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Archive for March, 2009

Screenwriting and the Hero’s Journey – Antagonist’s True Self

The Hero’s Journey is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters:

The Hero’s Journey:

• Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.

• Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.

• Interpreted metaphorically, laterally and symbolically, allows an infinite number of varied stories to be created.

The Hero’s Journey is also a study of repeating patterns in successful stories and screenplays. It is compelling that screenwriters have a higher probability of producing quality work when they mirror the recurring patterns found in successful screenplays.

Consider this:

• Titanic (1997) grossed over $600,000,000 – uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• Star Wars (1977) grossed over $460,000,000 – uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• Shrek 2 (2004) grossed over $436,000,000 – uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• ET (1982) grossed over $434,000,000 – uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• Spiderman (2002) grossed over $432,000,000 – uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• Out of Africa (1985), Terms of Endearment (1983), Dances with Wolves (1990), Gladiator (2000) – All Academy Award Winners Best Film are based on the Hero’s Journey.

• Anti-hero stories (Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990) etc) are all based on the Hero’s Journey.

• Heroine’s Journey stories (Million Dollar Baby (2004), Out of Africa (1980) etc) are all based on the Hero’s Journey.

Hero’s Journey – Antagonist’s True Self Revealed.

The penultimate stage of the standard Hero’s Journey is the Master of the Two Worlds (detailed versions include the Afterlife etc…). This stage can also be called the Final Conflict as it is where the hero conquers his or her outer challenge.

The Outer Challenge is conquered in stages of, normally, three: the three catharses. This process is more evident in straight good versus evil stories but can be spotted in other stories (Raging Bull, 1980).

At around about the time of the Second Catharis, the antagonist’s true self is revealed and it normally turns out that the antagonist resembles, is familiar with, mirrors, is a shadow or similar of the hero.

Though there is no definite proof or reason for this – except maybe in the fields of psycholanalysis or similar – some texts in literature argue that it is because the hero and antagonist are one and the same; two sides of the same coin – which is why they were destined to battle. It is also stated in some texts that the true reason for the hero’s journey is to encourage the antagonist to reveal himself [to himself] – to bring light to the darkness.

In fact, the Supernatural Aid and the hero are both mirrors of the antagonist – it is simply that these two chose a different path.

For example, in Return of the Jedi (1983) Vader takes off his mask to reveal his true self to Luke. In Spiderman (2002), the Green Goblin reveals himself to be Harry’s Father.

Learn more…

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and FREE 17 stage sample and other story structure templates can be found at http://managing-creativity.com/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

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You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author’s name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. His specialities include Knowledge Management and Creativity and Innovation Management. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached at http://managing-creativity.com/

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Discovering the Perfect Engineering Career

Mechanical engineering is considered to be among the most exhaustive of all the different engineering areas of study, should you graduate holding a mechanical engineering degree, an extensive choice of jobs are accessible at short notice. Industries include energy production and heating, cooling systems, and air-conditioning systems; the automobile design industry, plant engineering and upkeep; pressure vessels and piping. Mechanical engineering careers can be as diversified as positions involving marketing, administration and management, additional examples could be agriculture and production manufacturing.

Just how much of a salary should a mechanical engineer hope for? A salary survey comissioned in 2003 reported that mechanical engineering roles usually covers a $40,000 to 93,000 dollars wage range, salary is dependent on education and obviously experience. Another factor affecting your earnings is the engineering branch you select.

How can I best find a role in my industry of choice? A detailed CV is a must. When you are satisfied with your resume, you must get stuck in and begin searching. Where can I find positions in mechanical engineering? Attending job fairs: Relevant nearby employment fairs should be displayed in the engineering faculty of your school. These events can give you the opportunity to meet the people responsible for recruiting. Internships: Any school can assist you with finding the right placement as an intern. Graduating scholars are frequently hired by companies in which they had an internship, and can additionally improve your chances of a better salary.

Join groups: Involvement in industry groups or attending meetings provides the opportunity of not just learning what is occurring in your chosen career, but also opens up networking possibilities.

Papers are a worthwhile resource: Engineering companies place adverts in the press similar to any other business. Study the papers every day; submit applications and be sure to follow up. The secret is perseverance. Utilize the internet: Place a current curriculum vitae on the big job hunting web sites on the web. Log onto the LinkedIn web site, put together a portfolio and start making contacts. Make good use of the internet to ramp up job hunting.

Finding a job will take persistence and lots of networking. Make sure your name and CV are visible to the industry; follow up on all prospects; establish an internet portfolio. These activities can help you discover the job you aspire to.

