Succession's Reframes: Sometimes More is More
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ค. 2024
- Succession Season 3 is almost here!
In the meantime, let's talk about what makes Jesse Armstrong's delightful dramedy so damn fascinating - and we'll take a close look at an indispensable writing technique for adding clarity, depth, and texture to a story scene: the Reframe.
#succession #successionscene
Chapters
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0:00 Intro
2:29 Excess in Writing - Is Less Always More?
6:34 The Reframe Technique
11:21 Approaching the Unsayable
13:38 Adding Breadth
14:35 Adding Depth
18:15 Outro
Special thanks to G. Gordon Litty for permission to use the awesome Lo-Fi remix of the Succession Theme.
Follow at: / ggordonlitty
/ @g.gordonlitty4485
You can't make a Tomlette without breaking a few Gregs...
![โจทย์โหดเหมือนโกรธเป็ดถีบ [อะไรอยู่บนหัวกูวะ ... EP.4]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Dqlb7EZ9PGk/mqdefault.jpg)
This is what you get when you have well read intelligent minds with historical perspective and knowledge of today’s trends writing the script. There is just so much depth. You can watch the show multiple times and not find everything. I love it.
Agreed! That’s one high bar they’ve set for modern entertainment, and I hope there’s more than a few aspiring storytellers in Succession’s audience who feel up to the challenge. Thanks for the comment, Irene!
This is a phenomenal examination of one of the most interesting aspects of Succession's unique speech patterns. Glad youtube randomly reccomended this video, always looking for other video essayists.
Very happy you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for the encouraging words.
My favorite example “You have ingested too much cocaine, trying to do what you thought was saving Kendall in order to please Logan Roy, giving you a false job. You underestimated the strength of the narcotics and now you are about to become overstimulated since you are probably new to this.”
Summarized into: “BUCKLE UP FUCKLEHEAD!”
“Whoa, whoa. That’s a chunk of chang you got there, buddy.”
“It sure is, Greg.”
😆
now that you've explained it, I see this everywhere in the show and can see its merit. great work!
The Baader-Meinhoff phenomenon strikes again! I notice reframes now in other tv shows and films - though many instances of them are not so subtle as in Succession.
Thanks for checking out the video!
@@Scene-a-maticStorytelling Haha! Is your moniker a derivative of Spy Magazine's highly hilarious _____-O-Matic's flow chart 'splainers? Hollywood Script-O-Matic was my favorite. It made all those 90s movies LAMENESS so delicious 😋. Spy
The spawn of snark.
Ha! That almost makes me sound half-clever! :)
I can’t say I was thinking of Spy Magazine specifically, but the name is definitely a nod to earlier cartoons and any of those imaginative [blank]-o-Matic inventions in popular media. The spawn of snark sounds like a good enough selling point for me to track down some old issues. Thanks, Angie!
I love the way your video walks us through this technique - you're a great teacher! As a professional writer (not screen), and general lover of language, to me the dialogue in Succession is champagne for the brain. I'm often hitting the 15-sec rewind arrow every few minutes when watching this show, just to re-listen and savour the delicious cleverness of a line. Can't help myself! The writers are disciplined virtuosos, but are also riffing playful and complex jazz solos (sometimes taking them to a limit that's borderline insane!). I recommend people in the comments watch The Thick Of It, one of Jesse Armstrong's older creations, the dialogue is also this sharp and wicked. It's British-centric, but will keep you going until we get Season 4! :)
Thank you so much, Mia! Really appreciate it. I will definitely be looking into The Thick Of It. And I’m also probably going to steal that excellent metaphor :)
🎶 Champagne for the membrane!
I could listen to the opening theme forever omgomg Its so beautiful. Great video!! Gimme more succession content please!!
Haha, you got it!
I was nervous putting in even a fraction of the song might get the video copyright struck, so originally I made a (very poor) cover in GarageBand, but luckily in the last moments of editing, I got permission to use that awesome Lo-Fi cover, and no one had to hear my sub-par version :)
Never really noticed it before or maybe I just haven't been paying attention much but thanks for putting it out there, now i see it everywhere. Love watching videos like this, makes consuming content much more engaging :D
What a fantastic comment! That’s great to hear. Really appreciate the feedback :)
I stumbled upon this video while I was bored scrolling through TH-cam and I’m so glad I did! I had never seen succession prior to watching this video and now it’s my favorite show! Great video! Thanks for your work!
