Beyond Structure: D.S. Freeman? Worth it???

[pooh72]

Was wondering if it was worth the effort and money to go? Any feedback?

[Paula413]

I thought it was an excellent seminar when I attended one a couple of years ago.

[CharlesScalfani]

I went last year and found that David Freeman is a very analytical. So if you like that sort of stuff as I do, then it might be worth it.

Two caveats. One: He talked too much about interactive scripts for my taste. I got the sense that he was getting tired of movies and felt interactive storytelling is an area that “he” was interested. He also had a large contingent from an interactive company there. So he may have felt the need to cater to them.

Two: The character model that he presented was half-baked and flawed (in all fairness, he mentioned that it was a work in progress). Modeling problems is what I do for a living (and to pay for my fantasy of becoming a writer ;-). With over 20 years of experience designing software systems under my belt, I could see problems with his model and how to fix it. In fact, had I not gone to his seminar, I would have never developed my own model. But unfortunately for many others, I think that portion of the seminar was very confusing.

Overall I am glad I went. Would I go again as many people have? No. Been there done that.

[adm612]

I've answered this question on the boards before, but to repeat: I didn't care for David personally. Annoying, unprepared at times, wasted a lot of times going off on tangents.

But there was a lot of good stuff that he presented... and a lot of it made me think about ways to make my writing better.

I don't think I'd say it's worth it to fly in, as some people did, but if you live near NY or LA, I'd definitely say it's worth $350.

[hscope]

David Freeman is giving a 'Masterclass' in Sydney on 'How to create dimensional characters' on Monday Feb 9 at 7.30pm at the Valhalla Cinema, 166 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe. It's A$25, tickets only on sale at the cinema from 6.30pm on the night.

Sounds like good value.

[Priestess2001]

Attended his class in Sydney - thought it was excellent. I disagree with others' assessment of his character. He is amazing communicator, often getting down on his knees to talk to us from the stage. His firmly plugged into the energy of the room and knew how to handle us. Not a trace of Hollywood arrogance, though I thought he could use it if he needed to. His focus was entirely on screenwriting so perhaps he veered onto the computer games aspect because of his audience.

He basically taught the character diamond, illustrating it with film clips. That's all he really had time for but already that has helped my writing. He's coming back in July to do the full seminar and I shall definitely be attending. I thought he was very much on the side of the writer, even giving us his telephone no. in the States if we needed any clarification on his teaching.

All I can say is that if you get the chance, go. It's not for beginners as I think a lot of the stuff would just drown the beginner. He offers solutions to problems that writers have, and techniques to get the best from your story. I can see why he hasn't written a book. I've read a lot of his articles, but somehow he communicates it in a way that stays in your brain and would be lost in dry text.