Save the Cat!® Podcast: The Power of Value-Added Tension
Jose Silerio
1 min read
Does your script have VAT? Master Cat! Jose Silerio and Guy Thompson compare Die Hard and Olympus Has Fallen, demonstrating how the “Value-Added Tension” of the former helps keep the audience engaged in the story. Can you add this element to your script, effectively raising the stakes for your hero? Hear, here!
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Jose Silerio
José Silerio, a screenwriter who served as Blake Snyder’s Development Director, has been integral to the success of Blake’s workshops and classes as he worked alongside Blake schooling writers in the Cat! method. “José is my right-hand man when it comes to script consultations.”– Blake Snyder, Save the Cat!® Strikes Back – More Trouble for Writers to Get Into… and Out Of.
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6 Comments
tremendous points made… this is a must listen!!! Thank you!
I enjoyed listening! Applying this would help to solidify a secondary characters story arc. Tension could then be built through juxtaposition to keep the audience engaged. It’s like when a gun appears in the 1st act of a play & everyone knows it will be back in the 3rd act, but instead of a gun it’s an existential purpose for a characters existence. That’s a nice way to give the audience an extra little treat; no time to stop and eat popcorn!
I am currently working on a script; which I hope will turn out to be ‘an edge of your seat – no time for popcorn’ thriller, here in Nollywood.
Listening to this has helped point me in the right direction.
Thanks you!
This was very interesting. I’m late in Part Three of my WIP, and had not planned something like Value Added Tension. When I get to the Revisions, I will see if I can put this in.
Thank you,
Lisa
Can’t download the podcasts. Could you advise? Thank you.
Andrea. Sorry, I just saw this. We were having a problem with iTunes, but the podcasts should be working there now: