My Films

Module 2 · Lesson 3 of 6

Start your film in the middle of the trouble.

People decide in under three seconds whether to keep watching. This lesson shows you how to open on the trouble.

The steps

  1. People scroll past a video in under three seconds. What grabs them first is called the hook.

  2. So the trouble has to be on screen right away. Not after the setup. Right away.

Open in the middle

  1. Start with the argument already going. Not the drive over.

  2. Start with the door already kicked in. Not the knock.

  3. Ask: what is the first moment where something is wrong? Start there, or a second after.

What they see and hear

  1. Make the first thing the viewer sees and hears part of the problem: a face, a line, a sound.

    For example: “You opened my mail.” Rose doesn’t answer. A torn envelope sits on the table between them.

  2. Write it as one sentence in the box below: what we see, and what we hear.

Your film

My Films

Fill it in here. It saves as you type, and later lessons use it.

Do this now

Write the first thing the viewer sees and hears. One sentence.

Check yourself

  • Is something already wrong in your first sentence?
  • Would a stranger know there’s trouble within three seconds?

If any answer is no, go back over the steps, or look below.

Stuck?

My scene needs setup first.
Put the setup inside the trouble. One line during the argument can say who these people are to each other.
My scene starts quietly on purpose.
Quiet works if something is wrong in it: a face that’s been crying, a packed bag by the door. Show that first.
I don’t know what to cut from the start.
Cover the first line of your scene with your finger. If the rest still makes sense, cut that line. Then try the next one.

Still stuck? Email info@bookwriter.vip and say which lesson you’re on. A person reads every message and writes back.