10. Write Set Pieces That You've Never Seen Before
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WomtYMqeAe8 When we go to see blockbusters, the thing we usually remember more than any other is the set pieces. They're also the moments that we're probably looking forward to seeing the most prior to knowing much else about the story - especially these days, where you can analyze a movie's trailer in depth for hours and hours online. What you'll notice now, however, is that set-pieces are becoming bigger and bigger, what with the allowances afforded to filmmakers by way of CGI and massive budgets. This is great news for writers: if you can imagine it, it can probably be filmed. So what exactly is a set piece, you might ask? Well, these are the moments that help to define cinema at its best. They're the best sections, and the ones that you look forward to - can't wait to get to, even - the second time you sit down to watch a flick. It's the chestburster scene from Alien. The shark hunt in Jaws. The skyscraper climb in the last Mission: Impossible. They're explosions of cinematic invention and action spectacle. Going back to "if you can imagine it, it can probably be filmed," Christopher Nolan is a visionary in possession of such a mindset. And to give the man credit, he sure can conjure up a set piece. Whereas it's probably easy to just accidentally re-write a set-piece that you've seen in another movie, writing great set pieces is a serious route towards screenwriting success. Studios want to see original ideas for set pieces because, hey, they're what will eventually sell the movie to audiences. The good thing about set pieces is that they don't necessarily have to advance the story (though if you can conjure up one that does, good on you!), but exist to inject some energy where an Act risks getting flat. The Dark Knight Rises, on the whole, is surprisingly flat when it comes great set pieces. There are a couple that play like bad copies of set pieces from the movie's predecessor. The opening scene, however, is a great lesson in screenwriting, because it happens to be a set piece that a) we've never seen before and b) constantly surprises us. The key to a great set piece, however, isn't in the scale - it's in the originality. The Dark Knight has an even better opening set piece, what with the Joker's bank robbery in downtown Gotham. It's relatively low-scale, but the structure, pacing and suspense makes for a dynamite set-piece. Though Nolan tried to outdo himself with the plane sequence at the beginning of this movie, it's interesting to note that bigger doesn't necessarily mean better - the bank robbery is far more interesting and revealing of the Joker's nature. We learn a ton about him - best of all, we don't even realise it's happening, because we're too caught up in the excitement.