The Science of Screenwriting

Paul Gulino, author of the best-selling Screenwriting: A Sequence Approach, and Connie Shears, a noted cognitive psychologist, build an understanding of the human perceptual/cognitive process, from the 'control panel' of the frontal lobes through to the lower part of the brain controlling vital functions. They then provide case studies of various films - such as Top Secret, Some Like it Hot, and Adam's Rib - discussing their narrative strategies and demonstrating how these strategies intersect with the science of human perception. This book also covers currently controversial issues like audience attention span in light of the emergence of new distribution forms (streaming video) and new narrative forms (ultra-short Vine videos to webisodes to full-season binge-watching).