Scene Functions
(Shorthand)
Advance the Story/Plot
- This should go without saying, but nearly every scene has to move the story forward.
Evoke Mood/Tone
- What kind of movie are we watching? This scene function lets us know.
Bond Audience to Character
- Make us care about your characters. It’s oh so more than just saving cats
Convey Genre –
- Some scene’s main function is simply to relay genre conventions.
Establish/Heighten Tension
- This scene tightens the screws on a character to create dramatic tension.
Establish/Escalate Conflict
- This one should go without saying as well, but some form of conflict dominates these scenes.
Create a Setback
- This is a scene in which a character’s goal is thwarted.
Raise the Stakes
- Similar to heightening tension, these scenes broaden or intensify the consequences should our hero (or any character) fail.
Reveal Backstory/Exposition
Challenging scenes to write, here’s where we learn about things that happened before the movie started. See: Exposition dump. Also See: monologuing. Also See: avoid both those.Embed a Set-Up (plant)
Set-up and payoff – our powerful one-two punch. Obviously; this is the first one.
Reminder of a Set-Up
- If the set-up occurred a while ago, might want to use this scene function to remind us of it.
Payoff a Set Up
- If you’re going to go to the trouble of setting up, might as well pay it off.
Teach a Character
- This is a scene in which the character learns something or gains a new insight.
Offer Alternative Perspectives
- An important scene function, these moments keep the movie from becoming propaganda. As such, these scenes allow opportunities for the audience to create meaning in the story.
Display Eye-Candy
- Like the name suggests, give us something visual to dazzle our eyes.
Establish a Character Trait
- These next three are related, and all of them have to do with character building…
Reinforce a Character Trait
- This function confirms our suspicions about a character’s personality.
Further Reinforce a Character Trait
- Just in case we missed it. Actually, this one is less about the audience missing the trait and more about reconfirming that we were right about a character’s personality.
Portray Character
- Much like the other character functions of a scene, it’s a basic function.
Provide Irony
- How bittersweet this function is – like ray-eee-ain, on your wedding day, which technically isn’t really irony, but who’s counting?
Add Humor
- All the world loves a clown.
Raise Dramatic Questions
- These pique our interest to discover the answer, which conveniently is another function of scenes.
Answer Dramatic Questions
- Similar to set-up and payoff. Can’t have a Q&A with the audience, without the A.
Provide Surprise
- Boo!
Create Suspense
- When we absolutely, positively gotta know, these scenes extend the moments between question and answer to leave us begging to know more.
Build Anticipation
- Similar to suspense, this function serves to set us up for the awesomeness to come.
Get a Reaction
- One order of shock value to go, please.
Create Contrast
- A scene function that works with other scenes or within a long scene to change tempo, pace, or any other element you can contrast to generate interest.
Transition Time or Place
- Perhaps this scene is showing time elapse, or bridging us to another setting.
Misdirect an Audience or Character
- This function purposely misleads to create interest, proving that red herrings still taste great!
Provide Texture
- Similar to creating mood and tone, texture refers to adding layers to the story, rounding out its world and characters.
Develop Subtext
- This function makes us have to read between the lines.
Create Parallel Action
- Thank you, Edwin S. Porter.
Explore metaphor and symbolism
- Why should writers of literature have all the fun?
Explore Theme
- With all due respect to Samuel Goldwyn, if you want to send a message, use this scene function.
Types of Scenes
The Expository Scene
As the name implies, the main function of this scene is to provide backstory and information the audience will need to follow the story. Remember, if a movie is a slice of the story, then there were events that occurred before the movie started. This status quo is shown to the audience in expository scenes.
Backstory is useful to help us see the change the narrative will bring about, build anticipation for the conflicts to come, and enable us to see how the Inciting Incident will overturn the status quo. It’s also useful to help us understand the rules of the world.
In the beginning of your movie limit backstory to just the bare minimum we need to understand the story at this time. You can use expository scenes later to expand the depth of the story.
The Signature Scene
Similar to the Expository Scene, this type of scene is used to establish who a character is in a nutshell.It’s often our first introduction to a character. As you might expect, these occur early in the movie.
As an introduction, these scenes may include a bit of backstory or show the character in some sort of character-defining action. Either way, we should come out of this scene with the sense of – ‘Oh, he’s THAT guy.’ Or… ‘Oh, she’s THAT kind of person.’
Obviously greater depth will be provided later in the movie, but for now, the Signature Scene announces to the audience a big-time character has arrived in the movie.