Thank you so much for this. Honestly can't express how valuable and informative this video has been. There are some core writing lessons in here delivered with clarity and fun. This is honestly one of the best video essays I've seen on TH-cam overall.
Amazing work; I'm subscribed and eager to see more!
Nice mention of half hour sitcom Veep. Succession show runner Jesse Armstrong was one of the main writers of the British sitcom that was spun into Veep
I did not know this! Just looked it up - The Thick of It. I’ll have to check this out very soon. Thanks for the recommendation!
@@Scene-a-maticStorytelling a thousand times better than veep
And currently available on Hulu it looks like. I’ll be watching this soon. Thanks, Lachlan!
this was very well-made and the illustrations you used really helped me to understand the various points! great work
Hey, thanks a bunch! Glad you enjoyed the format.
Connor Roy was interested in politics from a very young age.
WOW! What a great analysis! I think this is reason enough for another rewatch now...
That sounds like a fantastic idea! I need to watch again from the beginning now that Season 3 is finished. Thanks, Amelia!
Channel deserves wayyyy more subscribers 💯 this was such a good analysis!!
Thank you kindly! 😊 Happy to hear you enjoyed it.
This is the first show every where I have the intro included in my work playlist. I don't think I've even pressed the Skip Intro button yet.
Just discovered this channel, please don't stop your work. Amazing!!
Thanks, Diana! New video will be out this month.
I just started watching Succession. I'm still on episode 2.
I decided to come back to this video because to this day I was not able to wrap my head around this concept.
I have no idea how this video has such few views. Amazing work you put into it, everything is really well explained. And as like most videos I like to watch about my favorite media, it makes me appreciate even another aspect of the show. Succession is such a masterpiece.
Thanks, Laura! Succession is a true masterwork worth studying. I may have to do some more videos in the future using examples from the show, because there are so many great storytelling fundamentals at play.
The video may have low views for the time being, but we’ve all got to start somewhere! :) With extremely positive feedback like yours, I’m confident it’s on the right track.
Thanks for watching!
agreed. I got this recommended to me rn and see you commented 10 hrs ago... I hope thats evidence a blow up is about to occur haha regardless, awesome video, i'm thirsty for succession content
This is an excellent analysis. Even for the unfamiliar, reframing through multiple examples can give context to the conversation happening in the show and helps make the point clearer. Would love to see your take on other shows as well! Keep going!
You got it, Annie! Working hard on new content as we speak. Thanks for checking out the video.
Instead of overstaying your welcome with too much deviation from the main idea, you covered it from many angles to get your ideas across perfectly. You're a great teacher. Great video. Subbed.
This is awesome, thanks for doing it
Thank you, Franco! Glad you liked it.
Yes! Watching this show I realized how much I liked these different writing techniques but never knew the name of them until now! I always talk about how writing is one of my favorite things I look out for and enjoy from a show, yet can never explain the terms, they leave me feeling some kind of way and I know they’re something special. Thank you! Will see if you have one for Gossip Girl, haha
Thank you, Nidya! Glad to hear you’re enjoying the content. No Gossip Girl so far, haha! But I hope to cover a wide range of movies and tv shows in future videos depending on the writing topic, so maybe one day :)
Never been happier I clicked a TH-cam recommendation. Great video!
Augusto! This comment made my night. Thank you so much for watching!
What a great video (all around)! Subscribed.
Appreciate that, Jessica! :) Thanks for watching.
Thank you so much for an amazing analysis. As a teacher of literary analysis, myself, I’m impressed by your pedagogical approach!
Really really well-explained! Will definitely help my writing going forward
That’s great to hear! Thanks, John. Are you writing a screenplay or novel?
Wonderful video! Thank you for this
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for checking it out.
Actually quite well crafted. Do more on Succession.
Thank you! Definitely lots to discuss after that third season. If you have anything specific you want to see covered, let me know!
This is fantastic, thank you!!
Thanks for checking it out! Happy you enjoyed it.
Great work , plz we want more ❤️
Working on it! Thank you for watching.
Love this
Brilliant!
Really interesting - thanks!
Thanks for watching, Dan!
amazing video!
Thanks!
Great work.
Thanks, Vihari!
