How to Write Great Scenes - 4 Elements Every Scene Should Have

Anatomy of a Great Scene - dissecting the four main elements of a great scene, including conflict, plot function, character development, and blocking & staging.
How to Write a Great Scene ►► bit.ly/an-gs
StudioBinder Blog ►► bit.ly/sb-bl
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Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction to Great Scenes
00:56 - What Makes a Scene Great?
03:08 - Chapter 1: Conflict
08:21 - Chapter 2: Character Development
12:42 - Chapter 3: Plot Function
16:25 - Chapter 4: Blocking & Staging
20:18 - Deep Dive: The Silence of the Lambs
25:03 - Takeaways
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ANATOMY OF A GREAT SCENE
What makes a great movie scene? While no two scenes are the same, there are consistent elements of a great scene. In this video, we’re going to take a scalpel to some of the best scenes in film history to understand the anatomy of a great scene. These include conflict, character development, plot function, and blocking & staging. A great scene doesn’t need all four of these elements - the recipe for each scene is unique and variant. Let’s look at them individually.
Without conflict, there would be no storytelling. Through the course of a single story, the protagonist must encounter conflict and obstacles in the way of their goal. At a scene level, the conflict can be minimal as long as their is sufficient conflict overall. And there are different types that can be employed like physical, verbal, internal, or environmental conflict.
A great scene should also be designed to serve the character along their arc. An individual scene can function as a tiny nudge in that direction or a full-on shove - but without some effect on the character, you might have to question if you need the scene at all.
The same criteria applies to how the scene functions on a plot level. Does the scene move the plot forward (and in the right direction) or does it slow the pacing and feel out of place? It’s one thing to write a great scene on its own but if it doesn’t add to the storytelling, it’s best to cut it.
Finally, it is the director’s responsibility to turn these written elements into a functional scene with blocking and staging. Is the camera static or would the scene benefit from a slow push in? Is there a way to use the character’s movements in the scene to enhance the conflict or character development?
The combination and execution of these elements is completely flexible and subjective. But when the elements of a great scene come together, there’s nothing better.
#FilmTheory #VideoEssay #Filmmaking
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♬ SONGS USED:
“Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen
“Twin Peaks Theme” by Angelo Badalamenti
“Night Piece for Saxophone and Orchestra” by Bernard Herrmann
“Blood Trails” by Carter Burwell
“The Verdict” by Ennio Morricone
“Father Son” by Makeup & Vanity Set
“Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr.
“Mystery Math” by Danny Elfman
“Water, Ocean” by by Jung Jae Il
“The Braying Mule” by Ennio Morricone
“Treat Her Right” by Roy Head
“Hinting” by The Kitimangoes
“Heat” by Kronos Quartet
“Adagio Per Archi E Organo in Sol Minore” by David Parry
“Los Paramos” by Makeup & Vanity Set
“Jack’s Smirking Revenge” by The Dust Brothers
“Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper
“Tsiolkovskij” by Makeup & Vanity Set
“The Searchers Soundtrack Suite” by Max Steine
“Toys” by Makeup & Vanity Set
“Citizen Kane Suite” by Bernard Herrmann
“Dead Already” by Thomas Newman
“Singin’ In The Rain” by Gene Kelly
“Bulletin Board” by Howard Shore
“Visit to Lecte”r by Howard Shore
“You Look Like A Rube” by Howard Shore
“A Neverending Beam of Light “by Makeup & Vanity Set
“Tangra” by Makeup & Vanity Set
Music by Artlist ► utm.io/umJx
Music by Artgrid ► utm.io/umJy
Music by Soundstripe ► bit.ly/2IXwomF
Music by MusicBed ► bit.ly/2Fnz9Zq
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Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction to Great Scenes 00:56 - What Makes a Scene Great? 03:08 - Chapter 1: Conflict 08:21 - Chapter 2: Character Development 12:42 - Chapter 3: Plot Function 16:25 - Chapter 4: Blocking & Staging 20:18 - Deep Dive: The Silence of the Lambs 25:03 - Takeaways

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There is no spoiling if the movie is many years or even decades old……

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​@@romandos1972 it is still spoiling if someone hasn't seen it

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@@romandos1972 ofc its spoiling. It doesent hurt to warn like they do it

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This channel has brought me interest to many movies, even older ones, that I haven't seen that I somehow missed. So it is great that they do.

