@@stagename2 my creative writing course was taken many decades ago. I didn’t recall the use of a premise for enhancing the narrative. The portion of my story that I am concentrating on is the present. I have a career in analytical chemistry and am focused on creating a new energy source. I had a lucid dream on a “Lightning in a bottle” devise that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. Having preformed 10k’s of experiments, developed patterns and solved numerous problems. I asked while dreaming, “ What is the crux of this experiment?”. I knew that there is always a part of a new experiment that you must solve before it becomes a reality. A voice told me the element, “bismuth”. I said another element, as it was a strong oxidizer. Then a pink neon sign lite up. I bought text books on quantum physics, solid state chemistry, and several other subjects to gain insight on more dreams I kept having. Over the last 20+ years I have gained insight into what the importance of “Bismuth” is. I came across a Nobel Prize in Physics on ‘Negative Refractive Indexed Meta Materials’. These materials will increase the electromagnetic energy when refracted through these materials. The meta material containing bismuth manmade(synthetic) bismuth ferrite oxide or Bi3Fe3O. This material is an insulator and has the colloidal resonance necessary for splitting micro water droplets seeded with these Bismuth Ferrites. This devise is extremely complex and documenting all the Google Scholar periodicals open sources and other articles are overwhelmingly exhausting. The final form of energy will be a ‘water plasma’ much like lighting. Before that happens need to convince someone to edit, coordinate and evaluate the viability of this. If that happens then I can dedicate more effort on my creative writing.
Yeah exactly. I've been unable to write this story idea I've had for six years because I knew that no matter what cool ideas I put into it, it lacked PREMISE. Argument. A point.
Your definition for premise is actually the one for theme and your definition for theme defines a topic that a story derives its theme from. A premise is actually the externalization of the theme in context of the story that displays the theme through the events of the protagonist's story. For example for John Wick the topic could be grief, the theme could be, "ignoring your trauma will only cause more pain until the very end" and the premise is John, a retired hitman, goes after the mob after the boss's son kills the last gift from his deceased wife but it only leads to more deaths on both sides.
So a lot of people define it differently. We define it based on the definition coined by Lajos Egri in The Art of Dramatic Writing. John Truby also defines the premise this way. To each their own but we find this way the most helpful when writing.
Egri, Maass, Truby, Bell, Weiland, etc. Different takes. But I like your way of looking at it. Sometimes there is a nuanced difference in definition depending on screenwriting or novel writing.
Shawshank has a really marvelous foreshadowing when Red calls Andy's hope "shitty pipe dreams". While I agree that Red is changed by Andy over the story and by the end he is sincere with the parole board, I always took the speech to be partly a reaction to his disillusion in missing Andy. It's obviously played to be ironic that his absolute disinterest in the outcome is the time that he actually gets what he's craved for years, and I'm pretty sure it's the third time (like the rule of 3). And at the same time there is a tragedy in his speech that he is now too old to be a danger, but for the audience the uplifting sense of justice that he gets to see life outside prison. And at point the audience is begging for a reunion. I think the bigger pay off is that it's Andy's mindset that saves Red from the same fate as Brooks, where he has the courage to go looking for the tree that Andy mentioned.
