There’s two podcasts I listen to regularly, Scriptnotes and On The Page. Both of them are about screenwriting, and both offer valuable tips and insights.
Randy Wilkins, the guest on episode 220 of the On The Page podcast gave a great screenwriting tip. He is a set designer on some big movies, and is thus used to thinking very visually. And his tip is very much to do with the visuals of a scene.
He suggested that writers should have three clear visual images in their head per scene. An opening image, a key image and a closing image.
By trying to think visually, it allows the images to carry more of the story, rather than the dialogue. It makes it more visual– which is where the power of cinema lies.
To try and make each scene more dramatic, I think it would be a great idea to try and have some similarity between the opening image and the closing image of the scene– but with some sort of reversal or twist. Either the power balance has changed, or things haven’t worked out for the protagonist.
By being more intentional about thinking visually, it can’t help but make each scene more cinematic.
And a script full of cinematic scenes must surely be a more cinematic read.