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How to Get Started Reselling for Fun and More Importantly Profit

Reselling is at the base of our entire sales economy. Think about that for a moment. How many people do you know that actually sell products made by their own hands? In most cases, you purchase your products from someone who has bought them from someone else with the intent of reselling them for a profit. In the world of online marketing, though, resale and reseller rights take on a special meaning and it’s one that can make you a healthy living.

What is Reseller Marketing?
Reselling is the business of purchasing a product that you can then sell over and over for 100% of the profit. The typical resale product is intellectual property – articles, e-books and downloadable software. Once you’ve acquired resale rights (also called reseller rights), you’re free to sell the words over and over, with no royalties or residuals paid to the original maker of the property.

In other words, if you purchase the resale rights to an e-book about body language for $225, you are then free to sell that content over and over to others. If you sell each copy for $10, then you’ll be making a $5 profit on your investment when you sell your 23rd copy – and $10 pure profit for every e-book that you sell after that.

How to Get Started with a Reseller Business
1. Acquire reseller rights to a product.
The single most important aspect of your business – aside from your own work and skills, of course – is the product that you choose to sell. I strongly recommend starting small – no more than five products so that you can focus your attention on marketing each one successfully. There are a number of different avenues for finding products to resell, from scouring the web to find the cream of the crop to commissioning a writer or programmer to create one just for you.

Be clear exactly what rights you are purchasing. Reseller rights give you the right to sell the product and keep 100% of the profit. Master reseller rights give you the right to sell the product AND resell your reseller rights.

2. Create a showcase to sell your product.
Some products meant for resale will come packaged with sales copy, including email text, copy for a web site – even the HTML for a sales website. Whether it does or not, you’ll need a showcase for your product – a website that includes a compelling sales letter, testimonials and whatever it takes to move people to purchase the product you’re selling, and a business web hosting account with SSL for order transactions.

If you’ve done affiliate marketing, this may all sound familiar. In fact, the principals are very similar – except that you’ll get the full profit on what you sell rather than a percentage of the sale.

3. Get yourself set up with a payment method to collect payment.
You’ll need a merchant account in order to accept credit cards for your merchandise. Some of those that will bill for you include:
2checkout (www.2checkout.com)
Paypal (www.paypal.com)
CCBill (www.ccbill.com – for credit cards and EFTs)
ePassporte (www.epassporte.com)
Stormpay (www.stormpay.com)
Greenzap (www.greenzap.com)

4. Get out there and market your product.
It’s nave to think that all you have to do is put your web site up and people will beat a path over the information highway. You’ll need to do some serious marketing. Search engines, article directories, forum posing, emailed newsletters and affiliate marketing will all help you to launch your new business with a bang.

About The Author: Casey Yew “Who Else Wants To Get Their Hands On An Incredible WOW Package For Less Than 2% Of The Value?” www.wowpackage.com

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Purchase Fishing Items on the World Wide Web Today

Procuring the best fishing items is a very key thing to bear in mind when your are chewing over your forthcoming fishing expedition. You must allow yourself the correct supplies to get into the “mental state” & receive the best benefits of fishing. Acquiring the proper tools will aid you in lots of different ways. As you may well know, the more items you acquire the more fun the fishing will become. One of the main things you need to ask yourself is, do you have all that you require before you head out on your fishing trip? To be successful you would be prudent to make certain that your fishing expedition commences with buying the correct fishing gear. There are countless kinds of equipment and it normally depends on type of place you will be fishing at, what sort of fish you are looking for and the style of fishing that you desire.

There are various types & styles of fishing reels that carry a choice of costs. If you are looking to enter into commercial fishing you would be advised to guarantee that your fishing gear is designed for that type of use. Commercial fishing requires a great deal more durable fishing tools. Since commercial fishing tools has twice to three times the use they fatigue much sooner. This certainly makes it much more cost effective to pay the extra cash straight up. There are a variety of products so that you can make a preference based on wishes on top of what you can actually afford.

The specific type of fishing rod is also another significant part of the tackle that you will require. You might well want to think what sort of rod that you will need for your fishing excursion. Just as there are many different reels there is a variety of fishing rods available. It is advised to make your choice on the kind of fish that you want to get. Find great offers on field hockey equipment online today.

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The Sociable Water Cooler

The water cooler is a hub of activity and excitement. It’s around about this time, the tea time mark, that everyone’s brain begins to dissolve. I’m staring at the water cooler in my office now as I write, wondering what sort of a life a water cooler must have. It’s a solitary life that’s for certain, there’s no likelihood of a water cooler banter session. What with have no limbs, it would be difficult to gesticulate, or be sociable in any way. It’s lucky for the water cooler that it doesn’t need to go looking for conversation because conversation comes looking for it. It draws in a group of people, it says come to me, come and discuss the lingering, niggling points of the day. The topics could range from a gossip session about a fellow colleague, someone who’s caused a stir in the office maybe. Perhaps it’s the new intern who’s really too timid to take on the work, or isn’t pulling her weight. Perhaps she’s too young and uppity, and is threatening- with every hair flick and noisy laugh- to disrupt the close-knit nature of the group. Then there’s Jane in accounting who’s recently just gone and got herself pregnant. But- and here’s the cherry- who’s the father??

