**2 reasons why books are better than movies for storytelling — Transcript & Summary | SozAI** Source: https://sozai.app/transcript/books-better-than-movies-storytelling/ Ollie explains why books offer greater creative freedom and lower financial barriers than movies, making them superior for storytelling. ## Key Takeaways - Books offer greater creative freedom than movies due to fewer external influences. - Self-publishing enables authors to bypass traditional gatekeepers and reach readers directly. - Film production is costly and controlled by studios, limiting story diversity and authorial control. - TV is popular but still constrained compared to the freedom found in books. - The accessibility and immediacy of publishing books make them a superior storytelling medium. ## What the video covers - Storytelling has evolved from oral traditions to epic poetry, theater, novels, film, and TV. - TV is currently the most popular storytelling medium, but books remain superior for creative freedom. - Books allow writers complete control over their work, unlike screenplays which are altered by studios, directors, and actors. - Self-publishing has revolutionized the book market by removing traditional publishing barriers and allowing direct access to audiences. - Authors can publish books quickly and independently on platforms like Amazon and Smashwords. - Movies require large budgets and studio approval, limiting creative freedom and diversity of stories. - Film studios often prioritize broad appeal and age ratings, which can dilute original storytelling. - Books, even self-published ones, can reach niche audiences and maintain the author's original vision. - Despite some low-quality self-published books, the freedom in writing prose outweighs the constraints of filmmaking. - Overall, books provide a more accessible and creatively free platform for storytelling compared to movies. ## Chapters 1. 00:00 Introduction to storytelling and books 2. 01:19 The rise of TV and film as storytelling mediums 3. 02:39 Creative freedom and access for writers today 4. 03:42 Challenges of screenwriting and film production 5. 04:54 Publishing changes and self-publishing revolution 6. 06:11 Barriers and opportunities for authors 7. 07:11 Money and market influences in filmmaking 8. 11:52 Conclusion: why books remain superior for storytelling Answers ## Questions about this video Why does Ollie believe books offer more creative freedom than movies? Ollie explains that books allow the author to maintain complete control over the story, whereas movies involve many external influences like studios, directors, and actors who can change the original narrative. How has self-publishing changed the storytelling landscape? Self-publishing has removed traditional barriers, enabling authors to publish their work quickly and independently, reaching audiences without needing approval from publishers. What are the financial challenges of filmmaking compared to publishing books? Filmmaking requires significant budgets and studio backing, which limits creative freedom and the types of stories told, while publishing books, especially self-publishing, has a very low cost of entry. ## Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown 00:00 Speaker A Hello, I'm Ollie, and this is Criminally, where I talk about crime, pop, horror, that kind of thing. Today, I want to talk to you about why books are the greatest way to tell stories. 00:23 Speaker A is a very long one um i don't claim to be an expert on it but i guess it started with people telling stories to each other um you then had you know epic poets like homer who would write these 00:34 Speaker A So, the history of storytelling obviously is a very long one. I don't claim to be an expert on it, but I guess it started with people telling stories to each other. You then had, you know, epic poets like Homer who would write these long, long stories that different storytellers could travel around and recite to audiences. 00:50 Speaker A things like that and then the birth of the novel in the kind of victorian period as a means for people to be able to experience stories without there having to be anyone else directly involved so you know tie that in with the you know 01:02 Speaker A You know, you've got theater as a great way of telling stories in, you know, Greek, Roman times, and, you know, through Elizabethan England and things like that. Then the birth of the novel in the kind of Victorian period as a means for people to be able to experience stories without there having to be anyone else directly involved. So, you know, tie that in with the printing press, and suddenly you've got stories that individuals could just buy and read. 01:19 Speaker A know filming lately tv continued to be a really important method of storytelling um you know in in the modern age um in fact i would argue probably that tv um you know today tv is probably the most important or the most popular most 01:36 Speaker A Then obviously, in the early 20th century, you've got the growth of film. Film continues to be, you know, filming lately. TV continued to be a really important method of storytelling in the modern age. In fact, I would argue probably that TV today is probably the most important or the most popular, most beloved form of storytelling. Not necessarily for me personally, but generally in our society. 