That was a fascinating exploration of the idea of a Premise. Thank you. It got me thinking. It might have been worth mentioning the character of Brookes, who’s narrative also explores the same themes, but shows the dark side of, “mastering your own destiny.” After finding himself cast adrift, feeling he has no purpose in this new, faster world, he takes matters into his own hands by ending his own life. It’s a black mirror, opposite reflection of Andy’s fate, as he wanted to be set free, yet was denied; he had plans and a grasp on life on the outside, whereas Brookes has all of his authority, friendships, purpose, even his pet bird taken from him and has nothing left to live for. That’s why the anticipation builds, when we see Red go through the same stages as Brookes, in the same Halfway House, doing the same job, and failing to fully adjust, still asking for permission to go to the washroom. We worry that he may give up too. This ads to the catharsis of the ending, but also stresses the premise of the story. I see his final interview with the parole board a little differently to you. I think by then, rather than, “taking a chance,” on honesty, Red has already become the master of his own fate. He does not expect to be released, regardless of anything he says, so he simply says what’s on his mind. He answers their questions with complete honesty, not to, “persuade,” the board, but simply to speak his heart and illustrate the absurdity he sees of asking a much older man if he even recognises the boy who committed an awful offence, under extraordinary circumstances. To him, it makes no difference what he says, so he offers them a little wisdom, a lot of cynicism and an eloquent extemporaneous soliloquy on the transforming effects of time on the human spirit. Made even more eloquent, when we, the audience, compare his words with the two rehearsed speeches from his previous, “rejection hearings,” as he and Andy refer to them. Red is already master of his own fate and will not compromise the truth as he sees it, even for the sake of his being set free. All this to say that each subplot, all the characters and every event builds up to this crescendo, illustrating the depth and meaning of the story’s premise, to which is added our palpable relief that Red didn’t hang himself, after scoring his name next to Brookes’s on the wooden beam above his bed. When we see Red find that box, under the tree where Andy said it would be, our relief (for the first time viewer) is real. Then the catharsis of seeing him being rewarded for continuing to be the master of his own fate moves many of us to tears. It is the script writers, who’s artistic efforts transformed Stephen King’s very different novella, who deserve as much credit as the director and performers for such a great movie. They found the soul within the premise and put it at the centre of the story by developing the themes through every character and all of their backstories. Despite our mild disagreement, however, I enjoyed your essay profoundly. Over a coffee, or some, “cold suds,” I’m sure we would discuss these differences with great appreciation for one another’s insights, and a mutual understanding that we both obviously admire the craft of story telling. You certainly made me think deeply about a movie I haven’t seen in years. Thank you again.
Very generous. Your narration over the excerpts is outstanding. Any chance you have a transcript of that that you could share? If so, please let me know. Again, great vid.
What you don't get is that we are eternal so no matter what anyone or "the system" does to us is meaningless. The body dies but we go on, to learn, to help, to love.
actually, what you define as "premise" actually seems like the main theme. for me, a premise is just the primary hook. the elevator pitch. not even the logline but the main "selling IDEA". for shawshank, it would be something like "how a person accused of double murder deals with new life in prison". for something like star wars, it would be "sci fi space opera where a band of rebels fight an evil empire".
There seems to be an ongoing debate about what exactly a premise is. We're basing it off the definition established by Lajos Egri in his book The Art of Dramatic Writing. He defines it as "the underlying /core idea of your story-the foundation that supports your entire plot". Not suggesting he is the end-all authority on the subject just that his definition works for us and makes sense.
Who cares what the definition of the word he uses is. The point of the video is what you should be attempting to take from it. It’s not here to be dissected. Have you don’t anything of substance ? No. That’s why.
Good info, but presentation at beginning would have been better with plain text. At first I thought something was wrong with the video rendering, e.g., at 2:00. Also, at 2:49, be mindful that flickering images can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy. I watched Shawshank Redemption many years ago and honestly forgot almost everything about the story, except for the actors Freeman and Robbins being the main characters.
The “Masters of our own destiny” idea is a powerful idea. But if we are soulless animals and free-will is an illusion, then Its all a luck of the draw. Thankfully thats not the case. Thankfully we are made in the image of God. We can follow his calling and exercise our tiny spec of “will” in a beautiful way if we choose.
This is a great video but I think you are confusing premise and theme. What you are talking about is theme... premise is the foundational idea of the plot (closer to the logline) even the word means pre-send from Latin. It's the subject of the actual story not the meaning that comes out of it.
I absolutely love everything about this video. Excellent job on selecting the right movie and explaining the PREMISE so clearly. A serious thumbs up on this one. Thanks so much!!!
Check out www.storyprism.io for help creating the premise for your next story.
Thank you for this link
AI writing tool??? I'm quite disappointed right now :D
Your pricing is impossible to find without creating an account. That's a big red flag, at least for me.
As a 74 yo aspiring writer, this could help me write my somewhat unusual life story.
good for you keep going
i am 75 and doing just the sa.e as you
good luck and best wishes
Keep writing, I can’t wait to see it
Do tell….?
@@stagename2 my creative writing course was taken many decades ago. I didn’t recall the use of a premise for enhancing the narrative. The portion of my story that I am concentrating on is the present. I have a career in analytical chemistry and am focused on creating a new energy source.
I had a lucid dream on a “Lightning in a bottle” devise that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. Having preformed 10k’s of experiments, developed patterns and solved numerous problems. I asked while dreaming, “ What is the crux of this experiment?”. I knew that there is always a part of a new experiment that you must solve before it becomes a reality. A voice told me the element, “bismuth”. I said another element, as it was a strong oxidizer. Then a pink neon sign lite up.
