What Writers Should Learn From Mad Max: Fury Road
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
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Mad Max: Fury Road is often praised for its visual storytelling, an achievement that was made possible by the film’s unique storyboarding/writing process. But what if you tried to write a screenplay for a movie that is primarily told through visual language? I try to do that in this video, and in the process, figure out what should and should not go in a script, as well as why I think more filmmakers should attempt to emulate Fury Road’s creative process.
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Hey all! If you've got a recommendation for a future video, let me know here!
Pan's Labyrinth
My vote is for Gladiator, Marley and me, or The Prestige! I'm always excited for whatever you upload though :)
Can you talk about the opening of The Dark Knight and what makes it such a good intro? Sorry if you've already done this lol
Could you do a video about horror? Maybe how to write good horror or what not to do. Anything horror related would make me and I'm sure many others happy!
Seeing you do this makes me itch for an exploration on conceptualization of characters and their relationships to each other. Not from the screenplay stage but from the concept stage, as in ideas of what makes for good characters, good relationships and things to avoid. Big can of worms but I know you'd do great at it, especially from this video!
Is mad max fury road the best example in history of the saying: “show, don’t tell”
You have discovered this film late after all of the trolls are spreading their hate. the comments at the start are better. The director (George Miller) has been quoting Alfred Hitchock "I want to make a film that plays in Japan without subtitles, that they can understand." If you dig through the reviews a lot of people with too much time compare it to the the silent movies of Buster Keaton's, specifically The General.
@@stephenharvey4138 only thing i understand , after watching this movie , is : what this fucking shit ? i pay for mad max not for a gender social propaganda !!
@@krokrokrokro mad max wasn't even about gender social propaganda
@@krokrokrokro lol It didn't focus on gender at all, what are you talking about.
@@Charzilian heh all these dumbasses take this as "propaganda" or "feminism" just because they are saving women who are used as sex slaves and at the same time they fuck up the villains plans of getting a healthy heir
It really annoyed me when I had a bunch of friends say "The script and writing is so simple and basic. It's just a chase with no dialogue." I tried explaining how it was all done visually and how rich with detail it was, but sadly modern audiences are used to excessive exposition. You explained what's brilliant about it better than I could.
I actually think there is a more cynical reason these big budget blockbuster Hollywood movies have very little dialogue, they make them more transferable to a worldwide market. You can understand the story without speaking a word of English.
no offence, dude.......
but your audience doesnt get mad max fury road..........
all of them think, it has no story. its visual & depth & show, not tell.
but its mnot like this.
this movie essentially follows heroes journey.
you can see it through out.
two worlds
1. immortan joe place(patriarch)
2. many mothers place(matriarch)
furiousa, travels to both & conquers both.
mad max is mentor. his only remaining instinct is "survive" because he's been forged by this world. But when he meets Furiosa's cause he starts to get his humanity back.
nux, want to go to valhala. he wants his brother to witness his epicness, he doesnt want to die mediocre, which immortan joe labels him. he goes to valhala.
all along the wives were the many mothers, who replaces old.
patriarch alone cant survive
matriarch alone cant survive
but when they come together, max & furiousa, they thrive.
it is masterpiece because if there would have been a madmax fury road novel before this movie was made, all the fans of the novel would think that it isnt possible to tell the story of madmax in one movie.
its just like ramayan, lord of the rings, odyssey etc etc.
If you think there’s too much exposition in movies...
...you don’t watch enough movies.
they'll only like excessive exposition if they can masturbate to it. Like the MCU
You can't argue with ignorance man sometimes is just better let it be.
What I adore about this film is Furiosa’s arm, it’s never explained. That’s amazing because it allows the audience to theorise her backstory. You let the viewer imagine this worlds characters. Mad respect to George Miller for not treating us like toddlers.
It's so seamless to you believe her arm is gone, but nobody tells you anything about it, magic.
Or they simply didn't care about giving Furiosa's arm any backstory, and thats perfecly acceptable becuase it's a small detail that isn't so relevant to the backstory
Well, say no more because we're getting a prequel of Furiosa.
The major reason Fury Road feels so good to watch is because of the painstaking effort to ground the story in an Ethos. The visuals, the motivations, all of it stems from the characters reacting to the world. This gives the actors SO much to work with in making their characters believable. A good script is about giving the actors something rich to work with. I think its a bad take to say a story isnt capable of "good writing" because its methods cant be summarized in a script.
A serious amount of effort went into the world building, character backstories and motivations. And this most certainly didnt begin with the storyboards. It started with the director researching concepts and getting great edits from his wife who also worked on the production, while also calling in consultants who could give specific frame of reference for stuff like sexual slavery. I know you wanted to emphasize the use of storyboards but did so to make a point that only works by omitting ALL the other work that went into preproduction.
A real lesson for Hollywood writers would be to do some damn research into culture, religion and psychology before churning out a half-assed script.
this !!
WHAT WRITERS SHOULD LEARN IS VERY, VERY CLEAR:
MORE ELECTRIC GUITARS PLAYED ON THE BACK OF SPEEDING MONSTER TRUCKS.
MUCH MORE. NOW.
What blew me away was.. that wasn't cg. The musician needed to hear what he was rocking out to so that was all real. That rig was supposed to be the command vessel, much like ships at sea using flashes of light or flag men to direct orders, they used sound and fire.
And the guitars must also be flamethrowers..
Cringe comment God damn
Here was me thinking that the main thing that made that part of the movie good was that it hadn't been done before.
And the drumbs man, the drumbs!
So, in the end, it is kind of a comic book made into a movie.
A wordless comic book, at that.
It's a movie made into a comic book, made into a movie.
It's common for complex movies to have previous very detailed story boards. So in fact, movies are a script turned into a story board turned into images in movement.
No, it's not. Storyboards and comic books (though they look similar) are different things.
Martophrenia, sure, what I was getting at is that Mad Max basically used the advantages comic books have over other types of narrative media to set up a near perfect movie.
Whenever I see a video or a screenshot from this movie, I immediately get an urge to watch it again. And I always do.
I watch. I reflect. I watch again.
just about to do the same
I appreciate the use of examples along with the associated script. I guess the rule of "show, don't tell" also applies to videos analyzing movies.
Can we apply "show don't tell" to videos analyzing videos analyzing movies now?
Though the USS Indianapolis speech in Jaws proves that "tell, don't show" can also work.
petlahk actually yes
As a storyboard artist, Mad Max has inspired me more than nearly any other film.
the colors and composition and, just everything, are absolutely stunning
"Mad Max 2" had Max get only 16 lines of dialogue in a 90 minute film.
See most of Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns for another example of economy of dialogue.
Example for Darth Maul or Boba Fett
You know where you can put it down in pictures and have success? Comic books. The independent comic scene is pretty healthy right now, and telling a good action story in a comic series can, and has on several occasions, led to comic creators getting their comics optioned to be made into films.
You got any suggestions? I'd love to get into a great indie graphic novel, but idk where to start
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters. The Best We Could Do. Paper Girls and Lumberjanes. Saga is a fun ride if you want some crazy sci-fi. The Underwater Welder is a little bit older but it's still really good. There's plenty more out there if our tastes don't quite line up, and the first issues are usually pretty easy to find, so you can start the story from the beginning. Happy reading.
You say that but the only thing I can think of is all of the DC comic book movies.
Also check out Matt Fraction's run of Hawkeye and Warren Ellis's Moon Knight. I know they aren't indie or whatever but they both feature some fantastic writing, art, and paneling (Hawkeye especially). Also Maus.
Commenting to read later
the fact that i love to draw and create characters/stories, that mad max is one of my all time favorite franchises AND that i want to make movies as an adult,,, this video hits close to home. thank you for making this video. it really inspired me.
hapichapi Better see your name on some storyboards soon then mate, good luck!
9:05 There's more to writing than just words...
EPIC!
Maybe unintentional, but having little dialogue certainly forced writers/storyboard to come up with creative ways to have conversations.
Simplistic plot and minimal dialogue with a focus on visuals are the key to a great action movie (In my opinion). Far too many filmmakers in Hollywood, especially action movie filmmakers, forget that movies are primarily a visual medium and not a filmed play.
rocknrolllives agree that film need less exposition more visual story telling because alot of them lags on that aspect of storytelling
ha yes but think about john wick for instance ... i manages to be borring by being so relentless with it's action
I think John Wick is also less visually...emotive...than Mad Max. Like Mad Max doesn't just sell the emotional state of the MC, but also the feeling of other characters as well as the majestic brutality of the environment. It's operatic in scope. I feel like (I can only say feel here) John Wick works like a cinematically executed side-scroller game. I might be talking out of my ass.
The point might be that both are great action movies, but they have different ambitions as to how that action is applied in each movie.
Personally I enjoyed both of those movies but having all the ingredients for a great action movie doesn't guarantee those behind the camera will execute it right.
I think the problem with many modern action movies is their visual elements don't work together very successfully. They have far too many cuts, and cuts done for no reason. The action in Fury Road is very clear, which lets you follow what's happening and care about the outcome.
Having storyboards for a movie this big is just awesome. Especially because if you add text and coloring them you get a bunch of comics.
This reminds me of the making of Paprika. That film DID get a script, but the storyboards came first because it's such a visually significant movie. And the storyboards were gooorgeous
Flurrin I didn't know that. It would make sense though, given some of the transitions. Man how would you write those for the opening scenes alone?
Most anime depends on storyboarding rather than on scripts. It's a visually significant medium.
So...
Books = Tell a story
Movies = Show don't tell
Games = Do don't show
-
Yep...
Games are more like ”make them work to see what's next”
@@RB-mm7ce we play different styles of games.
-
Games that are only about "working to find out what the game's creator wants you to." Are basically only writers trying to get you to "watch" their story (movies and plays do a better job of that "because they have you/ the audience captive." This is why bad use of "cutsceans" is a common criticism of those styles of games.)
-
Imagine trying to "play" tag or hide and seek "while someone is trying to tell you how to play."... kind of lame right?
(It's like; "explain the rules to me, fine." But then get the hell out of the way and let me play... don't keep changing the rules and then claiming that "that's how it was meant to be from the start."... or lying about the "story" because you know that I won't like it, but you still want me to buy your game.)
Every time I see a scene or a clip from Fury Road, I find myself thinking the same thing: goddamn, this movie is perfect. Every frame has an important part to play in the story. Every detail means something. I know it's a lot of work and takes a long time, and I understand why most action movies aren't made this way, but it's so, so worth it when they are. I can't think of another film in history that showcases the potential of the action genre better than this one. Hell, I'm not sure I can think of a movie better than this one, period.
"There's no way we can describe all of them in any adequate amount of detail in a script"
-George R.R. Martin: "Hold my Beer"
This is just the difference between a novel and a screenplay though. One is meant to be self-contained, the other is not. Unless you're talking about actual TV scripts written by Martin?
That beer is stale as hell at this point.
@@IvanLendl87 my arm is so tired from holding George's beer
Novels are scripts
@@slowmodeproductions you mean they're the same thing as movie scripts? Because they aren't.
“But but but the plot sucks”
Nathan S tell me about it, I got a roommate that hates it cause he "finds everyone in it anoying" for no reaso at all.
It does suck. And plots don't have to be complex to be good. John Wick and The Raid Redemption prove this. But they had a plot that progressed.
I'll concede the visual storytelling here was great and a masterclass in "showing, not telling," but the actual plot was all "telling." The dissonance between the two was too much to overlook.
To me I can barely compare these to something like The Raid or John Wick.
Michael Harris Yeah not really sure how the plot doesn’t progress. The plot is, in its simplist form, that the characters are running away from their problem, hoping that the grass is greener on the other side (literally). They find out it isn’t, so they go back and face the problem head on. Simple, yes. Without progress... no.
Yes they did find out the grass was greener on the other side and faced the problem head on. But basically the movie starts saying that they're on the run from Joe and his threat drives the whole first act. And the whole threat is pulled out from under the rug later. He's chasing them but doesn't want them killed, undermining all the actions of the first half and most of the reason for the most of the action in the story.
Plus all we really get as far as plot are a couple of verbal and visual dumps of them essentially saying "this is bad" and that's the only reason they're running. The little that is shown is basically visual world building dumps that set the world but provide little to no information nor emotional backdrop or set up.
As I said before, simple plots can be amazing, but it needs to be done well. The Raid does this masterfully, and John Wick comes close, but the story (character development) doesn't jive with the plot (what actually happens). The stakes are raised in the movie but they aren't really stakes, just a cool car chase.
Michael Harris I disagree that the second half of the plot “undermines” the first half in any way. I respect your opinion, but I’m not sure I understand it and I definitely don’t agree with it. But to each his own.
First time I saw this movie from beginning to end, I was drunk as fuck and procrastinating writing a paper. I distinctly remember telling my fellow English major friends “I fucking WISH I could write HALF as good as this movie”. I sent an email to my prof reading “I have been enlightened by the movie Mad Max and gently request an extension on my paper so I can write to a better level” (drunk me is very dumb). When it came time to explain why it’s good, I couldn’t explain it. It just... works. It’s batshit crazy and reads like someone snorted a mile of speed and went HAM on paper.
I SWEAR TO GOD EVERY TIME I REWATCH THIS MOVIE SOMEONE ON RUclips TALKS ABOUT IT
same I always forget how in love with this movie I am until reminders like this one.
People will keep talking about this movie for a long time. Instant classic.
I think my favorite part of Fury Road is how each character is different. No two people in the movie look the same.
What about all the war boys who look exactly the same lol. I get what you are saying though. And I believe this to be one of the best action movies ever made.
@@stuntcock8921 The war boys have the same general motif but they all have different shoes and pants and other clothing. I heard somewhere that the actors for them were told to bring their own boots and stuff like that.
@@stuntcock8921 Drone-like soilders have personalities too, even actual drones
You don't need to describe everything in minute detail, as this allows the person reading it to imagine what it might look like. You just need to tell the story and describe what each scene entails and whether it's day or night. Picture the how the scene will look like on screen, then describe it, but placing an emphasis on pacing and visuals.
This really helps. I began writing down some thoughts of a story that was going on in my head for years now, but I didn't know how to write it down. I see pictures, scenes, not words. I don't have the money nor experience too make a movie, but I will keep on working on it and try to write a book which is easy to "watch" and who knows, maybe it's going to be a movie one day.
