Scene Construction
by Larry Brody
Scenes are more than a signposts on your way to the end of the screenplay road. They’re more than just moments in which story or character points are thrown out at the viewer or reader. A good scene in a screen or teleplay—and by good I mean EFFECTIVE in terms of getting the response you want—is a mini-story in itself, with a beginning, middle, and end.
In other words, scenes need to be structured so that the intensity within them grows and then climaxes, like microcosms of your script.
This doesn’t mean that a scene should go on and on. Just as a good script starts as close to the middle of the story as possible, so does a good scene.
On the old HAWAII FIVE-0 series I learned the trick of beginning in the middle of a confrontation between the main characters. And there was always a confrontation, because each scene had to be about conflict. That was one of the series’ immutable laws.
The audience very seldom saw a character enter a room and say, “Hello.” Instead, the viewers got to the room while the characters were in mid-argument—and because of that they were instantly drawn in, suckered, hooked.
The arguments would be played out to their fullest, reaching their emotional peak, and, since this was an action series, physical peak.
The ending would be quick and hard, anything from a furious threat to the slamming of a door to a shooting. Then it was CUT and onto the next rising argument.
Today, when I see reruns of the old show I’m amazed by how easy it is to get into the story even if the episode is half over when you click to it on cable. That’s because each scene stands alone, as an exciting—often violent—character vignette.
Write your scenes as short, two page stories and see how much more immediate that will make your entire script.
Another in what I hope will be a long run of helpful hints for TV writers here on TVWriter™ every Tuesday. Which brings up a point: If you’d like to share some writing tips with your fellow TVWriter™ visitors, please get in touch with me at larrybrody@tvwriter.com and we’ll try to make a guest post happen.
