Film Craft 109: The Editor - 3. The Components of Story

So let's begin with the basic building block of the film language, the shot. There are thousands of different shots that you can create, but they tend to fall into surprisingly few categories based on how they answer one of the following questions. Who, what, where, when, why, and how? Now, these questions are familiar to all of us, even young children. Have you ever wondered why? Even the pattern of saying these questions aloud is familiar, who, what, where, when, why, and how, right? I'd like to offer the idea that these questions are hardwired into our brains. We know them even before we know the words for them. We're constantly asking these questions over and over again, consciously and unconsciously, but everything we see and do in the world. And that's because the answers to these questions are precisely the elements that our brains use to make sense of the world. And coincidentally, they are also the basic components of story. In the film language, there are specific shots that reliably answer each of these questions. And if your director was smart enough to capture all of them while you were shooting each scene, and you dished them up properly when building the scene in the editing room, your viewer will intuitively understand the story you're telling. Now, if you neglect to answer one or two, you make it hard for your audience's brain to make sense of the story. For example, if you answer the who, what, why, and how, but you never reveal to the audience where the events are taking place, the absence of that information will be nagging at the viewer's mind, and it'll distract them from engaging fully in the story. Context is important. Without it, your story isn't fully fleshed out. Now, I'm not saying that viewers will necessarily realize what the problem is, but I do think that it makes them that much more likely to resist getting sucked into the story, and if they're not engaged, chances are slim that they'll stick around to find out what happens next. In fact, ideally, the editor will dole out the answers to each of these questions precisely as the viewer is beginning to wonder about them. A good editor must be a master storyteller, understanding intuitively how the viewers are following along the various pieces of information that are being revealed shot by shot. You probably know someone who tells great stories, perhaps a grandmother or a crazy uncle. You also probably know someone who can't tell a joke to save his life. Did you ever stop to wonder what makes one person a great storyteller and someone else a stinker? Well, effective storytelling requires communicating these who, what, where, when, why, and how answers in equal parts and just in time as the listener is wondering about them. If you dwell too long on one of the questions without answering the others, the story becomes tiresome and the audience stops listening. Three guys walk into a bar. The bar is dark and smoky. There are five bare bulb lamps dangling and there's a cigarette burn on one of the tables. The wooden floor is kind of dirty and there's a well-worn groove next to the jukebox and enough where already? Who are the three guys and why are they there? Like even a simple joke can be ruined by a storyteller who doesn't know this basic rule. Okay, so how do we answer these questions? Well, in video editing, we do it by using specific types of shots.