Better to Get to the Point than Explain It

Our heroine is looking for something. It's not in the room. Perhaps it's in the ceiling above. So, she climbs up to have a look and flicks on her flashlight:


Flashlight to Find the Cause of Comas

Where did she get the flashlight? I certainly don't carry one around with me shoved in a pocket somewhere. And judging by her wardrobe here, she didn't really have a pocket to keep it in. And I don't know what it is about girls with flashlights recently, but this moment jumped out at me as well.

I realized I didn't care where she got the torch. And it wasn't worth the time to add a clip where she picked one up. Why bother? It's not relevant to the tale. So, get to the point and don't bother explaining how she got there.

This reminds me of an interesting series I read about why The Princess Bride should never have worked as a film. There are times when it's totally appropriate to just tell your audience: Deus ex machina! And at other times, it's easier to skip that entirely and just give your actress a flashlight. Because, really, who cares?

Your audience shouldn't.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor