Once you understand the story, who the characters are and what happens to them, you now need to analyze each individual scene by digging deeper into the story and its structure. (NOTE: You will use many of the same story analysis points I mentioned above but now they are specifically designed for each scene.
STAGE DIRECTIONS are the writer’s ideas, suggestions or concepts for the director and the actors that show or describe (a) back story facts pertaining to a scene or a character (b) the behavior, or inner life of a character (c) the staging or blocking the writer is thinking about and (d) various actor business.
You should always make note of the stage directions, but they don’t always have to be used as fact. Remember, it’s your job as the director to “interpret the script visually” and stamp it with your unique vision.
What is the MAIN SCENE OBJECTIVE (or intent) of the scene? Why is this scene in the story? What is the main reason for the scene? What is the scene used for dramatically? If you take this scene out of the script, will it affect the story? Does this scene move the story forward or is it just used for character development?
Every scene in a film has at least three objectives: (1) to move the story forward (2) to reveal plot (3) to reveal character.
For the Actor, a Scene Objective is something their character consciously wants to achieve and this desire carries the character through a particular scene.
For the Director, a scene could have a Main Objective (the main story reason for the scene) and Secondary Objectives (to establish a location for the first time; to focus a specific prop; to establish a character; to hear an important line of dialogue etc.) These overall objectives (Main and Secondary) are what drive the film forward and create a state of suspense for the audience.
TIP: If you know the objective and the story points of a scene you can confidently deal with actors who want to change their dialogue – as long as the dialogue change doesn’t alter the intent of the scene or the characters.
What is the CENTRAL EMOTIONAL EVENT? If a script is well written, every scene should have a “central emotional event” (something physical or emotional that happens between the characters) and it’s the director’s responsibility to make sure all of these emotional events flow together in a cohesive and logical manner.
What are the OBSTACLES each character faces in this scene? Obstacles are what stand in the way of a character achieving his/her scene objective and they can be either Internal (mental/emotional) or External (physical.)
Obstacles continually raise the stakes for your character throughout the story and they add conflict and tension to the plot because obstacles make it harder for the character to achieve their objective. Remember: a good scene should answer these two questions: “What does each character want?” and “Why is he/she having difficulty getting it?”
What are the SCENE BEATS? To find all the character changes and action events of a scene, you need to break the scene down into a series of smaller beats (sections or units) which are moments in the script when the story suddenly changes direction.
Beats are defined as changes of circumstances or transitions in behavior (think action-reaction.) Beats usually happen when something changes in the scene, when a new behavior occurs, when another character enters the scene or when there is a change in direction in the dialogue that creates a change of emotion with one or more of the characters.
The best way to identify a scene beat is to (1) find out where the dialogue subject changes (2) is there a shift in physical movement of a character (3) does a new character enter the scene?
Beats are important because when a director divides a scene into a series of smaller units, they can focus on the details of the scene by using these script beats to develop a blocking plan.
NOTE: Don’t confuse scene beats with character pauses. When a writer wants a character to stop talking and pause for a moment, they write (Beat) by the line of dialogue.
