There are few organizations in the world that can claim more expertise when it comes to storytelling than Pixar. The Disney-owned animation studio is known for its ability to consistently create…
Pixar has released lessons on the technical sides of movie making before, but these lessons are an emphasis on storytelling itself. This reminds me of The 22 rules of storytelling, according to Pixar written by a storyboard artist for Pixar. Some great insight into what makes a great story.
#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.
I’m guilty of this… A lot.
#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
I wish more of Hollywood would follow this rule.
#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
Both of these are a nicer way of paraphrasing Kurt Vonnegut, “Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them — in order that the reader may see what they are made of.”
If you’re looking for Classroom Management Tips here are six things for Teachers New to BYOD or 1:1 to think about this school year! Source: New to BYOD or 1:1? 6 Classroom Management Tips for Teachers – Class Tech Tips Five out of the tips are good, but I disagree with spying on the student’s…
Economists expect that millions of American jobs are going to be replaced by automation in the coming decades. But where will those job losses take place? Which areas will be hardest hit? Much of the focus regarding automation has been on the Rust Belt. There, many workers have been replaced by machines, and the number…
There’s new evidence that excessive screen time early in life can change the circuits in a growing brain. Scientists disagree, though, about whether those changes are helpful, or just cause problems. Both views emerged during the Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego this week. Source: TV And Videogames Rewire Young Brains, For Better And Worse…
To learn new things, we must sometimes fail. But what’s the right amount of failure? New research led by the University of Arizona proposes a mathematical answer to that question. Educators and educational scholars have long recognized that there is something of a “sweet spot” when it comes to learning. That is, we learn best…
The article is based on a book co-authored by Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans. In Hello Stay Interviews, Goodbye Talent Loss, the authors suggested that interviewing “star employees” on a regular basis can help companies identify and then work to resolve issues that are standing in the way of success for these employees. The article also suggests some questions that might be part…
Scientists at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management have established a causal relationship between failure and future success, proving German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s adage that “what does not kill me makes me stronger.” Source: Science demonstrates that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger: Researchers find that early-career failure promotes future professional success — ScienceDaily…