01:51 Speaker A they're kind of i think they're kind of related but the two things are um like creative freedom um and money and like the cost of of entry to the market i guess um and i think this is something that has got a lot 02:07 Speaker A But I think books do it better, and let me tell you why. It comes down to two things really, and I think they're kind of related. The two things are like creative freedom and money, and like the cost of entry to the market, I guess. 02:25 Speaker A to a huge potential audience now in a way they never could have done in the past um so i'll come back to that but i think it's important so if we talk about creative freedom first so i think there's you know this is this is 02:39 Speaker A I think this is something that has got a lot easier for people in the last 10 years. So if you think about how writers would create stories in the past compared to how writers create stories now, it's very different. So, you know, a completely amateur writer can get access to a huge potential audience now in a way they never could have done in the past. 02:51 Speaker A may have publishers and things like that who ask them to change things um but i think that there is a freedom in writing prose that there isn't in like writing a screenplay if you like so when you write 03:03 Speaker A So I'll come back to that, but I think it's important. So if we talk about creative freedom first, I think there's, you know, this is one element of my argument. I think there's two elements to it. So the first one is the writer, when writing a book, is in complete control of what they put on the page. 03:16 Speaker A the end product so a you know the studios or tv companies or whoever may get other people into to tweak the text um you know to rewrite parts of it to you know make it more aligned to the 03:29 Speaker A Now, they may have editors and they may have publishers and things like that who ask them to change things, but I think that there is a freedom in writing prose that there isn't in writing a screenplay, if you like. So when you write a screenplay as a writer, it then goes into the system, doesn't it? Unless you are funding the production of the film yourself. 03:42 Speaker A effects the performances of the actors and all of that can change the meaning of the text quite significantly um so that's one type of uh you know example where the story that the um that the original writer might want to tell 04:00 Speaker A Once you've finished writing that screenplay, you're not going to have an awful lot of say in the end product. So the studios or TV companies or whoever may get other people in to tweak the text, to rewrite parts of it, to make it more aligned to the sort of stories they want to be telling. 04:14 Speaker A know will probably be willing to make changes to their work in order to get it published um but nowadays and i guess for the last 10 years or so writers have the you know the wonderful freedom of being able to self-publish now a lot of 04:28 Speaker A But then obviously you've got the director's interpretation of what you've written, and you layer on top of that editing, special effects, the performances of the actors, and all of that can change the meaning of the text quite significantly. 04:40 Speaker A route but equally there will be there will be people who have tried to be um traditionally published and their manuscripts have been rejected or potentially you know they've been accepted but with a caveat that lots of changes had to be made that the author 04:54 Speaker A So that's one type of example where the story that the original writer might want to tell may end up being different from what they wanted. With books, it's much more likely to stay the same. Now, as I say, obviously publishers do change things, and authors, particularly new authors, will probably be willing to make changes to their work in order to get it published. 05:09 Speaker A to have created an account on amazon or smashwords or something like that you just upload it and you know within so you know within probably a couple of hours of finishing writing a book um you can have it ready to go as an ebook and you know 05:24 Speaker A But nowadays, and I guess for the last 10 years or so, writers have the wonderful freedom of being able to self-publish. Now, a lot of people frown on self-published books, but I think they're fantastic. These are, and I think there are a lot of self-published authors who don't even try to get traditionally published. They just purely go the self-published route. 