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@@romandos1972what about for someone who wasn’t born in that decade and is just now getting into film? Wouldn’t you want them to enjoy the film like you did when you saw it decades ago? You can definitely spoil something for someone even if it’s an old film.

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I need a video on "How a Director acts and directs at the same time " just like in reservoir dogs

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[@nictheartist]

I'm going to have a go at this soon. I think if your DP is on the same page as you, you can get him/her to give directions, as far as achieving the right visuals are concerned, while you're in front of the camera. Even better if you have an assistant director, I guess.

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I've learned and implemented so many tips from this channel and they have absolutely changed my entire style for the better I think. The scenes I see in my head aren't quite what comes out, but it's getting closer and closer! Some of this information was so transformative, even if they were somewhat annoying to think about and implement at first. I would remind myself with a little checklist of things to try or implement / look out for, and at first it was time consuming, if not 'flow interrupting', but over time they've become second hand knowledge. These days I find myself doing these tips, or trying to - without really thinking. I can look back and see the difference from before and after I've found this channel. Thanks so much for all you offer! As for studio binder itself, I'm a one man band, so the amount of features for me is almost overwhelming. To storyboard and write, shotlist, equipment, location, etc. Maybe I just don't know what I'm doing. Who knows. Anyways - this channel is a goldmine. The narrator, sound, everything. These vids forever keep me motivated to improve my filmmaking. Thanks.

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You made it sound so easy! I love those breakdowns so much. And of course editing (Twin Peaks theme and Queen!) is amazing as always

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Those scenes are in fact so good, that I find it difficult to actually get the lecture content while re-watching these scenes. Thank you for another amazing video StudioBinder!

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haha that's another lesson in itself

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Please continue to be so sensative in your teachings and advisings, I have a lot of notebooks writing following your courses.

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We'll keep improving ;)

[@alejandrovargasaguilar6180]

I love how the topic has been touched through several channels but you guys put a unique view on this. I mean the subject is so relative that the way you span the idea is soo great. With the perfect examples and well tell the explainations, sounds like the perfect recipe for cinema.

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How do we learn to make Good Movies? By watching StudioBinder videos. Thousand Thanks StudioBinder for this Inspiring Masterclass. It really help me.🙏

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Hannibal's facial expressions, the movement of his eyes while speaking, his gaze... everything. Anthony Hopkins is a Master of his craft. We can see Hannibal in Westworld's Robert Ford.

[@tgfitzgerald]

i read that Anthony Hopkins studied videos of serial killers to prepare for the roll. One thing he noticed they had in common was how seldom they blinked, so he incorporated that into his performance. Really ups the creepy factor!

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​@@tgfitzgeraldHe also mentioned in an interview that he imagined the character as a reptile, hence the unblinking stare.

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Our favourite narrator is back.

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This channel is the best weekly film school! Keep up the amazing work!

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more on the way!

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your explaining and deep dive into scenes makes it so much simpler to understand great video as usual

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Happy to help :)

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If anyone is thinking of being a film maker, u can’t find a better channel. I’ve been studying film most of my life but I’m learning more and more each day

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The Dinner Scene of Heat always gets me. For me one of the best scenes in film history.

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Top dialogue scene

[@Puppetsinmyhead]

I’m so glad to see that Manchester by the Sea was mentioned as a great scene. That scene blew me away the first time I watched it. I didn’t care for the movie, but that scene stood up there next to the best of them.

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It was delivered perfectly

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I think one unspoken aspect of creativity this channel teaches us, is setting a personal bar for quality, and sticking to it! Thats called integrity, folks.. 🍻 SB

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There's always something to learn from your videos. I enjoyed watching this

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Always.