You started the vid with Connor :)))))
automatic like, automatic follow
Of course! He’s the eldest son. He must be considered! He must be taken into account! 😆
Thanks for watching.
Very good! So glad someone understands that Polonious says dumb sh*t.
Renaissance writers studied D'Coppia, which taught them how to say the same thing in many different ways, some rather elaborate and of many words. Cuz sometimes More Is More, baby! 🤭🤗🤭
Never heard of D’Coppia before! I’ll have to look it up. Sounds interesting.
Thanks for the awesome comment 🤘🏻
Wow I can't believe how many references I missed. This show is a masterpiece
Sounds like it’s time for a rewatch then :)
Thanks for checking out the video!
Great video 😍👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Thank you, Sara! 🙏🏻
Well done 👌
Thanks so much, Mira!
Truly an exception that proves the rule - more is more because it emphasizes the absurdity of how much fits into the roy's understanding of "more," and it only works bc it is used with remarkable precision.
I’ve been wondering why it seems every line has an analogy it. This is great thank you
Wow one of the best shows 👏🏿 👌 ❤ ❤❤❤🥂🍾
Impressed with the level of detail.
Thank you, Deniz! :)
@@Scene-a-maticStorytelling are you on twitter? I would like to tag you.
I’m not currently on there! (But I probably should be in order to help the channel.)
@@Scene-a-maticStorytelling good idea. Strong content. People will find you.
I will definitely remedy that soon! Appreciate your kind words.
gorgeous
great video man, never would have thought that knowing the basics of show writing would deepen my experience of this great work of art.
i love the show too but i think i have probably missed a thousand reframing references to popular works or real instances. if you want to, could you make a video exploring these references? especially season 3.
Thank you, Nikhil! I agree seeing how the magic trick is done with some writing techniques never detracts from my enjoyment of a work; it only enhances my appreciation of it. I’m definitely interested in using Succession again as a lens through which to explore more story principles - especially after that last season! I’ll keep this in mind going forward.
How do you only have 600 subscribers? I can’t wait to brag to internet strangers I knew about Scene-a-Matic before almost anyone
Haha, thank you, James! Full bragging rights… you were in on the ground floor!
I’m just here waiting for season 4
My only complaint with this video is the fact that it doesn’t have more views
Haha, well I appreciate your contributing to fixing that slight annoyance! Thanks, Benjamin.
Amazing video, surprised that you have so few subscribers, just gained another one with me though...
Sounds like I’m on the right track then! Thank you for checking out the video.
Makes me think of "You're Spam. You're vapor. A waste of perfectly good yearbook space"
💯%! Great catch.
(And good timing, too. I’m actually going through a lot of rom-coms this week, trying to understand the genre better. I hope to make a video on it in the future.)
Great video! Thanks for your effort. The references in Succession are Goldilocks. Not too much. Not too little. Unlike Billions who uses references like Michael Jordan playing golf. They got in over their head. They're like Sisyphus' fucking Boulder.
Thanks, Bridgette! I haven’t dived deep into Billions, though it looked like it had a good cast and all the makings for an engaging story. It might be interesting to do a case study to examine why that show never took off the way Succession did.
This is a wildly different example but throughout the video all I could think of was the line,
"You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know... morons"
where the initial phrase is reframed twice in ways that don't add anything, then one more time, much more dramatically, for comedic effect.
That’s a wildly great example!
There’s some rapid fire ones in the previous lines too. All to reframe unrealistic ways how the town might welcome Bart:
“What did you expect? Welcome, sonny? Make yourself at home? Marry my daughter?”
Good, serviceable writing that communicates more than the sum of its words, but the end bit you point out is what it’s all leading to: the line TURN to the punchline. All the reframes are the stepping stones that lead us to that rhetorical twist.
Thanks for sharing! Hadn’t watched that scene in some time.
The only thing I don't understand here is why you don't have 100k followers already
Haha, I truly appreciate that! It’s probably the lack of more videos, but I’m working on that. Good things take time!
Flanders is not in France... damn
D’oh! I think the source I used might have referenced French Flanders and I mixed them up as Flanders Fields generally. My apologies to the Flemish!
Just in case anyone comes across this and hasn't seen it, please disregard the comparison to House of Cards because Succession is actually good.
Just stopped by to say Connor Roy was interested in politics at a very young age.
Moar vidos plz!
lol, House of Cards. Not in the same league.