05:35 Speaker A completely revolutionary so authors now are not in any way tied to the need to find a publisher and they need to make compromises to get their book published they can publish what they want and readers can discover it 05:49 Speaker A But equally, there will be people who have tried to be traditionally published, and their manuscripts have been rejected, or potentially they've been accepted but with a caveat that lots of changes had to be made that the author wasn't prepared to make. 06:04 Speaker A author finding an audience can be a hard thing but you know it's another obstacle to overcome um but in in the old days you know writers would have written would have written manuscripts or to submit them to publishers and they 06:19 Speaker A So with self-publishing, there is effectively nowadays no barrier to entry at all. You can self-publish anything you want, and it's very, very easy to do. You just need a Word document, and you need to have created an account on Amazon or Smashwords or something like that. You just upload it, and within probably a couple of hours of finishing writing a book, you can have it ready to go as an ebook. 06:31 Speaker A so you know thousands and thousands of books just sat around not getting read because the publishers didn't feel they were right at that time for the market um so that you know that barrier has completely gone also obviously with 06:43 Speaker A I'm not sure how long it takes Amazon to process these things; I can't remember, but probably within a few hours of that, it will actually be available for people to buy, which is pretty amazing and completely revolutionary. 06:57 Speaker A best special effects ever in it that would cost you know millions and millions of dollars to make um if it was turned into a film um and and so to come on to my second point about money i think 07:11 Speaker A So authors now are not in any way tied to the need to find a publisher, and they need to make compromises to get their book published. They can publish what they want, and readers can discover it. 07:25 Speaker A the the difference between an amateur filmmaker and a professionally made film like a studio film is vast so clearly there have been some fantastic you know really low budget um you know movies made over the years often it seems to me or often the ones that 07:43 Speaker A Now obviously, there is a challenge there because there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of books available on Kindle. I'm sure it is millions. Finding an audience for an independent author can be a hard thing, but it's another obstacle to overcome. 07:57 Speaker A witch project you know these these are films that got you know huge audiences but were made by you know effectively buy amateurs for very small amounts of money um by very talented amateurs i would say but by amateurs um but the difference 08:11 Speaker A In the old days, writers would have written manuscripts to submit to publishers, and they probably would have sat in a space in a publishing house slash pile for years. They may have been glanced at by an intern or something like that, and they may have just languished there. 08:26 Speaker A who is who is enjoying that story the difference between a self-published book read on kindle and a professionally published book read on kindle is zero there is no difference if you can you know if you can make you know the cover 08:40 Speaker A So thousands and thousands of books just sat around not getting read because the publishers didn't feel they were right at that time for the market. So that barrier has completely gone. 08:51 Speaker A prepared to you know to invest the time in proofreading and editing and things like that their work they can end up with a you know work that feels as professional as a traditionally published book um and that's huge you know that really makes a 09:04 Speaker A Also, obviously with books, you can do what you want in a book, and you are not bound by the need for it to be displayed visually on the screen. So anyone can write a book that has the best special effects ever in it that would cost millions and millions of dollars to make if it was turned into a film. 09:20 Speaker A difference between um you know amateur and professional for fiction is is as i say nothing whereas for filmmaking it's you know it's it's a big golf um and that's why i think books are the best way to tell stories because 09:37 Speaker A And to come on to my second point about money, I think that's even more important in filmmaking than it is in publishing. So as I said, independently published authors may find it difficult to find an audience, but at least they can get it out there. 09:54 Speaker A it more difficult in a way to get your um get your film out to an audience i mean potentially you could i suppose nowadays you could upload it to youtube or something like that um but in the past you would have needed to 10:07 Speaker A Whereas if you're a filmmaker, the difference between an amateur filmmaker and a professionally made film, like a studio film, is vast. Clearly, there have been some fantastic, really low-budget movies made over the years. Often, it seems to me, the ones that gain popularity are horror films, which is great for me because I love horror films. I love low-budget films. 10:22 Speaker A are so many different hurdles and so many different people you need to please and i think that's why so many films end up being very different films from from the one that the person who wrote the screenplay in the first place um 10:34 Speaker A But movies like Peter Jackson's Bad Taste, Sam Raimi's Evil Dead, The Blair Witch Project—these are films that got huge audiences but were made by effectively amateurs for very small amounts of money, by very talented amateurs, I would say, but by amateurs. 