I bought text books on quantum physics, solid state chemistry, and several other subjects to gain insight on more dreams I kept having. Over the last 20+ years I have gained insight into what the importance of “Bismuth” is. I came across a Nobel Prize in Physics on ‘Negative Refractive Indexed Meta Materials’. These materials will increase the electromagnetic energy when refracted through these materials. The meta material containing bismuth manmade(synthetic) bismuth ferrite oxide or Bi3Fe3O. This material is an insulator and has the colloidal resonance necessary for splitting micro water droplets seeded with these Bismuth Ferrites. This devise is extremely complex and documenting all the Google Scholar periodicals open sources and other articles are overwhelmingly exhausting.
The final form of energy will be a ‘water plasma’ much like lighting. Before that happens need to convince someone to edit, coordinate and evaluate the viability of this. If that happens then I can dedicate more effort on my creative writing.
@@gene4094holy shit . This is remarkable
Yeah exactly. I've been unable to write this story idea I've had for six years because I knew that no matter what cool ideas I put into it, it lacked PREMISE. Argument. A point.
Thank you for this. This is incredible
this channel is severely underrated
Your definition for premise is actually the one for theme and your definition for theme defines a topic that a story derives its theme from. A premise is actually the externalization of the theme in context of the story that displays the theme through the events of the protagonist's story. For example for John Wick the topic could be grief, the theme could be, "ignoring your trauma will only cause more pain until the very end" and the premise is John, a retired hitman, goes after the mob after the boss's son kills the last gift from his deceased wife but it only leads to more deaths on both sides.
So a lot of people define it differently. We define it based on the definition coined by Lajos Egri in The Art of Dramatic Writing. John Truby also defines the premise this way. To each their own but we find this way the most helpful when writing.
Maybe "thematic premise" might be a more fitting word since we're talking main theme.
@@lazedreamor2318 I agree. Premise as it is explained here I've always considered to be theme.
Egri, Maass, Truby, Bell, Weiland, etc. Different takes. But I like your way of looking at it. Sometimes there is a nuanced difference in definition depending on screenwriting or novel writing.
It always blows my mind when I find a great video like this and the numbers just don't match up to the quality of content! This was 8/8 thank you
Awesome. Thankfully, my premise is the strongest part of my book idea. Appreciate the details of how to run with that.
This was amaizing. Thank you!
Quality video 💪🏾
Very very good.
thanks. helped me a lot
Shawshank has a really marvelous foreshadowing when Red calls Andy's hope "shitty pipe dreams". While I agree that Red is changed by Andy over the story and by the end he is sincere with the parole board, I always took the speech to be partly a reaction to his disillusion in missing Andy. It's obviously played to be ironic that his absolute disinterest in the outcome is the time that he actually gets what he's craved for years, and I'm pretty sure it's the third time (like the rule of 3). And at the same time there is a tragedy in his speech that he is now too old to be a danger, but for the audience the uplifting sense of justice that he gets to see life outside prison. And at point the audience is begging for a reunion. I think the bigger pay off is that it's Andy's mindset that saves Red from the same fate as Brooks, where he has the courage to go looking for the tree that Andy mentioned.
Great video, explains premise clearly. Video is informative and well paced to keep it interesting. Congrats!
That was a fascinating exploration of the idea of a Premise. Thank you. It got me thinking. It might have been worth mentioning the character of Brookes, who’s narrative also explores the same themes, but shows the dark side of, “mastering your own destiny.” After finding himself cast adrift, feeling he has no purpose in this new, faster world, he takes matters into his own hands by ending his own life. It’s a black mirror, opposite reflection of Andy’s fate, as he wanted to be set free, yet was denied; he had plans and a grasp on life on the outside, whereas Brookes has all of his authority, friendships, purpose, even his pet bird taken from him and has nothing left to live for.
That’s why the anticipation builds, when we see Red go through the same stages as Brookes, in the same Halfway House, doing the same job, and failing to fully adjust, still asking for permission to go to the washroom. We worry that he may give up too.
This ads to the catharsis of the ending, but also stresses the premise of the story. I see his final interview with the parole board a little differently to you. I think by then, rather than, “taking a chance,” on honesty, Red has already become the master of his own fate. He does not expect to be released, regardless of anything he says, so he simply says what’s on his mind. He answers their questions with complete honesty, not to, “persuade,” the board, but simply to speak his heart and illustrate the absurdity he sees of asking a much older man if he even recognises the boy who committed an awful offence, under extraordinary circumstances. To him, it makes no difference what he says, so he offers them a little wisdom, a lot of cynicism and an eloquent extemporaneous soliloquy on the transforming effects of time on the human spirit. Made even more eloquent, when we, the audience, compare his words with the two rehearsed speeches from his previous, “rejection hearings,” as he and Andy refer to them. Red is already master of his own fate and will not compromise the truth as he sees it, even for the sake of his being set free.