The story is about an ex-yakuza who settled down in new york. His life is boring and mundane, till the day his twin appears and starts dragging him into a world of violence, drugs, sex and conflict. I see well tailord suits, blood on black sunglasses staring at a neon light shining in a rainy night. Bruised knuckles, a man trying to move away, his left leg got shot off. The two brothers standing in front of each other, ready to duke it out like in a classic western shootoff. Distorted guitars weeping in the background, as the bass gets louder and louder...
Thats... actually a really great way to write. Just have panels, and underneath have some dialogue or notes on the subject. If you write by starting with the key scenes first, then fleshing it out, it could make the whole process so much more efficient and effective!
Another key to writing good action is to use a technique employed by Shane Black, the writer of Lethal Weapon, where the hero has good things happen to them, followed by bad things, continuing all the way until the end of the scene. You see this technique all the time in movies.
Phenomenal video as always, Sage. I was just having a conversation yesterday with someone who thought Fury Road was just another substance-less blockbuster, but now I’ve got a great video to recommend!
My problem with the movie is that it was amazing visually, and the action conveyed the story really well, but sadly the story it created was mediocre. There was no real development in the plot, nor any good consistency.
When it came to the action, it showed but not told, but when it came to the actual story, it told and didn't show so it ended up being caught somewhere in between being forgettable and great, but at least for me, the forgettable side won out.
The story is simple: Some people are trying to escape their usual hell.
It's not a story about how far they'll go (like Lord Of The Rings), but it's more about how such a small act (Driving away) is risky in their* world. It's more of a character piece without all the grandiose "adventure" you find in something like Terminator 2.
Some people want a block-buster that is literally out of this world, like Jurassic World, Any Superhero Movie, etc.
The story of Fury Road is not complex, but it does one thing amazingly well: Adrenaline Rush. You will be thinking all the way from beginning to end "They might not make it."
While other blockbusters *clearly, you freaking know, they're going to make it. The danger isn't real, doesn't feel real, and you care less. Which is great if you really want to turn your brain off.
If you watch Fury Road again, you'll put the dots together for the "story" you say is missing. It's in the top 5 Block-Busters for depth, really. They just don't tell you every detail about the world like in other movies, you have to put the pieces together yourself (just like every other Mad Max film).
My problem is the story (the growth of the characters) is at odds with the plot (the things that happen.) At the end of the movie they end up back where they started and there's never any reason for any of the stuff that actually happened.
Basically the movie says "it sucks under Immortan Joe, we're going to run away. Now we're running. Now he wants to catch us. But we're suddenly precious even though we were nearly killed multiple times." There's never any real consequences for the actions and the tension is barely different than what you see in any standard superhero flick. It just has better action.
Mind you, I'm okay with simple stories. Some of my favorite movies have simple stories and he actually mentions one with a dumb but consistent story that stays true and doesn't just info dump in John Wick...And if you want a master class in simplicity in story and plot, but done with consistency and high stakes, then you need to watch The Raid Redemption.
Drive away, steer off coarse while still in view, get chased, get stuck, drive back the way you came, victory! Max was in there somewhere.
Michael Harris, I feel like you've got such a surface level understanding of it. It seems like you watched it passively. I suppose that people NEED to be told instead of shown the story. The story is all in the visuals, not at all in the dialogue. The dialogue is only used for exposition or things that are kind of impossible to do visually. Ah, well, it's all subjective.
I found the tension to be absolutely terrific, though. One of the few movies in my lifetime that I've seen had me grabbing the armrests of the theatre seat for dear life.
As soon as I saw the trailer I was championing this movie for like a year. When I saw it, it blew my expectations out of the water. Easily in my top 5 movies ever.
So Fury Road is just the Anime adaptation? Now I wanna read the Manga.
The scrip for Aliens (1984) written by James Cameron is an excellent example of an action based movie script written almost perfectly-- his first draft matches the movie nearly shot by shot and does it very effectively.
I just want to say thank you for this video. I'm in the last year of my degree in marketing and advertising in college and I'm making a short stop-motion film. Until this moment I was worried about creating an interesting script because I was never very good at writting, so a bend towards to express myself visually. This video opened my eyes. At a certain point I came with the ideia of making a storyboard first but at the time I tought it was a bad idea lol. Again, thank you very much and keep the good work!
Witness me!
MEDIOCRE!
Oh, what a day! WHAT A LOVELY DAY!!
So shiny and chrome!
WIIIITNEEEEEES!
I myself will carry you to the gates of Valhalla
As someone who works in comics and never write down his stories but instead draw story boards, this video boosted my self esteem. Thank you.
Thank you man, this was an amazing breakdown of the motion picture making process for Fury Road. Dude, I absolutely love this film and this really just sells it more. The sheer fact that they went straight for the visual decision making and that it probably translated better for film just makes me want to push harder in my own career in visual story telling. Subscribed from the first video watched... that quality content tho, thanks
Please make a video on how to write a memorable and quotable line.
