Creative Spark: Dustin Lance Black 

A Producer I was writing for, showed this to me when it came out 10 years ago. It's a decade later and I still come back to learn the lessons. A total master class in under 7 minutes!

I love that he calls his first draft his "vomit draft." An inspiring look behind the scenes of how one writer creates his screenplays.

Wow the dedication to his craft is so amazing. No wonder he won an Oscar.

when i watched this for the first time I didn't realise how much this truly impacted me as a writer. Now this is my guide for screen writing.

Step 1: Have A Big Table.

He is such a brilliant writer who is also trying to change the world for good causes.

"A film is not what happened, a film is an impression of what happened."

A big thank you to 'Academy Originals' for this great film about the craft of screenwriting. Dustin Lance Black, you are a true inspiration.

Such an inspirational man. I could listen to him talk all day.

I have so much respect and admiration for this man. Thank you for being so inspirational Dustin Lance Black

Great video, and highlights the importance of process, which is so under-represented in the industry. I think every writer should watch this. Thanks for sharing, Mr. Black.

It sounds utterly exhausting. He has the work ethic of an ant. Blimey! He does deserve his Oscar and his beautiful house in Hollywood. Why aren't screenwriters paid more money for what they do?

This video is my favourite out of all the videos available on youtube

he is so inspiring

So much respect for him and just screenwriters in general never knew quite how much effort is put into a play/film!🙊

"OUR PERSONAL STORIES CAN CHANGE THE WORLD" Life sands still for no one, but our Truth, may have meaning for someone who is lost!

Three and a half hours? It's just 6 minutes, where I can get the rest please?

I love this so so much.... so much. Does anyone know where the longer outtakes are?

I would be interested in seeing a blog post or something from him in which he shares his deleted scenes. Such an interesting writing process.

He's 40? What the hell.

This is a fantastic and very dedicated process. Very commendable. Great video as well, thanks to all those involved!

When someone says a movie or a script is cliche or the "same ole thing" I always say it's not about the story similarity, it's about how the story is told.

Thumbs up if you wish you a had a magnificent table like the one that Dustin has in his kitchen! 4:42 :)

Never heard of this guy until now, but I really like his personality. He doesn't seem egotistical or like his way is the 'right' way. I also 100% agree with him that you can still be original. There are still plenty of weird pieces of art coming out to show that

This is a wonderful glimpse into the creative process---(of Dustin Lance Black)--it also demonstrates that bringing 'inspiration' to fruition requires a major obsessive-compulsive personality streak and extreme dedication to detail.

He’s so sexy. And his passion for what he does adds to that. Such an intelligent, caring and gorgeous man. I hope Tom realises how lucky he is and treats him well. Wasn’t too thrilled about Tom covering his face and making things worse for Lance on that recent CCTV clip with that woman who attacked him. Poor Lance he seems to have gone through so much. I hope he’s leading a good and happy life now.

Thank you for alerting us to this Dustin!

He is really an interesting and talented too. Wish I had the dedication he has with all his work.

Dustin: “This will be a 3 and a half hour tutorial” Academy: “We’ll give you 6 minutes”

This was actually a beautiful video. Thank you.

thanks for sharing...

Is there a longer version ?

I hope he doesn't leave the kitchen wind open *gust of wind*

this guy is very likeable and appreciate all he has shared here

Loved this. Keep them coming.

One thing about It was not cut out to be a writer but DUSTIN LANCE BLACK was and he is fantastic writer have read his book Mama's Boy

Wow. My admiration to this guy.

Love this so much! Thank you for sharing!

I like how (talking nonfiction) he doesn't try to make characters relatable, but makes them specifically "them." If you think about it, that works for fiction as well; there's a ton of classic literary characters that completely fit his suggestion.

I want a film on Dustin Lance Black.

That was great, lot of inspiration emmanating from this mind,

Brilliant six minutes about writing. Is this part of a series from established screenwriters? Academy Originals, would you please try and get some of the following talents to discuss their process? Kerry Ehrin, Meredith Averil, Kevin Williamson, Ryan Murphy, Nic Pizzolatto, Noah Hawley, and Pete Docter....?

Oh my Word! That's the script for "The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight". If you love chick-lit and Lance (duh!), please read the book. It won't win the Pulitzer, but who cares if you are entertained for a couple of days, right?

The Land of Lost Scenes can becomes the biggest continent of all.

How do we get the 3 1/2 hour version?

Complex intricate research is great for some screenwriters, but most screenwriters, in my opinion, write for entertainment purposes, fun to watch, suspenseful and believable stories. Some of the most popular musical pieces are the simplest written motifs, compared to the studious complex dissonant wonders of the masters. Telling a story is writing an engaging plot that catches you at the beginning and revealing to you a most unexpected ending you never thought would happen that way. Then again, it could be so simple that you can guess the ending and still win an award. Personally, I start with writing a treatment (short story) from a logline, or vice versa, then a simple outline of the story. Then I block (sequence), certain essential scenes watching for consistency, fun and continuity, then use index-cards to block the storyline untill if flows smoothly [by index cards] before writing the script [limit 30-40 cards or less/ 90 minute movie; my goal] . Finally, I re-write [edit/add it] the script until it’s a movie. If it makes me want to eat pop-corn right away I think it’s ready to sell. JB

That was great. Interesting insight.