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never ceases to amaze me, thank you StudioBinder!

[@niu3970]

Another Key note to scenes when dealing with multiple characters. Never forget, each character has their own lives. Never seize any character's story: what drives them forward, what are their ticks and triggers, who are they and their function to the story and their own.

[@tgfitzgerald]

I love that you included scenes from older movies. The scene from Singing in the Rain is iconic!

[@JekrisMaravilla]

I compared the scene between silence of the lambs & Dumb & Dumber with that hannibal reaction, I laughed so hard. 😂 Jim Carrey & Jeff Daniels did it very well. hahaha!

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Great parody

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I’m not even trying to make movies but I love these videos! I feel like they give me a better lens to watch movies through and to really appreciate the ways in which they were artfully made

[@jakeausten9673]

I love your examples. When I think of great scenes, the two films that immediately pop into mind are Vertigo and Silence of the Lambs.

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You guys are truly amazing, thank you so so so much for these resources, I'm head of story at an animation studio send these over to my storyboard artists all the time!

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Fantastic!

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The honey voice and a diopter reference?! I’m in heaven!

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Been looking forward for an in-depth video!

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Enjoy!

[@chriswest8389]

Notice in the G.F example, how the director ends in on such a perfect cadance? Its also more forshadowing. And a, you reap what you sow forshadowing. The tables are turned on Tommy. If corn was somehow reveranced the scene is then perfect in everyway.

[@graildemitrius6310]

Love this channel! Learned so much for my art and photography from this show 👏🏼

[@SpaceTimeTurtle]

A great scene steals the viewers attention. How exactly great scenes achieve this is a wonderful interesting never-ending discussion.

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I used to watch movies literally blindly, but it's with Studiobinder now I am seeing them.

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your channel, every video and analysis let me know and appreciate more and more the movie world. Amazing video, as always. Thanks.

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I’ve learned so much from the content on this channel, including the name of “Godvilla” at 12:24 lol. All jokes aside, this channel is amazing and I’ve been able to understand so much more through the videos

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Glad you liked it!

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Forgot how good of a movie Silence of the lambs is, its up there as one of the best in my opinion

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Each seminar is a filmmaking seminar

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The editing is so good

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Great video as always. Good job!

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My film school...and its free..thank you studiobinder🙌💯

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Glad to see The Room in videos like this!

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It was imperative to include it.

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Classics only!

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The silence of the lamb has a lot of good decisions about cinematic techniques, it has great actors and a great script, in other words, it's a perfect film. Thanks for give us too much knowledge

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So useful as always 👏🏻🤝🏻

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I sincerely love how this masterclasses in cinema constantly use The Room scenes in appropiate ways

[@SwastikaNohara]

Very interesting! Love the way you guys give examples and using scenes from famous movies! Please incorporate more Asian movies into your videos, there are countless great movies from Korea, Japan, Iran, Indonesia, India, China and HK. Thank you.

[@rhettohlerking2446]

Thank you for the list of movies that will be spoiled. I’ve waited years

[@LittleDuckFromJupiter]

Again, a great tutorial and selection of example scenes! Only thing: the subject gives room for a longer excursus. Here, it was a very story and character focused approach. What I would add: there are scenes which are great because they are simply overwhelming from a photographical/visual point of view. To name only one: Think about 'Mad Max: Fury Road' - the extreme long shot when the chase races towards the forming sand storm. There are a lot of such films with similar scenes which are burned into my memory. (addition: I just re-read the video title :-D It seems named focus was the core of the video, so my comment maybe missed the point a bit)

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Great scenes and Great educative compilation!

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So great videos!

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This is Fantastic thanks

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Cheers!

El mejor canal referente a cine que he encontrado en esta Santísima Plataforma. 👍

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Thanks for watching!

[@lotus65]

It would be fun to hear you dissect (what I think is) one of the best; when Pete Bogdanovich brilliantly coaxes an extended uncut conflict/resolution scene out of our little hero Tatum O'Neill in Paper Moon. Such a wonderful film IMO.

