I've had a couple of revelations about scene writing that I believe are essential to share! Possibly the more important one is an epiphany I had last night.
Iglesias tells us there are 3 types of scenes -- Exposition, Dramatic, Spectacle -- and he goes into detail about all that we need to consider when writing a Dramatic scene, and he implies that all 3 types of scene are valid and necessary but he doesn't explain the structural purpose of all 3 scenes.
I don't know what synaptic misfire landed this Ah-HA! Moment in my head last night (I'll just call it "The Muse" and count myself grateful), but I believe I'm onto something.
Okay, Exposition scenes are sort of set-up scenes, Dramatic scenes are sort of raise-the-stakes scenes, and Spectacle scenes are sort of release-some-of-this-damn-tension scenes. And to really work an audience's emotional experience, we need ALL THREE, and in roughly that order.
Think about it:
Newby Writers tend to write scripts filled with Exposition scenes. Every scene serves the purpose of explaining the progression of the story and explaining where each character is in his/her arch. And this is dreadful to read because there's no viseral connection; it's an intellectual process. You're watching the story unfold over 120 pages, but you don't really care. Commercially-minded Writers (usually inexperienced writers who are actually making money writing, but not because they've mastered their craft, like the writer/directors of low-low-budget, straight-to-dvd horror movies) try to write scripts filled with Spectacle scenes -- to continue illustrating with the straight-to-dvd horror flicks, scenes with sex or vilolence or parties or all three. And the problem here is that, once again, you just don't care about what's going on. The characters aren't real, the situations are often not set-up in any significant way, and therefore it's just pictures and noise.
Then Artist writers would prefer to have 120 pages of Dramatic scenes: charactrers chewing scenery and yelling at each other or crying or indulging in long, significant pauses, or talking about everything BUT what's the other character is talking about -- presumably to enrich this brilliant script with it's subtext, that really isn't subtext because there's nothing THAT WE CAN SEE going on beneath the surface of all this "sound and fury, signifying nothing", to borrow from Shakespeare. I have TOTALLY found myself ebing ALL 3 of those writers at different point in my education.
I started out -- because I'm a genre guy and also have a naturally predisposition toward Summer Blockbuster type movies (but the one I grew up with in the '80s, most of which were directed by Spielberg) -- wanting to write 120 pages of Spectacle.
But then I start reading books on writing, and my every scene is trying to be a Dramatic scene. Then I get structure down pretty good, and every scene ends up being an Exposition scene.
And don't get me wrong, professional Hollywood writers don't all have this balance correct. I think the Blockbuster movies that come out that have cool trailers and make tons of money opening weekend, but then disappear to the dvd shelves are probably the result of Exposition & Spectacle scenes, with mayeb a couple of ACTUAL Dramatic scenes tossed in so that a star will take the part. (Example: VAN HELSING. It's all Exposition and Spectacle. No ACTUAL Drama. The Exposition gets us from one Spectacle sequence to the next.)
But when we FEEL a movie, it's because the writer has the balance right.
Think about a good pop song. (Note that I said "a GOOD pop song".) It's not all verse. It's not all chorus. (And it CERTAINLY isn't all bridge. I think only bands like Phish and Pink Flyod write all-bridge songs. Just my opinion...)
The part you sing along with is usually the chorus. But in order to set-up the chorus, it helps to warm the listener up with the verse. Sometimes they'll prolong it with 2 verses off the top before they hit us with the chorus. Then after the chorus they give us another verse, the hit us with the chorus again, then maybe repeat it. Then they might give us a bridge -- just to change things up and clense our pallate -- then either repeat the chorus (or, in musical jargon, the "hook") or give us another verse before launching into the chorus a couple more times.
And that structure satisfies us. If all the parts of the song are done well, and arranged in a way that maximizes our emotional response, we can't get the song out of our head until we've heard it half a million times.
That's the usefulness of the 3 types of scenes. Each type of scene plays a part in the type of emotional experience the audience will have, and in amping up or paying off that emotional experience.
Generally speaking, we start off with an Exposition scene that let's us know where we are, what's what, and who has got what going on inside them. Then we move to a Dramatic scene that messes with what we know to be what and whatever issues each character is dealing with. We do this some more, maybe slipping some Exposition into the drama or -- if, for insatcne, it's been 9-19 pages without any payoff -- a little bit of Spectacle, and then we finally pay of all this emotional tension we've been building in the audience with a spectacle scene to end the act.
