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"Unifying Theory of Two Plus Two"

https://nofilmschool.com/2014/08/pixar-andrew-stanton-equati...

See also Inc's writeup: "This Hollywood Director's 2+2 Rule Will Make You Instantly More Persuasive and Charming. This incredibly simple rule for better storytelling is also incredibly powerful."

"We would call this the unifying theory of two plus two. Make the audience put things together. Don't give them four; give them two plus two. The elements you provide in the order you placed them in is crucial to whether you succeed at engaging the audience."

https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/storytelling-pixar-two-...

Thanks! This (to me) was way more interesting than the rest of the article :)

And also, somewhat related:

Aerogramme Writers' Studio: "Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling"

https://www.aerogrammestudio.com/2013/03/07/pixars-22-rules-...

Aha, it’s actually 4 rules! :P

Yeah, I love this list. The best rule is #4:

> Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.

Reminds me of a User Story.

Andrew Stanton talks about it in this TED Talk from 2012: https://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_stanton_the_clues_to_a_grea...