This Trick Will Help Writers Cut Scenes They Don't Need - Andy Guerdat

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In this Film Courage video we ask Andy Guerdat about scenes in a movie, writing a scene in a screenplay and his thoughts on scenes in the film The Fugitive.
Andy Guerdat has been a working writer/producer in film and television for the past 45 years, with hundreds of credits in movies, half-hour comedies, hour-long dramas, theater, and animation. He is currently a consultant at Disney TV Animation.
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[@filmcourage]

Here is our full interview with Andy - kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZm1oKyBjZh1qrM

[@theknave69]

I've always thought of a scene as a mini-movie. Each one has a beginning, middle, and end, but is always moving the overall script forward. Just my thought.

[@reeanimationgaming1034]

This video is just one guys opinion.. I don’t think he is more right than you, or anybody.

[@KnightEnterprises]

💪

[@interestedparty7523]

Yeah, cuz a small dramatic unit to me, is a beat.

[@OtoLivingston]

I love this explanation of scene. I’ve been looking for this for so long. Makes the most sense to me

[@blatherskite3009]

I generally agree with the mantra that "if it doesn't move the story forward then cut it" - to reduce flab and waffle - but it seems to me that it's often applied too strictly these days. When things can only happen if they are justified by significance to the plot, the audience knows that nothing is inconsequential. It leads to storytelling that's (imho) too lean, where everything has a flashing neon sign on it saying "PLOT POINT." For example, you can't have a character so much as cough in a modern screenplay without it being a safe bet that it will be a full-blown terminal illness by Act 3. "Oh it's nothing" they say. Like hell it is; it wouldn't be there if it wasn't something. And yet, in the real world, people cough every day and 99% of the time it doesn't signify anything. As a writer, if you are allowed to have a few character moments that _aren't_ set-ups for later events then it's easier to smuggle the events that _are_ set-ups past the audience.

[@EllieRushing-wb8of]

interesting point!!

[@skyshorrchannel3474]

I have been writing a big script for a number of years... I really like this, it's a constant reminder to move forward and flip the emotional/situational of the story.

[@pamelajayesmith1036]

Thanks, Film Courage. You offer so many valuable videos on so many aspects of story-telling.

[@Retrostar619]

This is really good advice. But to be fair to Lost in Translation, it's a movie about stasis and emotional dislocation, and i'd argue that it works on those terms.

[@goldbrick2563]

Yeah, that was a fine film. This guy is maybe jealous of sofia coppola, a young woman w/famous father in film. She had accessibility to the film world, where this guy had none.

[@thisricardopalma]

LIT was about a movement/sharing of the internal "scene(s)" of the characters

[@nobodynothing00000]

whats most important is to punch out that first draft, otherwise you'll keep going back to the beginning to start over again. Get the first draft THEN start editing.

[@DAMON409]

As long as you figure out your concept, flaw and arcs first.

[@fpdima]

FANTASTIC !!!!! Great insights and advice. Thanks for posting this.

[@filmcourage]

Thank you so much!

[@FilmPunk]

*My rule is, if you can cut it, you must.*

[@happybirthdaypaulie8584]

The advice was as wonderful as his fashion sense!

[@AdonisMediaProductions]

this was a legitimate helpful video, plainly spoken way of presenting nuanced idea, thank you!

[@HaydnRushworth-Filmmaker]

I love, love, LOVE this channel because of content and insights just like this!! I’ve been learning about screenwriting for more than a decade, and it really is a never-ending journey laced with a continual stream of surprises.

[@cledosliop4175]

This is very helpful! I used to feel pretty confused about managing scene units, but now I have gained more insight into this. Thanks! ❤

[@user-dm4kk3sc2c]

Andy is absolutely right. A scene is a section of the film which has a particular purpose in advancing the story. For example, the training montage in Rocky consists of clips from various locations and times, but it is ONE scene. The montage scene. Although it takes place in various times and locations, it has ONE purpose, which is to show the audience that Rocky is improving his physical fitness.

[@skyshorrchannel3474]

I do agree with this move, move move flip rule... Although Jim Carrey going into some zany routine in the middle of his super era does occur to me. It seems that an extreme character does need time to establish their persona?

[@RDSimpson]

very interesting and useul

[@wineglasskiss]

today's my birthday! love your videos!!

[@clifton6919]

Congratulations! Have a great day!

[@filmcourage]

Happy Birthday! Thank you for watching. Hope you make it a great one.

[@FilmPunk]

I find it's usually about 120-150 scenes for a 90 minute film. Depends on genre. Love story has long scenes, thriller has short scenes. It varies.

[@inknpaintCW]

Solid tips.

[@filmcourage]

What are your thoughts about this?

