UNITY AND INTERGRATION

UNITY AND INTEGRATION

ARISTOTLE: UNITY ACHIEVED IF NO PART OF THE WHOLE CAN BE OMITTED OR TRANSPOSED WITHOUT DOING DAMAGE TO THE WHOLE.
I. ARISTOTLE GIVES US A TEST TO DETERMINE WHEN UNITY IS NOT PRESENT
II. HERE IS HIS TEST OF UNITY FOR A SCRIPT:
III. ______+_______+_________+______+ (SCENES FROM A SCRIPT)
IV. OMITTED – TAKE A SCENE AND THROW IT OUT OR OMIT IT AND IF NO ONE NOTICES AND IT DOESN’T WRECK YOUR SCRIPT, THEN IT IS NOT A UNIFIED PIECE OF THE SCRIPT
V. TRANSPOSED – A SCENE CANNOT BE MOVED OR SUBSTITUTED FOR ANOTHER ONE. TAKE A SCENE AND MOVE IT AND IF WORKS THEN YOU DO NOT HAVE A UNIFIED SCRIPT.
VI. LURCH - IF A UNIFIED SCENE IS REMOVED THERE WILL BE A LURCHING FEELING. WILL ASK WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE? NOT, WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?




RULE OF ONE:

IN DRAMA IT IS ALWAYS CLEANER AND CLEARER. WHENEVER POSSIBLE REDUCE THINGS TO ONE. ONE REASON, ONE MOTIVATION FOR EVERY ACTION

STICK TO ONE HERO, ONE GOAL, ONE CENTRAL QUESTION

ONENESS AND UNITY ARE CLOSELY RELATED CONCEPTS

ONE PARTICULARLY PERTAINS TO MOTIVATIONS FOR ACTIONS

CHAIN OF CAUSALITY: CHAIN OF REASONS WHY A CHARACTER DOES SOMETHING

CHAIN OF EACH SCENE OF MOTIVATIONS FOR A CHARACTER

WHEN A CHARACTER TAKES AN ACTION HE NEEDS A REASON

ROB A BANK CAN HAVE ONE STRONG REASON
IF YOU HAVE ONE STRONG REASON YOU’LL HAVE A STRONG LEAN SCREENPLAY.

NEEDS MONEY FOR OPERATIONS (DOG DAY AFTERNOON)

MAKE THINGS DO DOUBLE DUTY

RULE: WHEN SOME NEW OBJECT OR CHARACTER COMES UP SEE IF YOU CAN USE A PREVIOUS OBJECT, CHARACTER.

IT WILL GIVE IT MORE MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE IN YOUR SCRIPT.

OBJECTS: STRANGERS ON A CHAIN.

THE LIGHTER USED FOR THE INITIAL MEETING, BRINGS GUY AND BRUNO TOGETHER. BRUNO STEALS HIS IDENTITY WITH LIGHTER

HE CONTROLS GUY’S LIFE BY CONTROLLING HIS LIGHTER. IN THE END IT IS A RACE TO GET THE LIGHTER BACK.

CHARACTERS

CHARACTERS AND OBJECTS WILL ACCRUE DEPTH AND MEANING. AUDIENCES ALREADY ARE INTERESTED IN THEM. THEY CARE ABOUT THEM MORE THAN THEY WILL ABOUT A CHARACTER YOU INTRODUCE LATER ON IN YOUR NARRATIVE.

SCENES

MORE DIFFICULT BUT WHEN YOU CAN. YOUR SCENES ARE MORE POWERFUL WHEN YOU CAN BRING MORE THAN ONE ELEMENT TOGETHER

REAR WINDOW

JIMMY STEWART’S VOYEURISM SHOWS ALL HIS POSSIBLE FUTURES DEPENDING ON HOW WHETHER OR NOT HE’LL MARRY GRACE KELLY (LONELY HEARTS, NEWLY WEDS, ARTISTS)

SOLVING WHETHER RAYMOND BURR MURDERED IS HIS GOAL AND ULTIMATELY ANSWERING THE CENTRAL QUESTION OF WHETHER HE WILL MARRY GRACE KELLEY

MOMENT AT THE END SHE GOES IN ON SLIDES THE RING ON HER FINGER
SHE HAS SOLVED THE CRIME

HE LOVES HER AND WILL MARRY HER

THIS IS ONE SCENE DOING DOUBLE DUTY: HITCHCOCK AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS POWER.