Christian Elder, Screenwriter: Tell your story in the cut because you know that is
where the story actually lives it lives in between the juxtaposition of two scenes,
it lives in the transition of those two scenes.
Film Courage: So it's within the cut? Christian: Yeah that's the other thing I like to talk about
is telling the story in the cut. Telling the story in the cut is simple, it's a little simpler
than I think a lot of people make it and people tell writers and they tell filmmakers and they
tell directors show not tell, show not tell, show not tell, show not tell and that can be kind of
really confusing because it's like you listen to those words and you're like okay what does that
mean you know? What does that mean really show not tell okay um how do you show a screenplay i don't
understand what that means you know it's like it's like and so like when you're you're a writer and
you're like you're hitting yourself with those words like i don't get it uh uh i'm telling
intrinsically by writing it uh you know so it can be really confusing but see what it actually means
is tell your story in the cut because you know that is where the story actually lives it lives
in between the juxtaposition of two scenes it it it lives in the transition of those two scenes
so the period between those two scenes is where all the information
of your story is uploaded so all the exposition that you need to make in your story can be implied
it could be all implied you don't actually have to say the exposition like like i would say like what
seventy percent of your your exposition does not have to go into your script
it can be all in in your cut because all you have to do is like is is set up a um
a visual cue with an action and then cut to the end result of that action
to the aftermath and just by doing that just by putting one picture here all right
and then putting the end result of that picture right over here you've downloaded your or you've
uploaded your exposition done you know so like the example i use is like is is the um is the girl
like you know at the at the bar um at the at the hotel bar and the bartender comes up to her and
gives her a drink and then signals towards a man at the end of the bar who waves at her
because he sends her to drink and then cut to later they're in the in the in a hotel hallway
stumbling into her hotel suite kissing and we know what happens you know we don't need to know
what they discussed at the bar we don't need to know what their conversation was
we don't need to know all the details in between we we get it we get it and it's it's a really
really simple technique and not and and there are a lot of filmmakers um and writers that
don't avail themselves of it and there are a lot of writers that do um number one on the list is
kenneth lonergan who is a brilliant writer and um he knows exactly how to do that um and um
yeah william goldman also knew exactly how to do that so but but yeah it's um
yeah it's it's a simple thing you know
more people need to do it that's all how did you get better at telling your stories within the cut
sometimes it was hard won um because um i had this tendency i think like a lot of new writers do
to um want to fall in love with their language and to hold like some kind of like chunky like
diner scene with like you know some interesting characters talking and like throwing some colorful
banter back and forth and like oh how interesting this is and when when when i started to realize
that it was unnecessary and that not only was it unnecessary that it was it was um it was shooting
on me myself in the foot as far as it as far as i'm grabbing the intent the attention of readers
um it's not to say that those characters may not have been doing or saying anything
that was um interesting or fun or anything it was dropping the ball you know in the ball game
as far as like making making my work stand out for others because essentially what i learned is that
in the the in the long and short of it um readers aren't interested in um your scene they don't
care about your scene they care about the story you're telling them that's what they care about
they don't care about your scene they care about the story you're telling them
so if they fall in love with your story they'll they'll they'll fall in love with your script
they're not going to fall in love with your scene you know they're not in it to fall in love with
your scene you know so yeah although there is something very charming about those diner
conversations i can't i know i i enjoy seeing them you know and then you've got marge the waitress
all right what'll it be and then you know then they she leaves and then they're trying to like
talk you know so that she doesn't well that's a whole other i mean that's a whole other discussion
it depends on where it is and it depends on how you do that sort of thing um um is is one thing
and you know like for example my my favorite my one of my favorite diner conversations of course
is because it's charged you charge a scene you charge a scene by telling it um by telling your
story in the in in cuts all right by by loading um your story like that um heat yes excellent you you
you charge everything is very very um sparse and very um um there's not much going on in
heat other than the the action um the reactions um the the setups for the heist it's it's very lean
heat and then it gets to that diner scene between patino and um and de niro and it means everything
that conversation a conversation means everything and that's how you load those scenes
by by you know telling your story and then you come to a scene where
there is you know more or less you know a standoff if it's not a metaphorical standoff
it's not emotional standoff that's how you tell stories in general you know
you can't have that standoff in every scene of your script
otherwise you're confused about what you're doing sure and then keeping it lighter
the 80s 90s sing-along scene which i don't know why they used for so long where something's on
the radio somebody turns on a stereo and now the whole group's singing together
that seems to be lost and i'm happy that that's the case you know i don't i don't mind stuff
like that i don't i don't mind anything that's experimental like that as long as everything
else is tight you know um you can do anything experimental but if everything else is tight
it it it'll it will um it will like rise to the top okay um i i i'm a i'm a personally you know
i mean it's it's not my favorite film okay but i am a sucker for that hollow note scene in 500 days
okay all right i am a sucker for that scene because i've been that guy okay
i've walked out of that
it's swinging like that okay so i've been that guy so i'm a sucker
you know so i mean like so if you do it right you know it it flies it flies.
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