Respect writ large.

Nice big table

Very inspiring!!

i wanna spike jonze's process

Where do I find this full “3 hour” thing?

Thanks a lot for the video!! :D

what lens did they use to capture this video ?

Alright i don't usually comment on videos but this was helpful

Parabéns! Excelente! Vou associar teu método a escrita de romances. Uso o soft Scrivener, mas nada fica tão claro quando se usa cartão dispostos sobre uma mesa, pois se enxerga tudo...

I love this video so much. I share this video to everyone who asks me about creative processes. I use this process for everything from screenwriting, storyboarding , comic book panels, and even D&D encounters. Hope this video never goes down.

he said 3 an half hours tutorial...? where's the rest?

They should have done this for the new Star Wars movie...

how do we get the full 3hrs ???

6:36-----> BAREFOOT BANDIT *If you guy's don't know that story, read up about it (SERIOUSLY). NO LIKE GOOGLE IT, don't just read this and move on. *It's about: "A teenager from the wrong side of the tracks with virtually no education but balls as big as the great outdoors, teaches himself how to fly using a DVD and then goes on a tear, stealing five single-engine airplanes worth millions"(amazon reviewer).

I'm confused as to why writers believe personal stories change the world. Is this literal or figurative? Either way, what is it supposed to mean?

He clearly does not share the space with a cat.

Despite how successful he has been, is he also hugely inefficient ? He said he doesn't use 90% of the stuff he indexes.

specificity is the enemy of the reader's imagination

Betting $100 he played Magic:The Gathering as a kid ;)

He's sooo peshal

Great video, but I don't think 15 hours a day is honest at all. Most writers say they work an intense 3-4 a day.

cool video but the music is unnecessary and distracting.

Turn off the fuckin' music. By its very repetitiveness it conflicts with what is being said. Very distracting.

Nothing like a few underage boys to spark creativity!

I could never follow a process like this. Too much detail and outlining. It feels generic and less organic. I rarely outline and just let the story create itself as a write the page. I think Dustin writes a lot of biopics and non fiction scrips which is why he does so much research.

Jesus christ he looks younger than me, how is he 43? Imma need you to tell me your skin care routine bro, and I really hope it's not the blood of virgins.

What a beautiful insight into one's creative process. I hope I live long enough to see DLB the person brought to film but I will be just as happy to read a biography about his life, may be lucky enough to get if on audio with his amazing voice. He could read a phone book and I would listen. He is one of the great storytellers of his generation and I can't wait to see what comes next from his mind.

This is so dang interesting. I wish it was longer.

Reading Mason Currey's _Daily Rituals: How Artists Work_ prompted me to note Black's own ritual which is: Get up at eight a.m. Start writing by eight-thirty or nine a.m. Break for lunch and exercise at gym Get back to writing until one a.m. Repeat six to seven days a week.

This guy is 40. Whaaaaaat?

He said this is going to be a 3.5 hour tutorial? Where's the rest of it?

What a revelation not only for a screenwriter but also for an author writing a book. It's like first laying out the skeleton and then slowly building the body around the skeleton and finally bringing it to life. It's called creating. God did it. His creation can do it too. That's what an artist is all about. Thank you Lance for the inspiration.

The tears started to well up in my eyes as the video faded to black...

Such an inspiring video!

He's so incredible!!

He is so on it, it's unreal.

A writer seems to get lost when they writes! It must be very lovely as well frustrating job to do. DLB is an inspiring person. I wish to see more of amazing works from him. It was a beautiful video.

I want that three-and-a-half-hour tutorial. Release it, Academy Originals. Now!

Meticulous approach. You gotta love stationery!

This brilliant, inspirational man.

I wonder if people who are fans of Under the Banner of Heaven know about this video. It’s crazy to see how far it has come now.

Absolutely fantastic. I love the process he's talking about, I may have to implement it.

I hope our Feature film "PotHoles" i'm writing with actress Tina Lameman, a true story of my life with my best friend Gina will help others struggling with addiction and mental illness. Thank you for sharing ur process Dustin! ｼ

I recently finished the first draft of my first screenplay and I felt as Black did; I "regurgitated" it.

I love how he uses note cards. Does anyone know how he prints the cards, what kind of printer, what software, etc.? I have been trying to research this, but my google-fu is off. I need the most painless setup possible.

I was told not to do too much research by Ben Isenberg, or you'll never start writing--I disagree, more research gives you more depth and texture

Wonderful. Will share this with my screenwriting students. This is exactly how I wrote a 45-minute planetarium video for the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center. Thank you for sharing this with us!

I'm so glad I figured this out by myself. And to see someone who WON AND OSCAR - actually show this in a video is beyond cool. Great minds think alike. haha.

This video was shown to me in a screenwriting class. I found it so inspiring. I’ve watched it many times since.

What an inspiring look into the works of Dustin Lance Black.

Wow, great video a perfectionist writer

First thing he says is "this will be a 3 1/2 sort of tutorial on my process". Is this a short from an online course, or something? Anyone have the link to the full-length video?

“A personal story can change the world”