Why Screenwriters Need To Know Math - Logan Burdick

Logan Burdick is a writer/director who has spent his professional life immersed in the digital media landscape (as a creator, producer, and production/development executive), and seeks to infuse the style, culture, and stories of that world into traditional storytelling. Logan's latest script IT TAKES THREE is a modern influencer twist on a Cyrano de Bergerac story when the coolest guy in school discovers that the new girl sees through his popularity and good looks, he enlists the class nerd to take over his social media accounts to add substance to his style.

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#writing #screenwriting #film

[patrickfreeman]

Sounds like what Dov Simens said. All you need is 5 "Oh no's", 5 "Oh shits" and 2 "Oh my Gods"

[eric-g-]

I’m an engineer who does writing in my free time, and even I can agree that math has to be incorporated into screenwriting

[lenieagle]

Can we just agree that every writer is an individual and there is no "do this and all is good" in writing. Everyone has a different approach to writing and it will also heavily depend on the genre and the story itself. If only we could stop making videos that suggest that there is a right way to do it - because there isn´t. Sit down - be passionate - find your way - nail it!

[thankyouuniverses]

I love your videos 🤘🤘😍😍 you are my favourite YouTuber

[samphyllobates]

Plotter vs Pantser age old debate. The secret is: both works...maybe not for everybody and maybe not for every project. I find that outlining shows you the viability of the project and makes you understand your characters more.

[thumper]

Even though I can think of a thousand reasons why I wouldn't make a good screenwriter it is sweet to hear this. I want to hear more from this guy becasuse he sounds like he can answer questions I have in a language I understand. Thank you Film Courage and thank you Santa.

(Did this sound Aspie? I hope it sounded at least a little bit Aspie.)

[CedricAyres]

For a professional writer, he uses the word 'like' quite a lot!

[DFMoray]

Numbers are the purest of beings for they carry the voice of God.

[ArchiduquesaMA]

Im an engineer who writes in my free time and this is how my brain comes out with stories lol

[alexm]

Spinoza’s Ethics: Treatise on Emotions is a good way to view action and emotions in a math formula.

[-nsomniac]

There's no shortcut to creativity and no amount of clickbait videos will ever make you more creative. You just have to create and consume something new everyday until ideas come to you naturally.

[Chandler_Goodrich]

He said the word math once, sort of; he said mathematical, and not like the title suggests.

His methodology reminds me of Larry Brooks’ Story Physics. Six core competencies of storytelling, and six forces that drive them. None is more important than the other; they all work together. One of those is structure. How you use that structure is up to you. And if you don’t write with it in mind, that’s fine, just know that every edit brings you back into that structure that we recognize as a story anyway. Whether you find it in the drafting or in the outline, it doesn’t matter because the result is the same.

It is a principle, though, not a rule. A rule applies only one way in every situation unless you change it. A principle doesn’t change, but has many applications.

The math side of storytelling comes in when writing a certain moment in the story. You know what effect it is supposed to have, you know it’s supposed to be stronger than the last thing, but not as strong as the one toward the end. That’s literally as mathematical as storytelling gets.

If everything you set up pays off well, and the story is meaningful, you love the characters, beginning is strong and makes you curious to read on, the end satisfies, and it’s entertaining to those who read it, you’ve done the “math” correctly.

[albertabramson]

I love how she insists on investing in herself. Statistically, the $5500 in stock offers a much better rate of return than a low budget film, 70% of which lose money. Still, it built her rep as a film maker.

[TheFeelButton]

We all need math! Cheers Film Courage!!

[meg-k-waldren]

Me about to watch: 😮 "this I gotta see."

[thembelihlemasina]

what if there is no ‘big’ moment? is there beauty in that kind of writing too?

[Eye-Wandering]

bro i am the worst in math and i am writing my own short films😭

[wombathijs]

No one should ever take advice from him. Look at his body of work....pass

[WakeAndBakeWithUncleRay]

Math is the only universal language, as one plus one, shall always equal two, in all languages, as time shall reveal all, to all....

[davidanderson]

No. Stop it. Never. Math has no place in film or photography accept calculating day rates. ;)