10 Screenwriting Lessons You Can Learn From Star Trek Into Darkness
6. Distraction As A Way To Surprise The Audience
Leaving the viewers guessing is a tough job. Like I mentioned earlier, us humans like to try and figure things out. It comes from our desire to make sense of the world around us. The last thing you want your movie to be is predictable. No surprise means no suspense, which means mass walkouts.
So how can you get around that, especially if you have to make a plot point painfully obvious? Well, one great way is through distraction. During part of the movie, Captain Kirk, Spock, and Uhura are on their way to a Klingon area to try and capture Khan. Now, of course, we sense that something will go wrong. If they were able to just land, slap some handcuffs on Khan, hold hands and skip along to the Enterprise, we wouldnt have a movie. Or, at least, wed have a totally different one.
Knowing this, how do the writers manage to catch us off guard? On their trip to the Klingon world, Spock and Uhura start arguing, airing out their relationship problems in front of Kirk. This, of course, gets Kirk involved as well. It gets heated and Spock gets cornered by the both of them. In response, Spock reveals more of his character by explaining how he feels and why he did what he did earlier in the movie. Drama + revealing character = hooked viewers. Suddenly, WHAM, the ship is under attack and we remember Oh yeah, they were going to catch the villain!.
If your characters are taking a trip somewhere or moving from point A to point B, distract the audience with something that is also important to the film. Use this time to resolve earlier drama or reveal more layers to your characters. The audience wont be able to turn away.