This is interesting. I have thought about this myself. And then I realized ... I don't have time to sit and think about what quote would be memorable. I don't think Tolkien or Hobb or Moore thougt "Now I'll write a memorable quote".
So how do you do? I want to know too!
The best way I can suggest to do it, is never right down anything you think sounds cool. You'll miss out on a lot, but whatever sticks in your head will have a higher chance of sticking in others heads.
A memorable/quotable line is what happens when you make a good screenplay, no good writer goes in with the intention of making a line memorable or quotable. They simply write the line that's the perfect line to be said. But like most creative professionals know, simple is simply complex.
"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine." - Casablanca
so really it comes down to knowing how to structure a story so the line has significance to the story, which should be every line.
MrAwon12 I agree with your idea that it comes from a good script but a lot of iconic lines have been improvised.
Yeah, I suppose I was thinking more of the memorable lines. I think quotable lines can really just become a line perfect for a character. Rather than for the story, for instance
"hmh this is a tasty burger" - Pulp Fiction
not necessarily perfect for the story but man was it perfect for Jules. Just walks into the apartment and dominates the entire space(looking down on everyone), takes a bite out of the guy's big kahuna burger then proceeds to play nice, doesn't get more perfect than that.
So I guess I see a difference in memorable and quotable lines. Memorable being for the story and quotable being for characters and situations.
I loved the carfare in this movie.
How they turned vehicules into different strategical war machines
that closing statement broke my heart, i mean how frustratingggggg
This is something I arrived at a while back, that there is something really thrilling about stories (experiences may be a broad enough term to capture the idea) that can only really be told in that medium. As much as people debate "book vs. movie" or revile most movies based on video games, people seem to have a hard time expressing why. Each new medium we invent starts out as a variation of one that came before, and thus arrives with all of the tools and expectations of those preceding mediums. It's why we talk about some video games being "cinematic" as a good thing, but kind of ignore the fact that many of the most cinematic games really fall flat or are quickly forgotten. Cinema isn't the medium in which video games exist, and it's tools might have little to do with what actually makes a video game good.
For all that films are incredibly visual by nature, it's a medium that rose out of a combination of radio dramas, theater and novels all of which have wildly different capabilities. Audioplays have a unique ability to immerse the listener in a scene, as if it's happening all around them and shares a novel's ability to suggest elements and simply allow the audience's imagination fill in the details. Books allow the audience to move through the experience at their own pace, even going back to review information or skip ahead for the juicy reveal at their whim, something that's only really been toyed with in Choose Your Own Adventure novellettes. Theater has the ability to create electric moments of true connection between cast an audience, that are altogether different than the most stunning performances in film. Role-playing Games like D&D offer something even more unique still, experiences often shared by no more than five people that will nonetheless stick with them throughout their lives (if you're lucky enough to have a good, fun group). Street graffiti, art galleries and lavish, full-body tattoos offer incredibly different canvases that intrinsically change our experience of those things.
Fury Road is one of my favorite examples of a work excelling in maximal use of it's own medium. It's why I think the Cell is a brilliant film (especially if you found a way to mute out all the dialogue, but leave the music and sound cues). It's part of why the score is enough to sell Intersteller despite some incredible plot-holes. More importantly, it's why old black and white films often feel slow-paced and overly talky to modern audiences. Our expectations and understanding of the medium has changed, and our stories along with them.
Despite this, movies are most often still made the same way theatrical plays are (or perhaps were at the time film industry was born). Someone writes a script as a tool to convince someone to the give them money to put together the finished product that is often quite different from the original script. I suspect that good scripts in cinema are less predictive of success than they are in stage productions, but the industry has yet to arrive at a better way of doing things. Ultimately, I don't think we'll get more films with this approach unless we see other companies try something like the Pixar model, where they can foster a somewhat more holistic creative process.
In many ways, I think films should look like a more dynamic take on the very best of comic books with the text bubbles replaced with stellar dialogue and/or music scoring. Films like the Watchmen, which strove to be a shot for shot adaptation of the comic book kind of help illustrate this. Storyboards are where films come to life, but both in the popular imagination, and seemingly Hollywood in general, storyboards are poorly understood and sadly underutilized. They're used to plan the shots for an already finishyed story, rather than as a true second draft and chance to really get the story nailed down.
Sorry for the rant, but this has been on my mind for a while. Thanks for the good work!
I wrote a post-apocalyptic story that is practically a watered-down version of this! People have told me it needs to be a movie and I can only imagine it on this scale because of it's simplicity.
See, for example, the Jodorwsky Dune...
Sometimes I find your videos cloying and passe, but I frickin loved this. Mind blown.
The shot where Max flies through the screen on the pole as the caravan explodes is one of the most beautiful shots I think I've ever seen. It was an amazing visual.
A beautiful loveletter to beautiful movie.
The last line resonates with me so much.
