If you’re an aspiring screenwriter or even a successful screenwriter, you need to know about Jim Hart’s story mapping tool The Hart Chart. J.V. Hart is the screenwriter for several major Motion Pictures including: Hook, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Contact and August Rush.

The Hart Chart is not just another “how-to” for screenwriters. It’s the first practical tool of its kind to focus not on plot structure or writing great dialogue or the mythic dimension of your story (aka The Hero’s Journey) but on each major characters’ emotional arc within the tale. And what I like best about it is it’s visual and there’s a mobile app. Ding, ding, ding! This hits all the high notes.

As many of you know, SXSW is coming to Austin again this year. Jim Hart usually presents a “live” introduction to his masterclass at the festival. I missed him last year and won’t be able to attend this year (unless circumstances change) but I did find a YouTube of Hart’s live talk from SXSW 2016 and it’s displayed below.

A word of warning, the teaching doesn’t start until six minutes in, the video is over an hour and a half long and the sound wasn’t recorded hot enough to make playback great or pick up on the questions from the audience but this is still a great peek to a valuable teaching. Enjoy!