Create With Mystery

Sample Movie Deconstruction (4A)

“A Turning Point is like a cliffhanger—a moment when the story is taken in a new direction and we wonder what will happen next.” Victoria Lynn Schmidt. Ph.D.

Each point has a goal a purpose, to catch the viewer or reader up into the atmosphere and conflict. If done well it catches us unawares. We might think we know where the story is going but the shift changes everything. The person is not who we thought. The danger is nearer. The betrayer is a loved one.

However these points also need to connect to the seeds planted in the very beginning. Rosenfeld says the purpose of the beginning is to lay a foundation, pull “the reader into the action of the significant situation”, and “create a sense of mystery or suspense by withholding information.”

Here are the rest of my turning shifts from the first episode of Firefly that I shared last week. I’ve marked in bold the pieces that sparked a mystery for me.

Eight) Dining area—meet passengers

             Meals—comment made “here to judgment day”

Nine) Mole discovered on board

Ten) Callie shot

Eleven) Argument—establishes himself as captain. I don’t ever remember anyone      saying his name. (Reynolds)

Twelve) Reevers—fear evident

Thirteen) Whitefall—land is desert setting/old West echo/shoot-out

                    Ambush

Fourteen) Reevers attack on planet—saved barely

Fifteen) Close—offers to let the doctor stay on board despite being a fugitive

“still flying means a good day”

Journal Prompt:

            1. Look at the focus point of each shift you noted in the last journal prompt and write next to it what characteristics echo back to the beginning scene you’ve journaled out?

Share: Which of my above creates the most curiosity for you in this sequence? What does it make you want to know?