology
- Workshop your story with others and help them workshop theirs
- Watch films, television, and streaming shows in a completely different way