"It's the Bullet Farmer! He's coming from the Bullet Farm!"
Its like a farm. A farm where they farm bullets. Thats why they call it the bullet farm. And the bullet farmer is from the bullet farm. Thats why he is called the bullet farmer. That and because he actually farms bullets...on the bullet farm.
Please do a video on the show in Hannibal. It's an excellent show and it's the only time that I genuinely was never able to predict what a character is going to do next and constantly second guessing which side he is on.
It doesn't hurt to have the most legit actress in Hollywood as your co-lead either ;)
Finally got around to seeing this movie just two days ago which is insane timing and I was entirely engrossed and in love
I thought it was a poorly written movie, frankly. The characters are thin, the implausibilities are almost comical. There's no emotional weight to what's driving anyone, it feels like a 90 minute screensaver, not a movie. Road Warrior taught us in 10 minutes the consequences, the history, the savagery, the stakes, and setup the entire plot. In 90 minutes, Fury Road just offered eye candy, and forced you to check your brain at the door. Lousy.
I am so agreed with you ! Don't say it, don't explain it, just show it, your brain will do the rest ! This remind me, the intro scene of ninja scroll where so much things are not said but can be explain instantly in your head.
I wouldn’t say that I’m a writer, but I do write, what I call “short superhero adventures” as a hobby. I do think that words are to a writer what paint is to a painter. It’s a tool that a creative person can use to create something visual and I do try to be as visual as possible (while trying not to be too wordy). I’ve had friends tell me that I do a good job at being descriptive while not being too wordy. Great Video.
THANK YOU FOR REMINDING ME OF THIS MASTERPIECE
Wow good video thx. Lol now it makes a lot more sense what my housemate told me. So this movie was actually made close to where I live, and my house mate (who is a physical effects artist) worked on the production. One day I asked what it was like etc. And she said it was a bit weird sometimes in that: this one time they could hear over the walki talkies Charlise complaining to the director asking him for how specifically he wants her to act in this specific action scene. He responded with something like: whatever feels right to you. And that frustrated her a bit. Almost as if the movie didn't really have an in depth script, in the conventional sense. So learning it didn't and was based more on story boards makes more sense to me now. I just thought the director wasn't very good, but now rather I think he had a specific "style" he wanted to make it in.
Comic artist and aspiring writer here. I had no idea that this was how the movie was made. It makes perfect sense! Now I'm scrambling to look up the works of Brendan McCarthy. This is how you're taught to make comics--the visuals should often convey the story without any words at all. It's something I need to focus on in my own writing. Inspiring stuff. I love your channel. Keep up the good work. :)
If you want it to be even more insane; Tom Hardy apparently thought George Miller was insane and clueless on-set. It wasn't until he saw the finished cut that he realized what George saw in his head was so complex that he could not communicate it clearly to anyone else without showing it to them.
Not gonna lie Prince of Egypt by Dreamworks is my favorite movie
ᛟ VALHALLA ᛟ Umm. That’s not Disney. That’s DreamWorks. XD
Little1Cave FUCK
ᛟ VALHALLA ᛟ Yep. XD Three directors: One made Balto. One made Brave. And one made Bee Movie. 😂
Little1Cave NO WAY
ᛟ VALHALLA ᛟ Yes way! It was one of four traditionally animated DreamWorks movies, first Prince of Egypt, then Road to El Dorado, then Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, and finally Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. The last one was a huge financial and critical disappointment so, like Disney, they shut down their 2D animation studio.
Mad Max - Fury Road: Never Tell, Always Show, and make it look as wild as possible.
Awesome!
Please do one for Call Me By Your Name. It's one of the best book adaptations made, imo.
Aty S. Behsam I agree with this!
1:26 expects to see a clip of Bane from Dark Knight Rises, but is pleasantly surprised that I was wrong
Wow that was so inspirering!!! Especially the last line with the kids out there!!! Thank you! Cheers Daniel
"...one of the best films of all time." BOLD.
and wrong too.
It isn't. Couldn't care less about any of the characters. The female child bearers were 2 dimensional / nothing. Main character uninteresting.
jon nuccle what would you consider to be one of the greatest movies of all time then?
@@SAMSARALIVEEEEEE Pan's Labrynth, Once Upon A Time In The West, Brazil, The Godfather II... amongst a whole bunch of others.
Fury Road is a great action movie, but like all action movies, it lacks depth and dimension imo.
jon nuccle I agree and disagree with your point, i feel like the movie’s depth and point isn’t obvious at all. It might not be in the characters or the script, but it’s in the details of the world, the character and their design, the weapons they carry, the vehicles they drive. The movie’s style just oozes personality and dimension. It’s an action movie that wanted to be more than just meaningless schlock full of cliches, i feel like it offers more than just a dumb action movie but that’s just me. Obviously many directors know how to find the perfect blend between action, story and dialogue way better than what Miller did with Fury Road. Tarantino for example really knows how to do these kinds of things for most of his movies, but still it isn’t a completely stupid movie like Fast and Furious. It still has beauty in my opinion and most importantly, it has meaning.