Watch good TV, good TV does this masterfully!!! Any show that gets you off is doing THIS, and you know a commercial is coming -- an act break -- because something BIG happens that makes your head spin, a Spectacle scene. And with TV, since it's only an hour long (45 minutes without commercials), the structure is much more apparent than in film.
So then we lather, rinse, repeat as needed, until we get to the Climax of our movie -- the BIG Spectacle scene -- and then cap it off with one more Exposition scene, the one that let's the audience know what the new normality (New Equilibrium) for our Main Character is. (You SO DON'T want a Dramatic scene for your Resolution or Denumont scene, 'cause the audience is already reaching for their car keys.)
Writing books usually downplay the importance of Spectacle scenes and wanr you to NEVER write an Exposition scene, but the fact is that all three types of scenes ARE NECESSARY, AND they support each other, help each other do what they're supposed to be doing.
And knowing what each type of scene is supposed to be doing -- really understanding it's purpose and relationship to the other scenes around it -- allows us to craft a screenplay the way a songwriter crafts a hit song.
Now...
Jumping off into a completely different realm of craft and creation...
I was trying to just CREATE for this one project I'm working on a few nights ago. I didn't know my Main Character that well, and I thought that maybe by writing a scene with her I might stumble onto a little insight. (It's worked before.)
So I open up my trusty list of all the things that I need to have in my scene...
And I immediately closed it again.
The list -- the same one I've included earlier on this blog -- IS NOT CONDUCIVE to the flow of spontaneous creation. I think maybe it seperates the individual elements into too much. Creation seems to be a very messy, bunchy kind of process where clumps of elements just sort of emerge from you imagination and subconscious.
I think that's why novelist don't like plotting and structuring their stories first. They would rather just let Creation do it's own thing, then worry about flow and structure later. (As do many badass screenwriters, I should add.)
So then I opened up my 6 Classic Horror Moment Beats... AND THAT WORKED. I knew there had to be a Danger -- this wasn't a scare, so the Danger was dramatic in nature. I came up with what the danger was and how I was going to INDICATE it without revealing it yet. Then I let my Main character "search for" the danger in her dialogue. Then I revealed the Danger -- the dramatic conflict between my Main Character and the other person in the scene with her. Then I had her try to "escape" the danger. Then the Danger "struck", and I revealed the aftermath.
All dialogue. This was a Dramatic scene.
It wasn't a keeper, by any means. This was just play. But it was very insightful! If I like this scene enough to put it in my story, I could have then gone back to my list of all the elements that a scene needs to contain and carefully considered each one, to maximize the impact of the scene.
And I learned that my Main Character is a dud. She's not there yet.
But the point is that as structural tentpoles -- the key structure scenes -- can help me find the shape of a story, I need structural tentpoles for a scene. AND THAT'S ALL! I need a signpost that says "Star Here", then another one that says "Get Here", and I need enough leeway to get from signpost to signpost in my own way.
Okay, this isn't really a single step, but a series of them. However, I don't believe these can be completed in any particular order. I think they just sort of come to us when they come to us.
This step is THE step, this is the heavy-lifting portion of writing. This is where we make the decisions that make or break our movie. Before we write a single page of description and diologue, we fret over this step until we're really excited about it. Then when we actually sit down to write the pages, the work should flow fast and nigh-effortlessly. When you hear screenwriters say they banged a first draft out in a weekend, they most likely spent 4-6 months on this step. (NOT exaggerating.)
So below are 17 structure "tent poles" or "plot points". Each plot point is designed to keep us from getting lost while constructing a 110-/120-page story. Think of them as road signs that assure you you're still on the right road.
I've done the sit-down-and-write-until-I-have-90-to-120-pages thing before. I have read many, many scripts written that way. And these scripts usually feel like a 30-minute movie that lasts 2 hours! This approach helps prevent that. Every 6 pages (which translates to, roughly, every 6 minutes) something significant happens to get the audience's attention. The weakness of Sid Field's approach is that when your next structural tentpole is 30 pages away, you may have already bored your audience to tears by the time you get to it!
I'm not trying to be a writing guru here, so I'm not going to try to sell you on structure. If you're reading this entry, hopefully you already GET the relevance of structure. So I'm moving on.
For my process, I'm adapting a pretty common Index-Card technique: 40 3x5 cards to map out the movie; 10 cards for Act I, 20 cards for Act II, 10 cards for Act III. The math breaks down so that every card represents approximately 3 pages of script. Each of the plot points below represent a single card.
