You can reverse the order of the last two steps: writing the screenplay and story boarding — some artists prefer to use a storyboard approach first, laying out the story as a series of sketches, and only then turning it into a screenplay. That’s how I saw THE LION KING being created. It’s also possible to do these processes in tandem, creating a visual storyboard at the same time as the treatment and screenplay are being written.

I had a good experience with screenplay first, storyboard after when I created my Japanese-style manga Ravenskull, inspired by Ivanhoe and the legends of King Richard and Robin Hood. I first wrote a rough treatment and a detailed memo on the background of the story — filled with jpeg images of knights, armor, castles, and movies that inspired me. My talented artist colleague Elmer Damaso, working far away in the Philippines, almost instantly translated these into concept art and character sketches. Then I wrote the script for the comic book story, using classic Hollywood screenplay format. As soon as Elmer received my scenes by email, he would start drawing out the panels, creating a stunning visual version of my written concepts within days. This was a case where the story was rather complex and it needed to be written out first. Of course I was trying to think visually as I wrote the script and Elmer and I formed a very strong team, as he seemed to know exactly what was in my mind.

I’m working on automating these steps at http://www.YouScreenWriter.com, via an online mobile studio toolkit, in collaboration with Stuart Voytilla and his “Myth and the Movies” book, which extends your “Writer’s Journey.”

Question: how do you recommend the next steps in the workflow, once you’ve tailored down the 12 steps to a leaner 4 step mobisode story outline, into a shooting script, storyboards, and actual digital footage?

What happened to these old fashioned musicals? How can we start writing and producing these again? Is it possible to trigger those emotions in the Millenial audience?
Or, are we just a severely endangered species, writing for the new generation numbed by violent sexual rollercoaster flicks?

I am not a writer as such but an educator with a particular interest in instructional design and educational technology.
It is at the junction of these disciplines that I feel your work has so much relevance for me. In the field of Ed Tech there is a lot of discussion about how digital technologies facilitate the co-construction of digital narratives, of stories, and how these are ‘sticky’ in terms of learning. The work seems to fall into two fields, those interested in the tools (or technology) and those interested in the pedagogy. Both have their value, but I wonder about the actual stories themselves. If we could make learning as engaging as a blockbuster movie or great novel, how much deeper learning could we achieve? There is plenty of literature on the importance of engagement – but how to achieve that?
It strikes me as I read through your book (I am only at Chapter 7 now – but still felt inclined to write) that I should start to apply these same rules to learning materials and objects. For example, how many text books go on and on, even after the ‘scene’ has finished? (Most!).
I just referred to your book in a comment on a fairly well known ed tech blog (http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2011/11/thousand-conversations.html).

Thanks again. I feel I am onto something here and if you know of any work in the same area I would be happy to hear from you.

I’m happy to hear that you had an intensive course for Korean movie industry people. I’m the translator of your book into Korean. I really hope to see you next time in Korea. Also, I can’t wait to read your new book ‘Memo from the Story Department.’ I love the title, especially the subtitle, ‘Secrets of Structure and Character.’ If possible, I’d like to translate and share it with Korean.

Thanks, Choon
(My full name is Choon Sung Ham.)

excelent post, keep it coming…

Warmest regards always.