Michael Tierno is Professor Emeritus of Film and Video Production at East Carolina University, USA. He is the author of Location and Postproduction Sound for Low Budget Filmmakers (2020) and Aristotle’s Poetics for Screenwriters (2002). He is a narratologist, a former Miramax story analyst, and an award-winning writer and director of independent films, such as Through a Class Darkly (2016), Nocturne, the Girl Who Played Debussy (2010), and Auditions (1999).
As Story Editor at the world’s largest talent agency in a career that has spanned 35 years, I have read and analyzed over 60,000 screenplays. It’s hard to imagine anyone could bring something new to the table, but Michael Tierno’s Semiotics for Screenwriters revolutionizes screenplay analysis, creating a way for screenwriters to have a deeper understanding of their own writing process. Semiotics might sound scary, but Tierno’s conversational style offers comprehensive examples of the system in action using popular films such as It’s a Wonderful Life and Get Out. It’s a college course for the price of a book. * Christopher Lockhart, Story Editor, William Morris Endeavor, USA *