Dispatch From The Quest: Sandy Leviton
Over the course of the 24 weeks I am working with the writers in The Quest, each will write a weekly dispatch to share with the GITS community. There are several reasons for doing this, the main one educational: Hopefully you will learn something of value for your own understanding of the craft from the experiences of the Questers. I should also add they are a great group of people, so I expect you will enjoy getting to know them.
Today: Sandy found insight into scene-writing from her recent visit to Disney World:
I am finally back from vacation and back in action. Though the truth is, my brain was never fully turned off. The “work” brain can never truly be shut down when you’re a writer. Constantly coming up with new ideas, finding inspiration, and as proven with the plane ride, observing the people, events, and scenery around you.
This week our attention has been on scene work; defining what the scene is, it’s structural, functional, and emotional goals. Like dialogue, it could not have occurred at a better time. What better place to study scene work than from the masters at Disney World. One of the reasons they are so successful at what they do is the fact that they know how to construct compelling scenes. Every attraction, show, and gift shop tells a story. They are all precisely designed to tell coherent and emotional stories. Upon reading the lectures, I found myself studying rides I’ve been on so many times I can recite it in its entirety without missing a beat. (Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Pirates…I’m looking at you!) Suddenly, I found myself going through each attraction asking myself — what is the beginning, middle, and end of this room (aka scene)? What is the story they are trying to tell? What emotion should I be feeling right now? Is the theme of the attraction apparent in this scene? When it was over, I asked myself if they achieved those goals. More often than not, they did.
For example:
Pirates of the Caribbean — There is the infamous “We want the redhead” auction scene. After the pirates have infiltrated the city walls, the pirates torture men for information on Jack Sparrow as Jack watches on. Meanwhile, the other pirates begin their takeover of the city, starting by auctioning off potential brides.
Beginning of the scene — The pirates demand information on Jack Sparrow from the local men.
Middle of the scene — Jack Sparrow watches the commotion.
End of the scene — The pirates are now full in the city and start auctioning off available local women for brides.
The overall story of the attraction is a retelling of how the pirates became cursed and died. The ride is mostly one big flashback. The pirates took over the city looking for a treasure that ended up being cursed. In this particular scene, the takeover begins.
Emotions felt — It’s a mix of emotions — Anxious for the townspeople. Curious what the pirates will do with the rest of the townspeople that don’t cooperate. Angry that they are auctioning women. All with a wink and a sense of fun.
Is the theme of the attraction’s story apparent in this scene — Yes. The story of the Pirates of the Caribbean is one of karma. They take over a city for their treasure. A treasure that ends of cursing them; leaving them dead (or at the very least skeletal according to movie lore) with nothing but their treasure. In this scene, the pirates are setting all of that up — torture, and dare I say, rape. Karma is coming to get them.
Did this scene move the overall story along? Absolutely.
This is how I spent my vacation. Analyzing scenes. Learning from one of the most successful storytellers in the world. A writer never truly rests. Then again, this may be the most relaxing part of the storytelling process — the study of the craft. The truly hard work begins soon enough.
This is how old I am: I remember E tickets at Disneyland.
E tickets were what got you into the GOOD attractions. They came in coupon books with A, B, C, and D tickets which basically got you entrance into all the sub-par rides.
So FYI, when you hear some old fart say, “Wow, that was a real E ticket experience,” you know they’re talking about something that is totally groovy. Double bonus for dating myself twice in that one sentence!
I digress.
Sandy makes a really good point and one that never once occurred to me in the multiple times I visited Disneyland: Those attractions do tell a story. Which either means Sandy is a much better observer than I am or I was just too damn busy lamenting the fact I had no more E tickets in my coupon book, I didn’t fully engage with the ride.
Which offers a postscript to Sandy’s dispatch: Pay attention. There are scenes and stories everywhere. Whether it’s any form of advertising or the interactions of people you see on the street, it’s all part of The Story Of Life.
Get out your E ticket to make sure you get the ride you want.
Tomorrow: Another Dispatch From The Quest.
About Sandy: Bostonian that learned how to pronounce “R’s” upon moving to LA. A lefty that loves the unusual. Dreams of owning a taxidermy dodo bird. @scriptchix & @lil_sjl.
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