If you want to make a movie, generally you're going to want to start with a script. In this episode of Crash Course Film Production, Lily Gladstone talks about the basics of screenplays and how to get started thinking about and actually...

Have you ever watched a film or read a novel, wishing that you could change the narrative to save your favorite character? Game designer David Cage allows you do just that in his video games, where players make decisions that shape an...

A samurai is found dead in a quiet bamboo grove. One by one, the crime's only known witnesses recount their version of the events. But as they each tell their tale, it becomes clear that every testimony is plausible yet different. And...

John Green teaches you about Virginia Woolf's modernist novel, To the Lighthouse. Let's face it. You're not reading To the Lighthouse for the plot. There's not a whole lot of plot, unless you count the tension about the beef stew. You're...

David Hanson's robot faces look and act like yours: They recognize and respond to emotion, and make expressions of their own. Here, an "emotional" live demo of the Einstein robot offers a peek at a future where robots truly mimic humans.

Writing a great English paper can be tough because literature doesn't always reveal its deeper meanings immediately. You might not know Mr. Darcy's true feelings for Elizabeth Bennett in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice or grasp the...

This week on Crash Course Theater, Mike is taking you to Japan to have a look at Noh theater. Noh, and its counterpart Kyogen are some of the most revered theater forms in Japan, and are still performed today. Today you'll learn how Noh...

You need social skills to have a conversation in real life -- but they're quite different from the skills you need to write good dialogue. Educator Nadia Kalman suggests a few "anti-social skills," like eavesdropping and muttering to...

Who is telling a story, and from what perspective, are some of the most important choices an author makes. Told from a different point of view, a story can transform completely. Third person, first person, and second person perspectives...

A baby cursed at birth. A fierce battle of good and evil. A true love awoken with a kiss. Since premiering in 1890, “The Sleeping Beauty” has become one of the most frequently staged ballets in history. So what makes this piece so...

What style of animation perfectly mimics the movement of zombies? Puppet animation allows for just the right amount of zombie-like stiff limbs and jerky stumbles. TED-Ed animators show how to bring a zombie to life through 2D puppet...

Explore William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, “Hamlet,” a play about conspiracy, deception and the tragic consequences of indecision. -- “Who’s there?” Whispered in the dark, this question begins a tale of conspiracy, deception and...

You're in a movie theater, watching the new horror flick. The audience knows something that the main character does not. The audience sees the character's actions are not in his best interest. What's that feeling -- the one that makes...

Two men, Estragon and Vladimir, meet by a tree at dusk to wait for someone named "Godot." So begins a vexing cycle where the two debate when Godot will come, why they're waiting and whether they're even at the right tree. The play offers...

Dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and incorporating multiple plot lines are narrative techniques writers use to add detail and depth to their stories. Understand each of these techniques and learn how to use them effectively in...

Leverage wildcards to enhance your command-line efficiency, simplifying searches and operations on multiple files.

Story Mapping – Francesca Simon

This video explains how to identify soliloquies in a play and interpret their meanings.

This video discusses verbal, situational, and dramatic irony as well as omniscient point of view.

This video defines epiphany as well as claim.

This video introduces the topic of characterization.

This video discusses how to draw conclusions while reading.

This video describes the use of flashback in a story.

This video covers the types of irony used by authors.