DZ-21: Scene Transitions and the Hook

Listen to understand how transitions compress time, enhance thematic connections, unify story threads, and orient your reader

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Stu and Chas look at one of the basic building blocks of a script: scene transitions. Transitions don't just move you from one scene to another in a slick way, they can help you compress time, enhance thematic connections, unify different story threads, orient (or disorient) your reader... and just make your script feel more like a movie.

To help us see how scenes connect & collide in interesting ways, we take a close look at scripts of films with great transitions to see how much of the work was done by the writer (as opposed to the director or editor): SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD, HIGHLANDER, AMERICAN SPLENDOR and BOYHOOD.

And then, in backmatter we take a self-reflective look at TIME MANAGEMENT (and naps).

Oh, we are also holding a LIVE EPISODE of Draft Zero at the 2015 St Kilda Film Festival. May 25, 8pm. More details shortly!

BACKMATTER LINKS

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

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FILMS

• SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD (2010) — (w) Michael Bacall, Edgar Wright (d) Edgar Wright
• HIGHLANDER (1986) — (w) Gregory Widen, Peter Bellwood, Larry Ferguson (d) Russell Mulcahy
• AMERICAN SPLENDOR (2003) — (w) Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini, Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner (d) Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
• BOYHOOD (2014) — (w) Richard Linklater

SCRIPTS

• Study the script: SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD (2010) — Michael Bacall, Edgar Wright
• Study the script: BOYHOOD (2014) — Richard Linklater

LINKS

• Read: David Bordwell
• Read: The Hook: Scene Transitions in Classical Cinema
• Read: There Will Be Blood - Hands and Faces Across the Table
• Read: Watching You Watch There Will Be Blood
• Watch: Vimeo: There Will Be Blood with gaze locations of 11 viewers
• Read: Scriptnotes: Ep89 - Writing effective transitions
• YouTube: Scott Pilgrim Transitions
• YouTube: Every Frame a Painting: Edgar Wright - How to do Visual Comedy
• YouTube: Highlander (1986) - Trailer
• YouTube: American Splendor - What's In A Name
• Watch: Kevin B. Lee : Who Deserves the 2015 Oscar for Best Director?
• Read: Screenwriting.io: What is a pre-lap?
• Read: The Next Web: The Secret To Insane Productivity? Will Power
• Read: The Write Practice: 23 Essential Quotes from Ernest Hemingway About Writing
• Read: Brain Pickings: The Daily Routines of Great Writers
• Read: The Guardian: Rise and shine: the daily routines of history's most creative minds
• Read: Paul Graham: How To Do What You Love
• Read: iView: Redesign my Brain with Todd Sampson
• Read: Denvog: Index Card for iPhone and Index Card for iPad
• Read: Denvog: Index Card for iPhone and Index Card for iPad
• Read: Short of the Week: Deeper than Yesterday
• Read: Pozible: Real Lust, Inc

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We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter.

Full show notes at: https://draft-zero.com/2015/dz-21/