ABSTRACT
Every film begins with a screenplay; ideally, a good one. Still, even in very good screenplays the director's investigation might uncover flaws as the screenplay is broken up into its smallest parts, even if the director is also the writer. In A Piece of Apple Pie, the Counterman is the protagonist. The director takes selected acting beats and frames them as a narrative beats if those beats denote a sufficient degree of dramatic escalation or change of direction to warrant the heightened articulation in the design. The design of a scene depends on tone, style, specific narrative jobs, and placement in the film, but the key component of any design is the narrative beat—the director's beat. Visualization at an early stage helps in choosing the actual location and is helpful in arranging furniture and similar items to accommodate the design.
