From the course: Storytelling for Business Video
Join today to access over 22,600 courses taught by industry experts or purchase this course individually.
Chekhov's gun
- I want to spotlight a simple principle conceived by a literary master, that affects every type of narrative prose, including yours. Anton Chekhov said it and it's generally called Chekhov's gun. It goes like this, "Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. "If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle "hanging on a wall, in the second or third chapter "it absolutely must go off. "If it's not going to be fired, "it shouldn't be hanging there." By all rights, I should have quoted Chekhov in one of my movies about story because it describes a key difference between reality and drama. But Chekhov's gun also serves as a wonderful tool as you begin to write your script. As we wander through the world, we write our own story of the day, part calendar, part happenstance. Along the way we pass countless things, people and places, that we unconsciously choose to reject from our personal story. I see the stoplight at the intersection, but I ignore the store across the…
Practice while you learn with exercise files
Download the files the instructor uses to teach the course. Follow along and learn by watching, listening and practicing.
Download courses and learn on the go
Watch courses on your mobile device without an internet connection. Download courses using your iOS or Android LinkedIn Learning app.