Could Validation Board Lead to Better Screen Stories?
I’m currently working on a paper called “Script Development 2.0: Theorizing the Lean Screenplay” that I’ll present at the 2013 Screenwriting Research Network International Conference in August. I’m specifically looking for ways to apply the principles found in Lean Software Development by Mary and Tom Poppendieck and The Lean Startup by Eric Ries to the scripting of new screen stories, especially for independent microbudget features. The basic gist of my aim is to find a way to eliminate waste and amplify learning in the feature development process, to help entrepreneurial filmmakers identify their audience and leverage the long tail early in their project conceptualization.
Today I stumbled upon the Validation Board from Lean Startup Machine, a simple project development board that uses post-it notes to organize hypothesis-driven entrepreneurship. What I like about this board is how familiar it feels. The process it uses to validate a startup hypothesis is pretty similar to that frequently used to break a story in television (though the former is admittedly more scientific than the latter). Could the Validation Board be used to effectively develop screen stories?
Lean Startup Machine thinks it could be (see tweet above), but doing so would require screenwriters to rethink their conception of the audience and the purpose of their writing. Conventional entrepreneurs seek to develop products that solve a problem for their customers. Artists and entertainers don’t often think of their works as “solving a problem,” at least not an easily articulated one, but maybe they should?
Andrew
Andrew Kenneth Gay is an independent filmmaker and visiting instructor of film at the University of Central Florida, where he has taught Script Analysis for several years, along with such classes as Foundations of Story, Writing for Film & Television, Screenplay Development, and Adaptation. He has also taught screenwriting with the New York Film Academy. He is an accomplished writer/director, having won awards for two of his short films, and is currently completing post-production work on his first feature film, A BEAUTIFUL BELLY. He has an MFA in Film & Digital Media, a BFA in Film Production, and a BA in English Lit and Philosophy/Religion.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.screenplayology.com/2013/02/05/could-validation-board-lead-to-better-screen-stories/
Feb 05
Could Validation Board Lead to Better Screen Stories?
5 February 2013
I’m currently working on a paper called “Script Development 2.0: Theorizing the Lean Screenplay” that I’ll present at the 2013 Screenwriting Research Network International Conference in August. I’m specifically looking for ways to apply the principles found in Lean Software Development by Mary and Tom Poppendieck and The Lean Startup by Eric Ries to the scripting of new screen stories, especially for independent microbudget features. The basic gist of my aim is to find a way to eliminate waste and amplify learning in the feature development process, to help entrepreneurial filmmakers identify their audience and leverage the long tail early in their project conceptualization.
Today I stumbled upon the Validation Board from Lean Startup Machine, a simple project development board that uses post-it notes to organize hypothesis-driven entrepreneurship. What I like about this board is how familiar it feels. The process it uses to validate a startup hypothesis is pretty similar to that frequently used to break a story in television (though the former is admittedly more scientific than the latter). Could the Validation Board be used to effectively develop screen stories?
Lean Startup Machine thinks it could be (see tweet above), but doing so would require screenwriters to rethink their conception of the audience and the purpose of their writing. Conventional entrepreneurs seek to develop products that solve a problem for their customers. Artists and entertainers don’t often think of their works as “solving a problem,” at least not an easily articulated one, but maybe they should?