ABSTRACT
This chapter will describe the scene as a discrete unit, a unit of time and space, and examine how it is structured and what a particular scene accomplishes in relation to others. Writing and reading a scene should be devoted to finding its architecture and vital content and beats. What is the focus and goal of the scene? What is at stake? What is the scene’s dramatic arc? What is going on and what direction are we taking? Where is the story leading us? Actors call this “finding the moment of truth” in the scene; this is what they hope to convey in a scene through their acting. As writers how do we accomplish that and as readers recognize its power?
We will show that screenwriters must reflect about what the scene ought to (1) accomplish in and of itself and (2) with regards to its dominant dramatic, aesthetic, suspensive, spectacular, moving, etc., characteristics in relation to the scenes around it. Scenes draw their vitality from their relationships to others. Everything in the screenplay is connected, and scenes are particles within a great network of interrelations. Truly poignant scenes can haunt us for the rest of our lives.