This is also how every episode of Samurai Jack was made. The storyboards were the screenplay, and the episodes were pitched by the artist going over their storyboards and explaining them to everyone else.
How about a episode on Tarantino's dialogue. I seem to always be interested in any conversation, even though it's about how much to tip a waitress, names of McD's burgers in french or pipesmoking in 1940's France. I know it's somewhat because this is how the characters are presented, but would love to learn more :D sorry for the bad English (Danish dude), love your channel!
Did you even watch the video? The whole point is that Fury Road excels in ways that only cinema can. Yes, the story is simple. Yes, it's stripped back. That's the idea. It's a movie that lives or dies based on its visual storytelling - showing, not telling. One of the most fundamental principles of good cinema. Fury Road does it incredibly well from start to finish. Best line in this whole video - 'Mad Max: Fury Road can't be called well written, but it can be called well told'.That hit the nail on the head. Those of us in love with the movie aren't praising it because of the story, which is admittedly incredibly simple. We are in awe of how well executed it is. It perfectly utilises every aspect of filmmaking, from visuals, camerawork, music, pacing, editing, motifs, effects, stuntwork, action, design, colour, story structure, etc. It's a damn fine example of action cinema and shows up the mess of confused, badly thought out nonsense that passes for action movies these days.
My god the music is amazing in this one...
The development process for Fury Road is the legacy of comic books. Comics have been doing this for decades, which is why Marvel movies feel as thrilling as they look: they have an established frame of reference to guide the development process.
Storyboards open up new avenues, which is why Pixar uses them so extensively to shape the look of their films. I’m not about say all (or even most) action movies should ditch screenplays in favor of storyboards, but like with the Lord of the Rings scene you noted, there’s ways the two modes can compliment one another to create a more whole and engaging motion picture.
I haven't enjoyed the Marvel films because of that. Mind you, I don't read comics but I did when I was a kid, so I understand the references in framing.
But directors are hand-tied by the comic references.
If they were given more freedom, you might get actual good-stand alone films, and not giant ads for the comic book inspirations.
Finding the middle ground between "stand-alone piece" and "inspired by" is hard.
So, I find that the people that love Marvel movies most are people that were fans of the original IPs already; for "plebe" fans like me, they don't really do much for me. And I love film.
I think this is something of a separate issue, where the desire to build a cinematic universe collides with the desire to create a great standalone. The film I think found the most perfect balance was Captain America: Civil War, along with the other two films in that series. Certain other Marvel films, like Ant-Man, suffered because they couldn't quite find the balance, making the work little more than a passable experience.
As for the enjoyability factor, I believe that's more of a generational difference. Just like westerns once spoke to one group, so too do superhero films. There's nothing wrong with loving, liking, or hating them; movies are subjective, after all. :)
Last sentence is so true- definitely feels like we could use a shake up with the insane amounts of resources going to mediocre films/franchises.
More like Just Draw
This video has convinced me to respect storyboards and to subscribe to this channel.
What I learned: have a bunch of cars drive for 2 hours while things explode.
In the old days, it was very common to do a story board of the shots/scenes. Only after a screenplay was written however.
i actually really disliked this movie, I was bored like an hour in and was waiting for it to end.
That's probably the reason why comic book movies like 300 or V for Vendetta are so visually engaging.
*gasp* SAMURAI JACK!
this
...box
contains
GREAT FLAMING EYEBROWS
That's a pretty clever extended commercial for Skillshare.
In my film school, so far, ive had two scripwriting professors. One, the one who has the longest filmography, respect and support in the local industry, has told us more than once that nobody really uses storyboards. That the ones who rely on storyboards cant really write and use drawings as a crutch.
The other professor gave us ten classes on the relationship between comic books, photography and animation with cinema. We didnt only see Hitchcock and Spielberg and Welles, but also silent movies, and experimental short films, and big action blockbusters from last year.
Anything goes in the making of a good movie. Planning is necessary but how you plan it is all up to you. There are no rules in cinema, only good advice. I just hope film school could teach this.
Great video !
Too bad there might not be more documentation about Hong Kong action movies, because, how do you write something like "Time & Tide" by Tsui Hark? The collaboration with action choreographers is essential too.
Thanks again !
mad max fury road was one of the best movies of all time?......and were supposed to trust this guys take on movies? this is why "film experts" are a joke
He doesn't call himself an expert lmao, where did you get that idea from. Here is the deal though, this "guy" did his homework, he showed scripts he showed storyboards that i didnt even think people had accesss to. He justified his reasoning. What the fuck did YOU do? You just said you dont think fury road is one of the best of all time, thats it. Nothing else. And then some babling about film experts which has nothing to do with his points. Prove him wrong instead.
