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I like movies that get started right away. I mean RIGHT AWAY. In the first minute. Even faster. The Instigating Event happens before you've settled into your seat. Before you know it you're engrossed in the film.
It's hard to pull this off. If you're writing a complicated drama that needs several pages of key information to be given before you can put in the Insitgating Event, it'll be harder than a mystery that begins with a murder.
Think Jagged Edge. Long shot of a big, fancy house on the water at night. Then into the house where we see somebody dressed in black walking up some stairs. Within 30 seconds a woman is killed.
The movie has begun. Who killed her? That's all we care about.
Think Basic Instinct. Pretty much the same beginning. As the film begins we're in a bedroom. Two people are having sex. Then the woman pulls a knife and kills the guy.
The movie has begun. Who is she? That's all we care about.
Both movies were written by the same guy, Joe Esterhas. He knows how to write a script. We're hooked instantly. He doesn't waste time establishing character or even introducing the main character. He starts with a dramatic event, then worries about letting us discover who the main characters are.
No matter what you're writing, this is what you should shoot for. |
