Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling – Rule 22

Hey there!

You’ve no doubt heard me prattle on about storytelling, and how important it is to your VO career to develop and hone your storytelling skills.

It’s essential.

So, every so often, I like to roll out items from this list from Emma Coats, who used to work at Pixar as a story artist, and who serially tweeted Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling.

I’ve been sharing with you one per week for the last 22 weeks, along with how you can apply each rule to your VO artistry.

Today, the final rule. Rule 22…

What’s the essence of your story? The most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

Cutting to the quick in analyzing your scripts is at the heart of cold reading, and seeing the leverage points, the secret being revealed, the major plot point that’s advanced or any other big moment in your script is going to make you a better, stronger and more efficient and professional voice talent.

Don’t get mired in the details, but be aware of them. Don’t let the overall emphasis of the story be diminished by some clever language. Make sure you’re always moving the story forward, and doing so with the biggest strokes on the main story itself.

Size up your script quickly, make bold choices, and bring them out guns blazing. Make the main points the basis for all the rest.

David

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I hope you’ve gotten at least a few golden nuggets from this series, ideas that will help you craft better voice work, build better characters, and tell better stories.

Let me know how this has worked for you – in the comments below.