Glossary of terms from "The Tools of Screenwriting"

As they say in the "The Tools of Screenwriting," a writers objective is to create a a good story, well told.

To that end, I've created the following glossary of terms and concepts from the book, plus a few of my own. i've marked my own with a **.

Activity vs Action:
An activity is anything a character might be doing in a scene. An action is an activity that furthers a character's pursuit of an objective. Try to convert your activities into actions.

Advertising:
Advertising reveals to the audience an upcoming experience a character might have. "Anytime we are told or shown that the characters expect there will be an event in the future of the story, it's advertising."
Example: a mother and daughter are shopping for a wedding gown. The audience assumes a wedding will happen.
Example: "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," late second act, the wounded Union officer asks the surgeon to postpone operating on him saying, "I'm expecting good news."

Audience Participation and Uncertainty:
Keep the audience involved and anticipating by revealing multiple outcomes that might happen, one they hope for and one they fear.
Example: In "ET," will the children be able to sneak ET down the stairs past Mom OR will she discover the truth?
Example: "Titanic," will Jack and Rose survive?

Central Conflict:
The main character and their situation of conflict that drives the film. The spine of the film.
Example: Neo struggles to learn about and defeat the Matrix.
Example: In "Adventures in the Screen Trade," the chapter about the film, "A Bridge Too Far," William Goldman describes how the spine of the film became, metaphorically, the cavalry rescuing the besieged pioneers, and literally the British XXX Corp fighting to rescue the besieged airborne troops in Arnhem.

Characterization:
The personality and inner life of the characters.

Concepts:
- "A good story teller pulls out all the stops when it comes to urging the audience into the future of the story."
- Basic idea of drama: "somebody wants something badly and is having trouble getting it."
- Create audience participation by creating a sympathetic character and putting them in a situation with multiple possible outcomes, one which is feared and another which is hoped for.
Example: in an analysis of "E.T.," a comment read, "in every scene there is an important objective which is placed in jeopardy."

Dramatic Irony:
When the audience knows something that a character doesn't. This begins with the moment of revelation, when the audience learns the privileged information. It ends at the moment of recognition, when the character learns it as well. Writers must often chose between surprise and dramatic irony.
Example: the cropduster scene in "North by Northwest." The audience knows that Thornhill has been sent on a wild goose chase and is in suspense wondering what will happen.

Elements of the Future:
Elements of the future are similar to advertising, in that they get the audience anticipating and guessing about the future. But they are more subtle. Predictions, omens, daydreams, assurances, premonitions, promises, doubts, plans, warning, forebodings - these are all elements of the future.

Exposition:
Information that the audience needs to understand the story.
Tips on using exposition:
- Eliminate exposition that isn't necessary or that answers questions that will soon be answered in the natural course of the story.
- Deliver it naturally, e.g., in scenes with conflict or humor, so that it appears natural to the audience.
- Dole it out using an eye dropper, not a ladle.
- Make the exposition scene dramatic in it's own right.

Main Tension, Culmination and Resolution:
The main tension is the conflict or question of the second act. The culmination is the "resolution" of the main tension, which creates a new tension for the third act. The resolution is how story as a whole is resolved. "... it is extremely wasteful of a writers time to begin work on a screenplay before the culmination and resolution are clearly in mind."
Example: "The Matrix's" main tension is, "is Neo the One and will he rescue Morpheus?" The culmination is Morpheus saying, "Do you believe it now, Trinity?" This leads to the third act tension, "will Neo defeat the Matrix?," depicted by Neo hesitating, then turning to face Agent Smith. The resolution is Neo defeating Agent Smith.

Objective vs Subjective drama:
Objective drama is action that's interesting regardless of our knowledge of the characters. Examples: a car crash, a baby crawling at the edge of a cliff or a sexy lady.

Subjective drama is dependent on our knowledge of the characters.
Example: the third act of "Chinatown", when Gittes learns the rendezvous with Evelyn will be in Chinatown.
Example: in, "As Good As It Gets," when Carol walks home and sees a car with M.D. plates in front of her house.

Objective:
The goal of the protagonist. For unity, there should be a single objective, although the method of achieving the goal will usually change. The objective should be possible, but difficult to attain.

Obstacles:
Without obstacles to impede the protagonist's attainment of his objective, there would be no story. While there should be a single objective, there is often more than one obstacle. Obstacles should appear to be more powerful than the protagonist, although not insurmountably so. Hassles are different than obstacles because, while inconvenient, they do no obstruct the protagonists progress towards his objective.

Opening:
The point in the extended story where the film begins. Also called the point of attack.

Planting and Payoff (also called Setup and Payoff):
When a device is introduced innocently or in one context and used later in another context.
Example: "Thelma and Louise," as the road trip begins, Thelma hands the gun to Louise. Louise later uses it to shoot Harlan.
Example: "Thelma and Louise," JD tells Thelma how he robs stores. Later, Thelma robs a store using JD's technique.

Premise:
The entire situation that exists as the film starts. Note: this definition is VERY different than Lajos Egri's definition of premise in, "The Art of Dramatic Writing," which TOS and I disagree with.

Preparation and Aftermath:
Preparation is when a preceding scene is used to heighten the drama of the succeeding scene. Preparation scenes are often effective when they immediately precede an anticipated dramatic moment. Preparation by contrast is often used.

Aftermath is the other way around, when a succeeding scene is used to digest the previous scene. Aftermath scenes often work well after action sequences or major dramatic events.

As with all scenes, preparation and aftermath scenes should be interesting in their own right and not depend on their placement in the script.

Example of preparation: in "The Matrix," the scene in the Oracle's waiting room where Neo meets the other potentials and learns "there is no spoon."
Example of preparation by contrast: in "Kramer vs. Kramer," Ted Kramer sits in his boss's office enjoying "one of the five best days of my life," then returns home to find that his wife Joanna is leaving him.
Example of aftermath: in "Terminator II," act one, the scene immediately after T-1000 crashes his truck into the concrete divider and John and Arnold are cruising on the Harley, John says 'timeout" and gets some exposition.

Protagonist:
The chief characteristic of a protagonist is a desire, usually intense, to achieve a certain objective. The audience's absorption in the story is directly proportional to it's interest in seeing him achieve that objective.

Subject: **
A two word statement of what your story is about. The film should introduce the subject within a few minutes.
Example: "Jurassic Park" is about scary dinosaurs. The opening scene shows a battle with a scary dinosaur.

Theme:
The author's attitude toward the material. It applies not just to the protagonist and the main plot, but to the other characters and the subplots as well.

Time:
Real time is the time that ticks off on your watch as you sit in the theater munching popcorn.

Screen time is the time the depiction of an action takes on screen. Editing out the dull stuff to make screen time less than real time is called ellipsis. Lengthening a scene so that screen time is longer than real time is called elongation.

Timeframe is a deadline or an end to an action that the audience can anticipate. It's also called a timelock. Example: "Back to the Future", where Marty and the Delorean must hit the wire by the clock tower at EXACTLY 10:04 PM. Timeframe can be intensified by compressing it forward.

Ellipsis, elongation and timeframe can be used in a film or in a scene.