So I want to create scenes that fulfill the 17 structural tent poles. When I'm really excited about all 17 plot points, then I've probably got a pretty good movie on my hands! And I've only got 23 more cards to fill in, and they're logistical -- How do I get my characters from one plot point to the next?
I've stolen these names from several different sources. Below each is a brief description of its function within the whole of the plot.
Many of these don't have to be in any particular order. It's really all about raising the stakes for the protagonist and the audience. If I come up with a scene for what John Truby calls "Apparent Defeat" (and Karl Iglesias calls "The Darkest Moment") and it's more tense than the scene he calls "Gate, Gauntlet, Visit to Death", then the "Gauntlet" scene should come BEFORE the "Apparent Defeat" scene.
The point is that if I can come up with great scenes for all 17 plot points, I'm much more likely to have a great movie on my hands. And 12 years of experience has PROVEN to me that just sitting down and writing -- without taking this planning step first -- WILL NOT give me pages I can be proud of.
So here we go. The key 17 of our 40 index cards...
1. Opening Hook The Opening Hook isn't a cynical gimmick to sucker your audience into your story, it's a promise to your audience: "Yes, I know what I'm doing and you're going to enjoy this."
With this in mind, it's a REALLY good idea to know what you're promising your audience. This is why it's a good idea to get your Genre and Thematic Arguement down before you start plotting. It's also a good idea to know how your story's going to end. That way you can make sure your promise -- and the expectation created by that promise -- is fulfilled.
Karl Iglesias list several different hooks that have proven effective. I think they're pretty self-explanitory, but Include movies that utilize each technique: Hero in action - RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARC Villain in action - STAR WARS, EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE Backstory/prologue - TWISTER Spectacle - STAR WARS, EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH Mystery - THE MATRIX Unique world - THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING Exposition - HIGHLANDER Breaking the forth wall - FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF Book-ended flashback - RISING SUN
For further clarification of these terms, I recommend WRITING FOR EMOTIONAL IMPACT.
The point is, let your audience know you're Tha Man and you're going to take them for a ride they want to go on.
Also, in the movies that actually make it to the screen the Opening Hook often employs more than one technique. Most opening scenes, for instance, include spectacle. And many of them show the hero in action.
2. The Protagonist's Introduction If you didn't introduce your Protagonist in the first scene, this step is easy to understand.
However, even if you've got your Protagonist in action in the first scene, you'll still need a scene very early on that illustrates just WHO your Protagonist really is. In RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARC, how surprised were you when you discovered that Indiana Jones taught high school?!
3. The Inciting Event Robert McKee points out that humans only exert as much energy to achieve a goal as is absolutely necessary. We'll take the easiest steps first. Iglesias explains that this event is sometimes refered to as "The Disturbance" because it disturbs the Protagonist's life to such a degree he/she takes the steps that become our movie. In McKee's terms, this event opens the "gap" between the Protagonist's desire and his/her definitive success or definitive failure.
So this should be big. It motivates everything that happens after.
4. The Central Question There will be many questions created by the events within our scripts, but there will be one particular question that is not answered until the end of Act II, at the earliest. This question should be clear to the audience, and they should be reminded of this question from time to time, as might be necesary. This question FOCUSES the path the overall story follows.
5. The Antagonist's Introduction Every important character should be "revealed" to the audience so that they know that this person is important to the story. But the Antagonist, like the Protagonist, in particular deserves a reveal.
If the movie is a Mystery, then this scene is the one that reveals what it is that we want to know.
Some of these plot points may happen within scenes that serve other plot points. It is not necessary for these plotpoints to have their own scenes. But it is important to make sure all these plot points DO EXIST before moving to the page-writing stage.
6. The Point of No Return (Act One Climax) For the next 60 pages to actually be a different act, the story needs to spin in a different direction than it was headed before. Before this plot point, the Protagonist actually had a chance of turning back. After this scene or sequence, he/she has no choice but to continue forward.
7. Plan The audience has to believe the Protagonist has a fighting chance to attain his/her Goal. The Plan is the Protagonist's fighting chance.
Of course, nothing ever goes according to plan, ESPECIALLY in movies! So as my Antagonist launches his/her Counter Attack my Protagonist will be forced to alter his/her Plan.
8. Antagonist's Plan and Main Counter Attack Naturally, the Antagonist has his/her own plan. This plan should be altered by the Protagonist's actions.
Also, as good as the Protagonist's Plan might be, the Antagonist's Plan should be BETTER. A weak/stupid Antagonist makes the Protagonist weak/stupid.
