5. End Every Scene On A Memorable Note
By now, it feels as though we've seen every variation of every scene ever written, right? And that's just the kind of territory that comes with watching lots and lots of movies - after a while, it feels like there's only so many ways you can take a scene. But consider that audiences simply won't remember any scenes you write that fail to do something
different (or at least feel like they do). Why would they, after all? If you're not making the effort, why should they? If you're writing scenes that exist
purely as exposition or filler, you're missing an opportunity, though: Quentin Tarantino never, ever wastes a scene, no matters what its purpose happens to be. Something is always made to stand out. You remember it when you leave the theatre, even if - in retrospect - nothing really happened. How does he manage to do it, then? Well, notice how QT never ends a single one of his scenes without doing something out of the ordinary. Every scene ends on an intriguing note or an amusing joke or a major hint towards what's going to happen next. No scene is abandoned on a flat note. Each one leads into the next one with a purpose, contained as a little masterclass in construction. And that's why you can remember QT-written scenes so vividly, because you associate each moment with a definite punchline (and punchlines, in this case, don't have to be funny, by the way). Not just that, though: every scene that QT right has
something inherently unique to it, anyway, and the way he finishes up each one only serves to drive what's happened further into your memory. Take the first three scenes in
Django Unchained: all of them end in a gag, courtesy of Dr. Schultz, but we're also getting to know the man through the implications of these jokes. When he leaves the rest of the slaves to decide how to deal with their captor at the end of the first scene in the movie, we're amused, exhilarated and totally shocked all at once - audience manipulation at its finest.