This does give me a whole new take on writing. I'm sort of an amateur story writer but I find I've got a better imagination than I can describe in words. I'll try out my drawing skills to see if it helps out with my writing. Very good video. ☺
best movies of all time??? really?
Decent movie I guess.
Not even close to be good... Only visuals and special effects can't safe your poor story anyway...
Yes best action movie of this Millennium so far, nothing comes close maybe except IW, Winter soldier and John Wick. 90 plus percent real stunts too instead of CGI...what more can we ask..
@@manu1434u lmao you put Winter Soldier on the same list as Fury Road? That's insulting.
You're absolutely right though, it's easily one of the best (imo the best) action movie out there. Just pure excitement and visual bliss.
@@BahhBahhBrownSheep Yeah my bad.
dude wtf
I have goosebumps. I am a concept artist looking to get into writing and storytelling and this just blew my mind. Thanks so much dude
You lost me at 0:05 "one of the best movies of all time" Yeah.. no. Uh.. no. I saved this video to Watch later since its title promised something interesting. And since I thought Fury Road was a hollow spectacle, I thought: alright, perhaps there's something in the script.. no. This is script-writing for Elementary School; five minutes of my life I shall never get back.
when you were about to reveal another villain with a breathing device I thought you were about to say Bane from the Batman movies.
I've decided to put together a list of movies/video games/tv shows/books that I think would be especially interesting to tackle from the viewpoint that you take in your videos. As such, these titles are in approximate order of what I think would be most intriguing to look at from a "What could writers learn from this artwork?" standpoint. If anybody else has any other good suggestions, feel free to add them below:
- Your Name
- Gone Home
- Doki Doki Literature Club
- Flip Flappers
- A Silent Voice
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Doctor Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
- West Side Story
- The Handmaiden (2016)
- "Slaughter-House Five" (Kurt Vonnegut)
- Paprika
- Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
- "Snow Crash" (Neal Stephenson)
- Life Is Strange
- "The Diamond Age, or a Young Girl's Illustrated Primer" (Neal Stephenson)
- Clue (The Movie)
- "Dumbing of Age" (David M. Willis)
- What Remains of Edith Finch
- Princess Mononoke
- Over the Garden Wall
- When Marnie Was There
- "On a Sunbeam" (Tillie Walden)
- Sound! Euphonium
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail
- The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
- The Princess Bride
- "Bellwether" (Connie Willis)
- Sword Art Online (for a mix of reasons, both bad and good)
- Young Justice
- Dragon Ball Z
- Wolf Children
- "Calvin and Hobbes" (Bill Waterson)
- "Doomsday Book" (Connie Willis)
- Rear Window
- Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- "House of Leaves" (Mark Z. Danielewski)
- "To Say Nothing of the Dog" (Connie Willis)
- Whiplash
- SOMA
- The Daily Show, with Jon Stewart
- Steins;Gate
- Wandering Son
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
- Lady Bird
- Code Geass
- Blade Runner 2049
- Moonlight
*Note: As I am going from a "What works could writers learn the most from?" standpoint, the above list does not nearly reflect what I think are my favourite or the best of what these fields have to offer.
Me thinks the channel author spends too much time watching movies and not enough time reading books.
FURY ROAD was written to be a silent film, but I know where I'd go with it -- and also what's missing. 📽 I like Miller's descriptive detail, it's absolutely beautiful.
Terrible story. The main character...where was he? Chained to the front of a vehicle for half the movie. History will not remember this film. If they do, it will be as a cautionary tale of what not to do with a script.
Excellent video. Anytime my “mr. Know it all” voice would pipe up “well screenwriters shouldn’t give those details! That’s costume design!” - but then the very next scene would mention exactly that. Obviously the video creator understands screenwriting very well.
That last point at the end sums up the issue with Hollywood in so many ways.
the reason why the LOTR script says "they run down some stairs" is because that's how it was originally planned out! it's one of the designers who added these little cracks in the staircase and Peter Jackson expanded on that directly on set, skipping the script phase!
This was a good video, mate! Very salient, with some nice, original takeaways. More storyboarded scripts, people!
You know...when you talk about the use of storyboards for Mad Max. It reminds me a lot of Miyazaki's style for his ghibli movies. If I recall correctly. He would often only use storyboards and never really script things out. I mean it makes a lot of sense. Film is a visual medium, so using something visual like a storyboard would make a lot of sense for conveying action or set pieces.
To be honest, as much as I was thrilled beyond comparison until the desert storm ended, the film never really felt captivating after that, it was just a slog and I can hardly even remember it now after some time has past. But the scene before the desert storm ended is truly priceless.
excellent video. i think you gave me a reason as to why i loved mm:fr soooooo fucking much while most people just bash it.
Just finished the mad max game, and after watching this, i really need to see Fury Road again.
Lots of great points, thanks for sharing!
thanks man im working on a video game with short action packed cut-scenes, i already have a sub to skill-share but hadn't thought to check out that area.