Set Pieces, Part 2: Emotional Meaning

A series this week on set pieces: A scene or set of scenes with a big idea, feel and/or scope to them, oftentimes associated with major plot points, and always about entertainment.

Part 2: Emotional Meaning.

Set pieces can be all sorts of fun and involve major visuals such as this:

http://static.movieclips.com/embedplayer.swf?shortid=jMTgy

Or this:

http://static.movieclips.com/embedplayer.swf?shortid=6Ui9P

Or this:

http://static.movieclips.com/embedplayer.swf?shortid=cpjKG

Set pieces involve characters. Those characters have personal histories. We would not be telling their story unless something compelling was going on in the psychological realm of the narrative. The connection of a character’s emotional life to the events give meaning to the events.

Otherwise it’s all just noise.

However when imbued with emotional meaning, we get a set piece like this:

http://static.movieclips.com/embedplayer.swf?shortid=hZ73T

Takeaway: As you brainstorm and develop set pieces, be sure to consider what is or can be going on with the emotional life of the characters involved in the events.

For Part 1: Spin the plot, go here.

Tomorrow: More on set pieces.

What set pieces can you recall that convey emotional meaning in a memorable way?

[Originally posted October 9, 2012]