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another banger from StudioBinder

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Great video 😊

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Great Valuable lessons Learnt a lot🎉 Thank you

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Is there someone told to me. What is main reason these content does not have copyright restriction. Thank you so much guys

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we don't run ads, content falls under Fair Use

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Great content as always.

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Could you please make a video on the difference between scene and sequence please

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The first 10 seconds of every Shot List episode will explain it 😉

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The moment when Tajomaru stared at a noble women on a horse in Rashomon was very impressive.,

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Enlightening, once again.

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we hope so!

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StudioBinder❤👑

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twin peaks theme at 0.40 ❤❤❤

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Thanks for the clear spoiler list, appreciated.

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Enjoy!

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hi , i watched your video and i really enjoyed it , plz make a list of movies like this that by watching them we can learn the art of writing and creating thanks a lot

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00:35 a hint to David Lynch's directing style video?

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👀

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Why did you disabled the download option. I like to download the video to see it later. Btw thanks for teaching me so much for free. I couldn't possibly say anything. Thank you 💗

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The video will always be up to watch!

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Love how they couldn't help going from Singin in the Rain to a shot of A Clockwork Orange (even if it wasn't THAT scene).

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I love this channel a lot❤It really helps me learn so much. Although I have a request to make, please also share stuff about Women filmmakers. 🙏 Thanks

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I really like the beginning of the Sterling/Lecter scene. Sterling has to walk up to the last cell in a long hallway, passing all kind of psychotic maniacs, one being more savage and repulsive than the other. So we automatically expect Lecter to be some kind of super-savage, super-repulsive monster, but instead we see a tiny, mild-mannered and clean little man, standing upright in the middle of his cell. It totally undermines our expectations and creates a very special kind of uneasyness, because we have heard this man must be the definite mega monster but we absolutely can not put the finger on what is wrong with him. So already before he has spoken one word, he has us (and Agent Sterling) in the corner. It is a similiar trick like in one of my favorite scenes in Star Wars, namely in Return of the Jedi when we first meet the Emperor. We see the mighty star cruisers, everybody kneeling or standing straight before the emperor's shuttle, even the terrifying Lord Vader bending the knee. So what we expect is some uber strong giant of impressive splendor, but what we then see is a small, wrinkled old man in a black robe. Again, undermining the expectations completely knocks us over. Great stuff.

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Brilliant

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11:03 I like the nod at nolan's darknight which is influenced by heat

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Here's the formula: Pick great scenes from your favorite movies, present them to your viewers and say, "Here's how it's done." Brilliant!

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Analysis is appreciated too

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Thank you Thank you Thank you ….🙏

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Please make a video on Plot

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What is Plot?

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Can you Guys make 1 Video on Camara Movement and the reason behind such as building a emotional tension, realease tension and Dramatic tension. Also, Motivational and Unmotivated Camara Movement.

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To make scenes memorable it is all about precision and luck!! Some scenes are scripted and some scenes are improvised!! In the end, the execution should be able to have an impact on the audience!!

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Yup!

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I love how Stewie from Family Guy is almost Hannibal (but its apparently rex harrington)

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Hi Studio binder, can you make a video on Beat sheet for Web series like the Beat Sheet series for movies?

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we might!

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@@StudioBinder Thank you so much Studio binder.

[@victoriagonzales3516]

What about movies like The Menu 2022? For films that primarily remain in one setting with the same character(s)? Would it be the same idea(s) in the video applied to every cut, table shot w/ the characters, or solely looking @ Margot & Tyler?

[@Satyam_Mehta]

Hi, Love and Huge Respect from India.. Request: Please make a vedio regarding "Anatomy of Fight Scenes / How to shoot fight scene " From Single Camera or Multi camera like in Marvel Movies Such as Civil War. Thanks in Advance..

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Damn bro, I'm gonna have to watch Django Unchained for sixth time now.

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I'm thinking of making a game that is staged like an animated show/movie. Great insight into these things