9. Ghost This is a fairly common term used to describe the event that emotionally scarred the Protagonist and still haunts him/her. This usually comes out in Act II, but the important thing to consider about the placement of the Ghost scene is that it is useful for producing anticipation and suspence for the audience. When we learn exactly what is holding the Protagonist back, we can recognize when it threatens the next time.
10. The Midpoint Since Act II is twice the length of the first and last acts, it needs an event to re-energize the act. If the Protagonist has be reactive up until now, this is the time when he/she commits fully to achieving the Goal and becomes proactive. Perhaps taking more drastic risks than before.
Unlike the Act One Climax, this scene doesn't need to change the direction of the story. It simply needs to create an increased sense of urgency.
11. Self-Revelation This is the moment that the Protagonist learns something about his/her truest nature that profoundly shakes him/her to the core. This is something that is related to the "Ghost" and is essential to what the Protagonist needs to understand and come to terms with in order to live the best life he/she can possibly have. This knowlege rips open the wounds left by the "Ghost", allowing the Protagonist to see the exact nature of his/her emotional/psychological/spiritual damage, so that the wound can them be finally healed. In a Tragedy, however, this "ripping open" of the character's figurative "wound" will become infected and lead to his/her defeat.
12. Apparent Defeat (Act Two Climax) This should happen only ONCE in my movie, and it should truly feel to the audience as though the story is over and my Protagonist has lost.
This gives my Protagonist something to recover from. The story started out with my Protagonist functioning at less-that-his/her-best. But this is a Rock Bottom. Climbing to the top of a mountain isn't as much of an achievment if one starts half-way up. Climbing from the bottom to the top is much more dramatic and fulfilling to watch.
13. The Hero's Recovery and Growth This usually completes the Protagonist's arch. He/she deals with the Self-Revelation and makes whatever change in him-/herself is needed, and is finally more able -- mentally, spiritually, emotionally -- than before the movie started to deal with the Antagonist and other obstacles.
14. Moral Decision The Moral Decision is the evidence of the Protagonist's choice as a result of the Self-Revelation. It's one thing for him/her to say they're going to be a different, better person, but this is intention put into action.
15. Gate, Gauntlet, Visit to Death Ultimately, reaching the Antagonist and/or Goal must require tremendous effort by the Protagonist. This is the final stretch, and it's almost unbearable for the Protagonist. If the Protagonist wants to attain the Goal, he's/she's going to have to really EARN it!
The Visit to Death can happen during the Apparent Defeat scene. The Protagonist -- and audience -- must really get a true sense of his/her mortality. Defeat -- even actual, literal death -- must be a real (or figurative, depending upon the genre) threat to establish that the stakes are as high as they can possibly be going into the climax of the story.
16. The Final Showdown Guess what this scene is...
The Protagonist and the Antagonist face-off for the final time, and one emerges victorious.
The Inciting Event created an obligatory scene, a scene that the audience MUST see. THIS is that obligatory scene. This is the fulfillment of the promise I made to the audience at the beginning of the movie.
McKee explains that an essential quality of this scene is that the resolution of this conflict be irreversable. Whether the Goal is won or lost by the Protagonist, there is nothing more he/she can do to change this outcome. If there is any way to change the outcome of this scene, the ending will feel false to the audience and the story will feel hollow, pointless. If this was merely AN ending, rather than THE ending, then what was the point for the last 2 hours?
17. New Equilibrium This is, simply, the way the Protagonist's world has realigned after the events of the movie. Life will never be the same as it was for our hero, but he/she will find a new balance -- Hopefully a BETTER balance. This final scene shows the audience what that new balance is.
--
There are a couple of terms in episodic TV writers: "Move" and "moment".
A Moment is an emotional experience for the character -- as well as the audience. TV writers only need the 4 key Moments in an episode for them to go off and write the script.
A Move is spectacle, a cool experience for the audience. I'm not certain about this -- as I have yet to sit in on a professional story-breaking session -- but I don't know if a TV episode needs more than one of these. (A Move will be expensive and time-comsuming to shoot.)
Movies need a Move every 20 pages to keep the audience awake and excited.
Once I've created the above 17 scenes, I need to arrange them for optimum pacing, and to ensure that the tension continues to escalate. I don't, for instance, want to have a 30+ page lag between 2 of my tent pole moments. I don't want the audience to loose interest.
And as I said at the beginning of this, I will spend MOST of my writing time tweaking and perfecting these moments. Once I have them the best they can be, writing the actual pages will be quick and painless, and probably quite fun. Travel is faster when we know where we're going.
