ABSTRACT
A brief summary of the scene. A concise synopsis. The journey of the protagonist. A beat-by-beat analysis of the main character’s journey through the scene, sequence, or narrative unit. The three imperatives that form the engine of dramatic narrative: objective, obstacle, action. The journey of the audience. Why helpful. Storytelling as an address. Hitchcock and Kiarostami on the filmmaker and the audience (Shirin). The intended emotional and cognitive journey of the audience and its effects on filmmaking craft. Articulated as a stream of consciousness. The hierarchy of knowledge. Suspense and irony (Chinatown). Inexpressible emotions. Unintended messages and reactions. The turning point of the scene. The nature of change within the scene. The function of the scene. The ways in which a scene can work and be justified: narrative momentum, action, suspense, vista, vignette, establishing a place, conveying a passage of time, mesmerizing, posing a question, answering one, showing or subverting a norm, introducing a character, presenting an obstacle or challenge, or a solution. Story is not explanation. When an audience is allowed to put two and two together and tell itself the story.