10:52 Speaker A they they kind of need to be bland in a way in order to reach the widest possible audience so we see that a lot with um you know in with with modern cinema there's been this swing towards the kind of pg-13 or in the uk 12a rated 11:08 Speaker A But the difference between a low-budget movie that's made by amateurs and a studio movie is massive, whereas the difference between a self-published book, I mean this from the experience of the person who is enjoying that story, the difference between a self-published book read on Kindle and a professionally published book read on... 11:20 Speaker A and see and no one's going to get too upset or offended by it which means you have to you know you have to stream out a lot of bad language you have to strum out a lot of violence 11:29 Speaker A you can't have any sex and things like that which i think leads to a i think personally a blander type of film which isn't to say there aren't films in that age you know that age classification which is fantastic 11:40 Speaker A because there are you know i'm a big fan of have a lot of films like that um but cinemas want to show the films that will get the biggest audiences because that's how they make their money by getting 11:52 Speaker A bums on seats um so they are more likely to show films in that age range and even if the studios are making films that are you know r-rated or a team rated or whatever those are not going to get shown on as 12:05 Speaker A many screens so they're not going to get to to as big a potential audience and also we are seeing i think a an unwillingness by filmmakers to create new films so you know we see so many films nowadays that are based on 12:23 Speaker A something often based on books um but you know based on a known property that the the um the studio know is going to be popular you know no they know it's already got a ready-made audience because it's you 12:36 Speaker A know millions of people who read the book or whatever um and i think that has dulled creativity in in filmmaking as well in the way that you know in books um doesn't happen so i think um you know 12:48 Speaker A the big publishing houses are obviously looking for the next trend um and you know for instance you know domestic thrillers are you know big business right now why a stuff is big business right now um but because of self-publishing um you 13:04 Speaker A you do get these other voices coming out in in in publishing and and those even though you know even though they are small voices eventually um you know readers find them you know channels like mine talk about you know self-published 13:17 Speaker A authors um readers find them and that does have an influence on the whole industry i think um which i think is a brilliant thing and i do think nowadays you know certainly recently i've seen some films particularly on 13:29 Speaker A netflix so particularly netflix produced movies that have big budgets that felt so bland um and i'm thinking of i can't i think it's called the adam project it was like a kind of time travelling sci-fi um thing with ryan reynolds in it 13:44 Speaker A um that i watched recently and it was so bland it felt like it had been written by an ai it felt like they had shown a computer um a load of popular family sci-fi movies um and the computer had 13:56 Speaker A constructed uh the script for the adam project um out of those you know out of its interpretation of those films and what people like um so yeah i think um increasingly you are we are seeing that in in film in a way that we just aren't 14:13 Speaker A in books there are lots of crap books out there um but they're also you know there's much more freedom in in writing i think than there is in cinema um so yeah those are my thoughts it's a bit of 14:23 Speaker A a sunday ramble as usual do let me know what you think i'm guessing that most people who watch this are going to be big readers um so we'll probably will possibly agree with me but i know that a lot of my viewers big 14:35 Speaker A movie fans as well because that comes out in the in the comments um so yeah let me know what you think i i definitely think that um you know books are the the medium for telling stories that gives the creator the most control 14:50 Speaker A over what they're producing um and that that leads to you know a wonderful variety of different books in different styles and you know about about different subjects um you know with different levels of uh you know explicitness and things like that 15:06 Speaker A in a way you just don't see in cinema so much anymore so yeah let me let me know what you think um let's chat about it in the comments um and as always thanks very much for watching i hope you're safe and well i 15:17 Speaker A hope you're really good stuff and i will speak to you again very soon cheerio you Topics: storytelling books vs movies creative freedom self-publishing film industry novels TV storytelling publishing barriers independent authors media comparison --- This is the markdown twin of https://sozai.app/transcript/books-better-than-movies-storytelling/ — the same content, without the markup. 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