“What is the point of the scene?”

A recent lecture for the current online screenwriting class I’m teaching provoked a discussion about writing scenes. I noted that a common problem I see in scripts by pre-pros is unwieldy, unfocused scenes. Usually that occurs because the writer is trying to achieve too many things in a single scene.

So my recommendation is this: As you go about constructing a scene, ask yourself, “What is the point of the scene?”

Since every scene exists in the dual worlds of a screenplay universe — Plotline (External World) and Themeline (Internal World) — the point of a scene is comprised of two goals:

Plotline: Structural goal
Themeline: Emotional goal

The point of a scene in terms of the Plotline is how it ties in and advances the plot.

The point of a scene in terms of the Themeline is how it ties in and advances the emotional arc.

Let’s take an example from one of my favorite screenplays The Shawshank Redemption — the final conversation between Andy and Red. Andy has just had his All Is Lost moment: Tommy, a young prisoner who heard a confession from Elmo Batch, another prisoner at another prison, that could have proven Andy’s innocence, is assassinated by Capt. Hadley at Warden Norton’s orders. Even worse, Norton throws Andy in solitary confinement for two months, then tells Andy that nothing is going to change, Andy will continue to stay at Shawshank, working with Norton as the accountant of Norton’s extortion schemes. In other words, Andy’s brief hope of gaining his freedom has been squashed by Norton. Now Andy has been let out of his long stint in solitary confinement:

EXT -- PRISON YARD -- DAY (1966)Red finds Andy sitting in the shadow of the high stone wall,
poking listlessly through the dust for small pebbles. Red
waits for some acknowledgment. Andy doesn't even look up.
Red hunkers down and joins him. Nothing is said for the
longest time. And then, softly:ANDY
My wife used to say I'm a hard man
to know. Like a closed book.
Complained about it all the time.
(pause)
She was beautiful. I loved her. But
I guess I couldn't show it enough.
(softly)
I killed her, Red.Andy finally glances to Red, seeking a reaction. Silence.ANDY
I didn't pull the trigger. But I
drove her away. That's why she
died. Because of me, the way I am.RED
That don't make you a murderer. Bad
husband, maybe.Andy smiles faintly in spite of himself. Red gives his
shoulder a squeeze.RED
Feel bad about it if you want. But
you didn't pull the trigger.ANDY
No. I didn't. Someone else did, and
I wound up here. Bad luck, I guess.RED
Bad luck? Jesus.ANDY
It floats around. Has to land on
somebody. Say a storm comes
through. Some folks sit in their
living rooms and enjoy the rain.
The house next door gets torn out
of the ground and smashed flat. It
was my turn, that's all. I was in
the path of the tornado.
(softly)
I just had no idea the storm would
go on as long as it has.
(glances to him)
Think you'll ever get out of here?RED
Sure. When I got a long white beard
and about three marbles left
rolling around upstairs.ANDY
Tell you where I'd go. Zihuatanejo.RED
Zihuatanejo?ANDY
Mexico. Little place right on the
Pacific. You know what the Mexicans
say about the Pacific? They say it
has no memory. That's where I'd
like to finish out my life, Red. A
warm place with no memory. Open a
little hotel right on the beach.
Buy some worthless old boat and fix
it up like new. Take my guests out
charter fishing.
(beat)
You know, a place like that, I'd
need a man who can get things.Red stares at Andy, laughs.RED
Jesus, Andy. I couldn't hack it on
the outside. Been in here too long.
I'm an institutional man now. Like
old Brooks Hatlen was.ANDY
You underestimate yourself.RED
Bullshit. In here I'm the guy who
can get it for you. Out there, all
you need are Yellow Pages. I
wouldn't know where to begin.
(derisive snort)
Pacific Ocean? Hell. Like to scare
me to death, somethin' that big.ANDY
Not me. I didn't shoot my wife and
I didn't shoot her lover, and
whatever mistakes I made I've paid
for and then some. That hotel and
that boat...I don't think it's too
much to want. To look at the stars
just after sunset. Touch the sand.
Wade in the water. Feel free.RED
Goddamn it, Andy, stop! Don't do
that to yourself! Talking shitty
pipedreams! Mexico's down there,
and you're in here, and that's the
way it is!ANDY
You're right. It's down there, and
I'm in here. I guess it comes down
to a simple choice, really. Get
busy living or get busy dying.Red snaps a look. What the hell does that mean? Andy rises and
walks away. Red lunges to his feet.RED
Andy?ANDY
(turns back)
Red, if you ever get out of here,
do me a favor. There's this big
hayfield up near Buxton. You know
where Buxton is?RED
(nods)
Lots of hayfields there.ANDY
One in particular. Got a long rock
wall with a big oak at the north
end. Like something out of a Robert
Frost poem. It's where I asked my
wife to marry me. We'd gone for a
picnic. We made love under that
tree. I asked and she said yes.
(beat)
Promise me, Red. If you ever get
out, find that spot. In the base of
that wall you'll find a rock that
has no earthly business in a Maine
hayfield. A piece of black volcanic
glass. You'll find something buried
under it I want you to have.RED
What? What's buried there?ANDY
You'll just have to pry up that
rock and see.Andy turns and walks away.

In the External World (Plotline), the structural goal of the scene is for Andy to get Red to promise that if Red ever gets out of prison, he will go to that hayfield in Buxton. This is a critical plot point because Andy and Red can’t seal their Unity state unless they reunite in Mexico.

In the Internal World (Themeline), the emotional goal of the scene is for Andy to go through a sort of confessional review of his life, so that he can determine, once and for all, that he is going to go through with his escape plans — which he does that night.

So even though there’s a lot going on, it is a tightly focused scene because Darabont has a clear sense of the point of the scene.

Now is it possible to construct a scene with multiple points? Yes. But for writers whose scenes tend to wander all over the place, asking this question — “What is the point of your scene?” — can be an excellent tool to help focus your scene-writing.

UPDATE: In comments, H asked:

Do all scenes have a 3-act structure? And is there a usual amount of beats to them…like six beats?

There are all sorts of scenes, so I’m reticent to declare that they all have to have this or that many beats. Is the six-beat thing part of a theory floating around? If so, please forward that info to me.

I will say this: If you think of a scene having a Beginning, Middle, and End — essentially their own 3-act structure — you will be on solid ground in how you approach writing scenes. It just makes sense:

* You enter a scene and establish what’s going on: We can call that the Beginning

* Something happens that creates a shift in mood, tone, who’s ‘controlling’ the scene, etc: We can call this the Middle.

* The scene has some sort of resolve, even if the resolve is open-ended (e.g., cliffhanger): We can call this the End.

If you look at the scene cited above from Shawshank, there is a clear 3-act structure to it:

Beginning: Andy looks back on how he was sentenced to Shawshank, admitting to some measure of culpability in re to her death.

Middle: But Andy also realizes that he has more than paid the price.

Ending: He tells Red about Mexico and a hayfield in Buxton, getting Red to promise he’ll go there if he ever gets out of Shawshank.

Again, as noted above, Andy’s ‘confessional’ is, I think, about him going through the logic of everything to convince himself that he’s going to go through with his escape. He sums up where he is at this critical juncture in his life with the touchstone line of the movie: “Get busy living or get busy dying.”

Are there scenes with 4-acts, 5-acts, 6-acts, whatever? Probably. A scene needs to be what it needs to be. However if you approach each scene asking, “What is its Beginning? What is its Middle? What is its Ending?” — you should do all right.

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