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France Is Enjoyable for All

France is a country that most people should visit in their lifetime, because it’s had such a great impact on world culture. For example, Americans may not understand that French philosophers were a huge influence on Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, and thus had a serious impact on shaping the United States as a democracy.

Beyond history, though, France is a fun place to visit. Look at your France Travel Guide and you’ll see some of the most delightful beaches, the most celebrated wine regions in the world, cities that have spawned beautiful art and literature, and Paris fashion is of course the heart of the fashion industry. One of the great things about France is that it’s a relatively compact country, so if you have enough time, you can easily spend, say, 5 days in Paris, 5 days at the beach and 5 days in the country and experience a true cross section of all it has to offer.

Plan your trip to France carefully and consider using a travel agent to make sure all the details are taken care of. It’s helpful to have someone to remind you to update your passport and help you find good deals on travel insurance . If you have the patience to stay up all night waiting for fares to go down, you can find cheap plane tickets, but a travel agent may have access to programs that do this automatically, saving you time and money.

Apart from remote rural areas, people in France usually speak and understand English to a good extent, so don’t worry about whether or not you’ll be understood, but if you know a little French, there’s nothing better like a visit there to improve it. There are even some programs where you can sign up to get a French language buddy and meet to chat once a week, if you’re going to be there a long time.

All in all, a trip to France is one of the most enjoyable vacations you could ever take in your lifetime and planning ahead will make it even better.

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The Basics of Equipment Needed for Scuba Diving

Quality scuba diving equipment is required for scuba diving and will increase your dive experience and let you remain safe. While choosing the equipments for scuba diving, one must have a good knowledge about the quality of equipments from various available brands. To buy scuba equipment brands with a solid history of performance than to try to save money as your life may depend upon it,it is better.

Basically the same since Jacques Cousteau introduced the Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus to the world, diving equipment has improved,although diving equipment has remained.

Quality manufacturers strive to produce safe, dependable and affordable scuba diving gear. The following list of basic equipment is required for scuba diving, BCD, mask, fins, snorkel, regulator, guages, weights and watch. Dive computers are the biggest technological advance for recreational divers. The Dive Computer with its ability to optimize downtime and monitor dive performances will offer a more safer dive.

While quality is an important feature in choosing equipment it should equal weight should be given to the factors of comfort and functionality in the decision-making process. Make sure that your scuba diving tank is properly sized for your body, or its extra size could end up making your dive an underwater workout just hauling it about.

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Improve Your Prostate Wellbeing with Natural Remedies

BPH, or benign prostate hyperplasia, is a standard medical phrase frequently used for a swollen prostate. In simple terms this actually means that the prostate, a gland similar in shape to a walnut sited just under the bladder and enclosing the urethra, swells this can reduce and block urination. As some males age, their prostate gland grows and may result in complaints for example problems passing water, decreased urinary flow, and also urinary retention. Nighttime frequency and inflammation of the urinary pathway may also be result from prostate engorgement. So What Is An Enlarged Prostate?

Males in their sixties frequently develop prostatic enlargement. It is suggested that men in their 50’s are tested by their doctors each year, even should no problems present, for the upkeep of prostate gland health. Look For medical treatment straightaway if the urine or if unable to micturate.

Treatments for Benign Prostate Hyperplasia can be surgical procedures or the use of pharmaceuticals. However, impotence or inability to control micturition may be experienced as a result of a surgical operation. High blood pressure drugs and medicines which shrink the prostate can also be given for better prostate gland function, but medications often have negative repercussions so what alternatives are available? Troubled with a Swollen Prostate Gland? Natures’s Way to Improved Prostate Gland : To avoid the frequent symptoms associated with an enlarged prostate gland and also to promote better prostatic fitness, a few remedies can be suggested. Swelling may be eased by the remedy Afican pygeum, bringing ease from the more disagreeable symptoms. A derivative of the fruit of a tree native to southern Africa, African pygeum has been employed regularly in Europe as a treatment for better prostatic health.

