Most people write bad scenes. The main reason why so many people write awful scenes is that they don’t know this one simple principle. Every scene is a miniature story that reflects your overall story and theme.
Think about “The Matrix”. The overall story and theme is that we can control our lives within our world. Thus every scene reflects this choice that we have at all times where the most famous scene that emphasizes choice is when the hero has to choose between taking the red pill or the blue pill.
In the film, based on a stage play, “One Night in Miami”, four famous black men (Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke) spend a night together, talking about how they’ve faced racism in their different lines of work and how they plan to overcome discrimination.
Therefore, every scene in “One Night in Miami” focuses on racism and discrimination. Watch this early scene where Jim Brown, a famous NFL football player, visits the head of a white family he’s known all his life.
The white man happily and cheerfully greets Jim Brown and invites him to sit on the porch to enjoy a glass of lemonade. The white man even goes so far as to tell Jim Brown that if he needs anything, just ask. Throughout this scene, we’re led to believe the white man is truly friends with Jim Brown and his family.
Then the white man’s daughter asks him to move some furniture and Jim Brown asks if he can help. That’s when the white man tells Jim Brown, “You know we don’t let n—–s in the house,” and with that one statement saying the N-word, the entire scene changes to emphasize the racism and discrimination that the entire story is about.
So when writing your own screenplay, define what your overall story is about. Is it about overcoming your own limitations and striving to be better? Then every scene should force the hero into facing this dilemma over and over again. (Think of all the scary situations Luke finds himself in that forces him to become stronger in “Star Wars”.)
If your overall story is about becoming an independent woman (“Legally Blonde”), then every scene should force the hero into choosing between being dependent or independent.
When you know exactly what your overall story is about, you’ll automatically know what every scene should be about, and that will help you write scenes that actually support your story rather than weaken it.
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