A work-in-progress presentation connecting Robert McKee's 10 Commandments of Screenwriting (copyright Robert McKee) to Brand Strategy.

1. McKEE’S TEN COMMANDMENTS
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2. 1. THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE CRISIS OR
CLIMAX OUT OF THE PROTAGONIST’S HANDS
(OR, NO ‘DEUS EX MACHINA’ ENDINGS).

3. 1. Deus Ex Machina = NO
FOR SCREENWRITING: If the world’s about to end,
let it. No “And then I woke up.”
FOR PLANNING: Your PRODUCT is your
protagonist, and IT must be responsible for any
benefit/conflict you’re inciting. Don’t pull
something completely foreign or disparate out of
thin air.

4. 2. THOU SHALT NOT MAKE LIFE EASY
FOR THE PROTAGONIST (OR, NOTHING
PROGRESSES EXCEPT THROUGH CONFLICT).

5. 2. Conflict makes the world go ‘round.
FOR SCREENWRITING: Your hero has to overcome
hardship, and if it’s going to be interesting to
your audience, it can’t be easy.
FOR PLANNING: Easy is a cop out. Yes, you can
check a box, but without some conflict, your
content’s not going to resonate.

6. 3. THOU SHALT NOT USE FALSE MYSTERY
OR SURPRISE.

7. 3. Keep it real.
FOR SCREENWRITING: Your payoff has to be a real
PAYOFF.
FOR PLANNING: Know your target well enough to
know what’s going to resonate. If it’s something
that’s NOT, don’t do it.

8. 4. THOU SHALT RESPECT THINE AUDIENCE.

9. 4. R-E-S-P-E-C-T
FOR SCREENWRITING: Your audience isn’t dumb.
Don’t treat them like they are.
FOR PLANNING: Know exactly who your target is,
and learn to love them (or at least appreciate
them).

10. 5. THOU SHALT HAVE A GOD-LIKE
KNOWLEDGE OF YOUR UNIVERSE.

11. 5. Be the master of your domain.
FOR SCREENWRITING: It’s about knowing 1. the
fictional realm you’re creating as well as your
hometown and 2. understanding your audience’s
reality outside of a darkened movie theater.
FOR PLANNING: It’s all in the details. Do your
research and know the minutia of your target’s
existence.

12. 6. THOU SHALT USE COMPLEXITY RATHER
THAN COMPLICATION.

13. 6. Why’d you have to go and make things so complicated?
FOR SCREENWRITING: Just because a lot’s going
on doesn’t mean your story’s compelling. There’s
more to it than simple action.
FOR PLANNING: Live and die by your key idea. A
strong one can be the difference between
complex and complicated.

14. 7. THOU SHALT TAKE YOUR CHARACTERS
TO THE END OF THE LINE.

15. 7. FIN
FOR SCREENWRITING: The story isn’t over until
your hero has faced the gravest challenge
possible (within the realm of your story) and a
final, IRREVOCABLE conclusion has been reached.
FOR PLANNING: Complete the circle across all
touchpoints. Don’t leave questions unanswered.

16. 8. THOU SHALT NOT WRITE
ON-THE-NOSE DIALOGUE.

17. 8. Cornball cliches need not apply.
FOR SCREENWRITING: Show it, don’t say it.
FOR PLANNING: Show it, don’t say it.

18. 9. THOU SHALT DRAMATIZE THINE EXPOSITION.

19. 9. Start with a bang.
FOR SCREENWRITING: Start big and immediately.
Your inciting incident should be, ideally, on the
first page of your script, but can be no later than
the third. If you haven’t figured out a way to grab
‘em by then, you’re screwed.
FOR PLANNING: Make your mark at the start.

20. 10. THOU SHALT REWRITE.

21. 10. Writing is rewriting.
FOR SCREENWRITING: If your first draft’s the
same as what you see on screen, you’re doing it
wrong (or you are possibly in an alternate
universe because that has never, ever happened
in the entire history of cinema).
FOR PLANNING: Let your idea sit, and come back
to it. Collaborate, get feedback. Tweak.