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video beginner ? Craft

Practical Screenwriting

YouTube Video Essays on Craft
Tyler Mowery ·2018 ·15min Watch / Read Source
“Screenwriting craft becomes clear when you see it working in films you love — visual analysis makes abstract principles concrete.”
Accessible video essays breaking down screenwriting craft through film analysis — theme, character arcs, dialogue technique, and story structure explained through specific movie examples.
15-minute video essays analyzing craft principles through film examples. Visual, accessible, and immediately applicable.
Won't help with: advanced theory, deep structural philosophy, industry business, or writing process/psychology. Fundamentals, not frontiers.
Topics structurethemecharacterdialogue
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How It Teaches

Encoding fingerprint and cognitive approach

Theory
Examples ›
Heavily example-driven. Every craft concept illustrated through specific film analysis. Visual medium makes examples visceral.
Mechanism
Heuristic ›
Balanced. Explains WHY craft choices work while providing memorable frameworks. Visual presentation aids retention.
Diagnostic
Prescriptive ›
Balanced. Analytical when breaking down films; instructional when summarizing takeaways.
Global
Local ›
Balanced. Theme and arc at whole-story level; dialogue and scene craft at local level.
Cognitive Mode
Te + Si
Teaches through clear, organized external presentation (Te) grounded in established screenwriting principles (Si). Mowery distills proven craft concepts into accessible video essay format, making complex ideas digestible without oversimplifying.
The Te+Si combination means the videos teach through clear presentation of established principles. Not groundbreaking theory but accessible, reliable craft education that beginners can immediately apply.

What It Teaches

Central thesis and key premises

Screenwriting craft becomes clear when you see it operating in films you already love. Video essay analysis makes abstract principles concrete and memorable by attaching them to specific movie moments.
Teaching Modality
Video Essayist
Approach
15-20 minute video essays analyzing specific craft principles through film examples. Clear visual presentation with on-screen text and clips. Each video focuses on one craft concept and demonstrates it through 2-3 film analyses.
Structure
Visual Craft Analysis
Craft principles demonstrated through specific film clips and visual breakdowns. Abstract concepts become concrete when you see them operating in movies you know.
Theme
Theme as Structural Principle
Theme isn't a message stapled to the story — it's the structural principle that determines what happens and why. Video essays show theme operating as architecture, not decoration.
Character
Character Arc Mechanics
How characters change — the specific mechanisms of flaw, want, need, and transformation — explained through detailed film analysis.
Character
Dialogue Craft Techniques
Practical dialogue techniques — subtext, voice differentiation, exposition management — demonstrated through specific scene analysis.

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