[@derekk2708]

Very practical and insightful information for any screen writer. ; )

[@oldguyinstanton]

First, for scene writers, at least, this all sounds very mechanical and programmable. Will screen writers be replaced by AI? Second, I'm confused. You talk about scenes and beats, and say that a movie with 30-50 beats might have 50-70 scenes. So there are less beats than scenes. But I googled what a beat is, and it says: "What are beats in a script acting?A beat in drama is any individual instance of change within a scene. Any time the mood or tone of a scene shifts-or the characters react to something that prompts them to alter their trajectory-that's a beat. So, my reading of that is that there will be MORE beats than scenes. What am I missing?

[@Rareafiedflair]

To become great writers, we all need to have a good grasp of the basics. Awesome insight.

[@thecollective1584]

​@@oldguyinstanton He's using imprecise terms for what he means. What he is calling "beats" are points in a script. As an example, I am currently working on a military script that's heavy on combat. Here's what he calls beats for my current project: ~Main character awaking and preparing for the day. ~All main characters and other miitary members are in formation ~The base is under attack/being invaded with combat on base. The military members do not have weapons. ~The main characters make it to the airstrip and steal a chopper, "kidnapping" the pilot who flies them out. Those for "beats" took 14 pages to write. For him, a "beat" is... say, it's a plot point. It's a part of the story to move the script further

[@oldguyinstanton]

@@thecollective1584 Ah. I see.

[@ryanhowell4492]

love it

[@TyphanyGarcia]

My eyes have opened as well as my mind ! For a new writer this is absolutely amazing How do I move this scene forward???? And end it ?

[@warriorclassmedia]

Excellent

[@filmcourage]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@thecollective1584]

"Every writer has scenes they absolutely love..." I was working on a script about my unit in the Marine Corps (without any actual people being directly referenced). There was a love scene that took six pages of build up, four pages of dialogue and a collage of shots. It had everything: emotion, exposition, meter, just the right words... It flowed naturally, the characters wrote it for me, it was some of the finest parts of the script. Final script: The build up (that involved other parts of the story and character exposition for multiple characters), one page of dialogue, a four line wrap up later in the script. My favorite scene in the movie did nothing but add space and was reduced to a separate file to be used at another time.

[@gurdhiansingh2477]

I think unfolding the story according to locations is a Scene.

[@KillerBebe]

How many scenes are in a movie as many as it takes.

[@concernedcitizen7385]

Or, all of those favorite cut scenes can be used to re-sell the film as a director’s cut 😄

[@oldguyinstanton]

I'm confused. You talk about scenes and beats, and say that a movie with 30-50 beats might have 50-70 scenes. So there are less beats than scenes. But I googled what a beat is, and it says: "What are beats in a script acting?A beat in drama is any individual instance of change within a scene. Any time the mood or tone of a scene shifts-or the characters react to something that prompts them to alter their trajectory-that's a beat. So, my reading of that is that there will be MORE beats than scenes. So which is it? What am I missing?

[@TheRaendo]

He's talking about beats in the context of a beat sheet, which lists the most important beats in a story-not all of them.

[@oldguyinstanton]

@@TheRaendo Ah! Thanks. {trundles off to google "beat sheet"}

[@davidpetersen1]

Yeah.. I catch his drift but feels a little over analyzed. By his perspective every line, every gesture can be considered a scene (someone simply placing a glass of water on a table can emotionally advance the story with new information). I think of a scene as a block of time within a storyline. This block can contain many or few elements/ devices depending on the story. In the end this is a philosophical study as it would make zero sense to physically label every "scene", as he sees it, on the page of script people will work from on set. Thanks for the content!

[@johnpaulsylvester3727]

2:44 Yeah, I can't believe Lost In Translation actually won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay...

[@KernelHughes]

I can

[@Miracle010181]

It's still one of the best scripts to these days

[@oldguyinstanton]

For scene writers, this all sounds very mechanical and programmed. When will screen writers be replaced by AI?

[@thereccher8746]

Writing is a craft, not an art. The process is very much engineering a structure that resonates with your audience.

[@oldguyinstanton]

@@thereccher8746 So it is theoretically flowchartable, and therefore programmable. The big issue is that AI's lack of understanding of the context. But then again, a lot of people have that problem.

[@Yo_DynamoJoe]

​@@oldguyinstanton The difference is that AI is just very advanced mimicry. It only looks to satisfy criteria by remixing premade elements. Whereas the human imagination feeds on inspiration and innovation, and can create new perspectives from personal experience. In a world where AI completely replaces artisans, it will eventually begin to eat its own tail so to speak, by cannibalizing its own output when there's nothing left to copy.

[@oldguyinstanton]

@@Yo_DynamoJoeAnd how is that different from much of the dreck we are getting out of Hollywood these days?

[@thereccher8746]

@@oldguyinstantonHumans are logical creatures and we need that in our writing. Your world building needs consistent rules, your character behavior has to make sense, and plot points need to have a logical flow between them or it's random chaos.

[@matthewlavagna6080]

Andy is absolutely right. A scene is a section of the film which has a particular purpose in advancing the story. For example, the training montage in Rocky consists of clips from various locations and times, but it is ONE scene. The montage scene. Although it takes place in various times and locations, it has ONE purpose, which is to show the audience that Rocky is improving his physical fitness.