Set-Up and Payoff Scenes ————————
The primary purposes of these scenes are to set story elements in motion for later payoffs. Set up and payoff scenes engage the audience by generating anticipation and suspense.
Remember, the audience is actively putting elements together as the story progresses. At their base level, these scenes give the audience something to assemble. These are among the most powerful tools available to get the audience into a movie.
A set up without a payoff is called a widow. A payoff without a setup is called an orphan. Avoid BOTH.
Set ups without payoffs frustrate an audience and make the story appear aimless. Payoffs without setups make the story appear arbitrary, convenient and contrived. Neither of these is good. Typically the first half of the movie is dominated by set up scenes and the second half is dominated by payoffs. By the time you reach the third act, the movie will consist almost exclusively of payoffs.
Obstacle and Complication Scenes
Scenes are driven by goals, both within the scene and overarching throughout the story. Just as the name says, Obstacle Scenes place things in the way of a character to keep him or her from achieving a
goal.
Complication Scenes serve the same effect (make life difficult for a character), but they foreshadow and set up obstacles for later in the film. They can also be the results of a previous Obstacle Scene in which
the obstacle is overcome, but this leads to even more trouble (a complication.)
The Victory Scene
——————
Obstacles may be overcome within the Obstacle Scene, or this moment can stretch over into a separate Victory Scene. After the hard work overcoming an obstacle, it’s time to celebrate! These are also
measures of a character’s growth and progression toward attaining a goal. It can also serve as contrast to the previous scene, and the scenes to follow.
The Setback Scene
——————
Here a main character fails to overcome an obstacle. It’s typically a temporary failure, but the setback helps to plant doubt in the mind of the audience that our intrepid character will actually succeed.
Give the audience enough of these and they may actually believe your hero may not triumph at the end of the movie – but if the hero perseveres through all these setbacks, it shows tenacity, a very endearing
character trait for most members of the audience.
If handled properly, Setback Scenes also demonstrate how powerful the antagonist is, giving the overall narrative a sense of unpredictability.
The Discovery Scene
In this scene, a character discovers a vital piece of information, a clue, something valuable he or she will need to solve the problem presented in the movie. This moment of discovery typically inspires the hero
to continue the quest, or sends him or her in a new direction. These types of scenes often come at or near major structural beats in the story. The revelations gained in these scenes alter the story as we know it. These scenes may also come as a result of a Setback or Victory Scene. The setback leads to discovery, or the victory leads to discovery. A subset of the Discovery Scene is the Inspiration Scene.
Inspiration Scene
This type of scene is a specialized form of discovery in which characters discover something within themselves that inspire changes within the characters. Perhaps a flaw is discovered, or a hidden ability. Whatever is discovered, these moments may serve to make characters rethink their choices, their treatment of others, their lives, plans, etc…, which often leads to…
The Decision-in-Action Scene
Often as a result of a Discovery or Inspiration Scene, a character will make a decision and put that decision into action. Scenes of this type are the result. These scenes may sometimes reflect a major change in story direction as our newly-inspired character takes charge. These scenes are often prime movers of plot and story. They are also often combined within Discovery Scenes.
The Transitional Scene
These typically short scenes serve as transitions to smooth out major jumps in narrative time, space or story threads. Keep them short as they are typically very short on dramatic action as well. Remember, scenes link together to create a seamless movie narrative, but occasionally when making large jumps the linkages need a little bit of help to function. These scenes are often the solution.
The Dazzler
Can be a standalone scene or a form of Transition Scene in functionality, these are our big money scenes that often exist just to show off the power of cinema. Chase sequences, action scenes, beauty shots and flyovers, thrills and spills. The main reason for these scenes is to show off really cool images to the audience. May seem trite or banal, but they make for great trailer moments. Besides eye candy has a joy all its own!
Specialized Scenes
There are a number of specialty scenes that serve specific purposes as the narrative calls for.
Montage Scenes - These show a change over a series of short scenes. Useful when you want to bridge time and show a change but don’t want to expend a great deal of narrative weight on these moments. Typically silent (aside from the rousing soundtrack).
Series of Shots - Similar to a montage, a series of shots typically is relegated to showing the completion of a specific task broken down into mini-scenes or shots. Almost always silent.
Flashback Scene - Typically a subset of Expository Scenes, but may also be used to go inside the mind of a character. Dangerous because they take the audience out of the real-time story thread and remind us all that we’re watching a movie.
Dream and Fantasy Scenes - Can serve to create their own sense of a story’s mystery unfolding, taking us into the subconscious of a character. The same dangers inherent in flashbacks also apply here, but they can be useful so long as they provide new information to the audience.