Cutting Back the dietary fat can help, as well as increasing exercise, the pressure in the prostate can be eased by ejaculating more often, it is also recommended to try to avoid staying seate d for a long period of time. Use of non prescription antihistamines or even decongestant drugs can worsen any symptoms of a swollen prostate gland, consume these medicines with care. Additional recommendations also include not having any liquids within a couple of hours of going to bed to cut down on trips to the bathroom overnight, the reduction of alcohol and drinking less coffee may decrease symptoms. Prostate Gland health may be also respond to other supplements specifically the herb saw palmetto, Borago officinalis oil capsules, the chemical element selenium, and also lycopene, a compound found in tomatoes. But do make sure to check with your doctor before introducing any herbal treatment of a swollen prostate gland.

We recommend you inspect this marvelous resource for prostate problem suggestions.

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Betting House Taking a Risk: the Betting Games Gamester like to Play

On the assumption that you don’t understand casino betting, please continue to read…

online casino game

For the sake of clarity, a betting room is a house that organizes gambling. Here, visitors are encouraged to relax handling the coin operated machines or plenty of other gambling pastimes. Betting room games commonly include transparent probabilities included which maintain that the gambling house keeps hold of dominion over the gamesters. Far too many betting saloon games can goad you into being obsessed very quickly. Case in point being the vintage one armed bandit, a coin operated gadget with 3, sometimes more cylinders circling once a knob connected to it is moved. The machine more often than not remits in accord with a given series of pictograms discernible on the front panel of the appliance. Regrettably, betting establishment games present the false impression of mental power, thereby hoodwinking the patron — the participant is passed judgments, but in reality they don’t realistically compensate for the player’s overall disadvantage. This is brought about by the the casino not paying out the full wager as expected. This structured arrangement is often seen at work in well known casino games such as Texas hold’em, craps, roulette or blackjack.

Blind Poker is doubtlessly a highly popular casino pastime. The betting aficionados, playing with fully screened hands, will wager into a principal pot that is ultimately given to the winning punter possessing the highest hand. (Of course, the bluff may well prevail) Analogous to Texas hold’em, blackjack is also an immensely fashionable casino pastime. A substantial chunk of its acclaim is grounded in its particular mix of chance and skill and choice making, not to forget a process called “counting”. The aforementioned is a particular tactics through which gaming devotees can force the chances of the card game in their favor by both wagering and tactical opetations in correlation to the cards dealt. “Craps” is another famous pastime making use of the throw of a couple of dice. Players must place their stakes on the outcome of of one roll, or on a sequence of cycles on 2 dice. Contrary to blackjack, there is no viable bona fide winner betting system you could make use of to bend the odds. Roulette is a famous game of luck. Here a croupier rotates a roulette wheel which has exactly 37 (French roulette) or exactly 38 (applies to American roulette) independently numbered places in which the white pellet must settle, which determines the winner Then if a punter bets on a particular number and is successful meaning he’s actually lucky, the guaranteed premium will be thirty-five to 1, the initial wager itself being paid out. Indeed in totality it is multiplied by thirty six.

Please try to be very very guarded for all that because all of these betting house games of chance may well be indisputably dependency forming. So many lives have indisputably been damaged through gambling and while it admittedly might be enjoyable, do please aspire to control your play.

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Quiz- Do You Sell Yourself To The Customer?

Sales is one of the most exciting professions. It is also one of the toughest professions. Selling to customers can be a real task. If by any chance, you get a tough buyer, you will need all the training to sell to him/her. Let me ask you – do you sell yourself as a person of integrity and honesty to your buyers? Or you focus only on your product? Let me ask you one question- do you think that your bus the product only because of the value of the product? Or because your buyer believes in you and thinks that you will not sell anything bad to them? What do you think hen you buy anything? Who is selling to you does affect you. Am I right?

How to sell yourself to your buyer? Let us examine that. Do you come across as a person who knows the subject? Are you ready with all the answers or always need time to refer back with the answer. Can you tell your buyer about the competitive products in as much detail as you can do for your product? Are you sure that your buyer is good for your customer or you sell it to get only the commission or earn the salary?

Do you know your regular buyers’ habits? Do you know about their family and other personal details? Do you talk to your buyer as a hard headed professional or as a friend who knows what is best? Do you come across as a honest person? What is the image of the company for which you are working? Are your promises of after sales service are always fulfilled or you forget the buyer after making the sale? Does your buyer believe your words? Does your buyer think that you area person of character? If you can do that, you can raise your commissions to any limit.

The author, C.D.Mohatta writes for fun quizzes and fun tests at http://www.funquizcards.com/ on topics like business, personality, love, dating, relationships, friendship, movies, tv, music, business, etc. With reference to above article, you can try the quiz- Are you a good sales person material? He also write for http://www.ecarduniverse.com/ – it has free ecards on holidays, birthday, love, friendship, family, expressions, celebrations and all events and occasions. You can use most of these ecards for sending them to your customers to increase your sales.

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