Pinky Miranda Productions

Anyone can write and film a sword fight. It takes creativity to film a sword fight that people care about- one that contributes to the storyline.

There are two routes screenwriters take. One kind of person writes “a car chase ensues”, and the other writes every little detail of said car chase.

Planning your action sequence helps the story seem more realistic, helps the character’s motivations become more clear to the audience, and is more entertaining. Every action scene should bring the story further, should help develop the characters.

The whole point of a story is to get you to care about the characters, right? And we care more about the main character being blown up in the car crash than if some average joe was in the same car crash, right? Character development is essential, and there is no better time than an action scene to do that.

With all that said, the action sequence should be a turning point, or a milestone at the least. It’s not the amount of the budget expended that makes it a good scene. It’s how much has changed because of that scene. If nothing changes or is revealed to the audience, then there’s no point!

Make these scenes more meaningful and you’re on your way to a better story.

-Rika