Table Of ContentStorytelling for
Film and Television
Storytelling for Film and Television is a theory and practice book which offers
a defi nitive introduction to the art of storytelling through writing, directing,
and editing. Author Ken Dancyger provides a comprehensive explanation
of the tools that underpin successful narrative fi lmmaking and television
production.
The book takes a unique approach by connecting the different phases of
the creative process of fi lm and television production. It shows how writing,
directing, and editing all contribute to the process of storytelling and function
together to advance the narrative goals of a screenplay, to tell the best story. A
case study approach provides numerous examples of effectiveness and brings
together the core areas of aesthetics and production to make these concepts
more accessible. Case studies include classic and modern fi lms, foreign fi lms,
limited and series television, with examples including Breaking Bad, Game
of Thrones , The Revenant , and Son of Saul.
This is the ideal text for fi lm and television production students at all
levels. It is written in a style which makes it accessible to anybody interested
in learning more about the storytelling process and is written for a global
audience addressing a global industry.
Ken Dancyger is Professor of Film and Television at Tisch School of the Arts,
New York University. He teaches script and post-p roduction workshops
worldwide and is the author of seven books on screenwriting, editing, and
production including A lternative Scriptwriting, 5th edition with Jeff Rush;
The Technique of Film and Video Editing , 6th edition; Global Scriptwriting ;
and The Director’s Idea .
Storytelling for
Film and Television
From First Word to
Last Frame
Ken Dancyger
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group,
an informa business
© 2019 Ken Dancyger
The right of Ken Dancyger to be identifi ed as author of this
work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77
and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be
trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-0 -8 15- 37178- 6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0 -8 15- 37179- 3 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1 -3 51- 24598- 2 (ebk)
Typeset in TrumpMediaeval
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
It is with great pleasure that I dedicate
this book to my four grandchildren:
Joshua and Maya
Malka and Levi
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
SECTION I NARRATIVE
Chapter 1 Introduction 3
Chapter 2 The narrative tools 15
Chapter 3 The technical dimension 29
Chapter 4 The creative possibilities 37
Chapter 5 Three case studies of excellence 47
SECTION II DIRECTING
Chapter 6 The directing tools 57
Chapter 7 The technical dimension 74
Chapter 8 The creative possibilities 84
Chapter 9 Three case studies of excellence 95
SECTION III EDITING
Chapter 10 The editing tools 105
Chapter 11 The technical dimension 119
Chapter 12 The creative possibilities 130
Chapter 13 Three case studies of excellence 141
SECTION IV THE STORYTELLING EXPERIENCE
FROM BEGINNING TO END
Chapter 14 Elia Kazan’s Splendor in the Grass 151
Chapter 15 Sidney Lumet’s D aniel 159
Chapter 16 Laszlo Nemes’ S on of Saul 167
Chapter 17 Conclusion 176
Glossary 185
Index 194
Acknowledgments
At Taylor & Francis, I would like to thank Sheni Kruger for
commissioning this book with such enthusiasm and Sarah Pickles for her
help these past many months along the way to completion of this project.
The subject of storytelling has been for me a pre-o ccupation and obses-
sion for at least 30 years. I have written individually about screenwriting,
editing, and directing fi lms in my previous books, and my ideas have evolved
with each new edition of my screenwriting and editing books.
The idea of a book about all three areas, while it has been brewing for
some time, only came together for me during two international workshops
which I was conducting in 2017. I would like to thank Dr. Wenshing Ho
of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, where I taught these ideas in the Masters
of Cinema Workshop; and Manuel Jose Damasio, who invited me to do a
workshop for the graduate fi lm production students and faculty in Kino Eyes,
a program of three European universities – the University of Lusofona in
Portugal, Screen Academy Scotland, and Napier University – and the Baltic
Film and Media School in Tallinn, Estonia, which hosted the workshop. The
enthusiasm of the participants at these workshops about exploring how the
different phases of storytelling connect to one another inspired me to write
this book.
I’d also like to thank my wife, Ida Flint Dancyger, for her ongoing sup-
port and active involvement throughout the lengthy process from initial idea
for this project through the computer processing phases and up to the fi nal
manuscript.
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