Just came across this quote at johnaugust.com:
At first glance, this rings true. BUT… making sense isn't everything. There are also such things as creating atmosphere and setting the mood.
For instance, in "Rebecca" there is a scene where Mr deWinter and his new wife are driving toward Manderley palace. The road winds through woods and we share the woman's excitement and anticipation. Suddenly the scenery opens up and there it is, grand, beautiful, impressive. The movie would have made sense without that long drive, but something would have been lost.
Or in "The Lord of the Rings", the first movie, where the hobbits are on the road, Frodo notices someone approaching, they hide and a Nazgûl rides up, stops, dismounts, sniffs the air. Frodo feels an urge to put on the Ring. Then the bad guy goes away. The scene adds suspense and the hobbit's sense of dread. But it's far from necessary to the story.
I'm noticing this because I have a similar scene in my script. My protagonist stumbles across a mysterious religious ceremony. Done right, it will create a sense of dark, ancient, hidden magic. The protagonist is curious and it tells us something about the cultural environment where the story takes place. But it doesn't really lead anywhere. The logic of the story is not affected.
I realize that keeping or losing this scene is a judgement call. Basically, I just wanted to express my doubts about the approach where every scene should be necessary to the story.
Imagine the projectionist screwed up and accidentally lopped off this scene. Would the movie still make sense? If the answer is “yes,” then you don’t really need the scene, and shouldn’t bother writing it.
At first glance, this rings true. BUT… making sense isn't everything. There are also such things as creating atmosphere and setting the mood.
For instance, in "Rebecca" there is a scene where Mr deWinter and his new wife are driving toward Manderley palace. The road winds through woods and we share the woman's excitement and anticipation. Suddenly the scenery opens up and there it is, grand, beautiful, impressive. The movie would have made sense without that long drive, but something would have been lost.
Or in "The Lord of the Rings", the first movie, where the hobbits are on the road, Frodo notices someone approaching, they hide and a Nazgûl rides up, stops, dismounts, sniffs the air. Frodo feels an urge to put on the Ring. Then the bad guy goes away. The scene adds suspense and the hobbit's sense of dread. But it's far from necessary to the story.
I'm noticing this because I have a similar scene in my script. My protagonist stumbles across a mysterious religious ceremony. Done right, it will create a sense of dark, ancient, hidden magic. The protagonist is curious and it tells us something about the cultural environment where the story takes place. But it doesn't really lead anywhere. The logic of the story is not affected.
I realize that keeping or losing this scene is a judgement call. Basically, I just wanted to express my doubts about the approach where every scene should be necessary to the story.
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