All this to say that each subplot, all the characters and every event builds up to this crescendo, illustrating the depth and meaning of the story’s premise, to which is added our palpable relief that Red didn’t hang himself, after scoring his name next to Brookes’s on the wooden beam above his bed.
When we see Red find that box, under the tree where Andy said it would be, our relief (for the first time viewer) is real. Then the catharsis of seeing him being rewarded for continuing to be the master of his own fate moves many of us to tears.
It is the script writers, who’s artistic efforts transformed Stephen King’s very different novella, who deserve as much credit as the director and performers for such a great movie. They found the soul within the premise and put it at the centre of the story by developing the themes through every character and all of their backstories.
Despite our mild disagreement, however, I enjoyed your essay profoundly. Over a coffee, or some, “cold suds,” I’m sure we would discuss these differences with great appreciation for one another’s insights, and a mutual understanding that we both obviously admire the craft of story telling. You certainly made me think deeply about a movie I haven’t seen in years. Thank you again.
Wonderful video! Thank you for making this
Amazing Video! The best-ever about the premise definition. Your voice and tone of speech are impressive. Please, keep coming.
Great info!
I must admit, I didn't think much of Andy DuFreine, first time I laid eyes on him 🤣😅 Classic 🥰
Awesome video; great thought.
i hope you will make it big man, your content is great!
Very generous. Your narration over the excerpts is outstanding. Any chance you have a transcript of that that you could share? If so, please let me know. Again, great vid.
Sure thing - here a link to view the transcript: docs.google.com/document/d/1Ff0fY9xjkPoHQ6tU-edx8Y6U_sKM6gI0iNBeaUSqALw/edit?usp=sharing
@@storyprism More generosity! Thanks. Great voice (writing-wise).
What you don't get is that we are eternal so no matter what anyone or "the system" does to us is meaningless. The body dies but we go on, to learn, to help, to love.
Nice try at wishful thinking, but no. All too soon comes the line, The End.
@@BooksForever You'll see
@@andrewlevas6600 - wishful thinking will lead you on wild goose chases after false prophets. But hey, it’s your life… waste it as you choose to.
Cool Video
actually, what you define as "premise" actually seems like the main theme. for me, a premise is just the primary hook. the elevator pitch. not even the logline but the main "selling IDEA".
for shawshank, it would be something like "how a person accused of double murder deals with new life in prison".
for something like star wars, it would be "sci fi space opera where a band of rebels fight an evil empire".
There seems to be an ongoing debate about what exactly a premise is. We're basing it off the definition established by Lajos Egri in his book The Art of Dramatic Writing. He defines it as "the underlying /core idea of your story-the foundation that supports your entire plot". Not suggesting he is the end-all authority on the subject just that his definition works for us and makes sense.
Who cares what the definition of the word he uses is. The point of the video is what you should be attempting to take from it. It’s not here to be dissected. Have you don’t anything of substance ? No. That’s why.
So what Is a premise?
Good info, but presentation at beginning would have been better with plain text. At first I thought something was wrong with the video rendering, e.g., at 2:00. Also, at 2:49, be mindful that flickering images can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy.
I watched Shawshank Redemption many years ago and honestly forgot almost everything about the story, except for the actors Freeman and Robbins being the main characters.
Thanks for the feedback! We will take note of this for future videos.
The “Masters of our own destiny” idea is a powerful idea. But if we are soulless animals and free-will is an illusion, then Its all a luck of the draw. Thankfully thats not the case. Thankfully we are made in the image of God. We can follow his calling and exercise our tiny spec of “will” in a beautiful way if we choose.
Premise, I think = the meat in the sandwich.
This is a great video but I think you are confusing premise and theme. What you are talking about is theme... premise is the foundational idea of the plot (closer to the logline) even the word means pre-send from Latin. It's the subject of the actual story not the meaning that comes out of it.
"It's literally the secret sauce to good writing." LOL
I absolutely love everything about this video. Excellent job on selecting the right movie and explaining the PREMISE so clearly. A serious thumbs up on this one. Thanks so much!!!