Tips for Screenwriters

The opening shots of a good movie, just like the first few pages of a good novel, show the audience or reader WHAT KIND of story this is—like the opening shot of “Social Network” or the first scene of “The Exorcist” or the opening murder of a commercial thriller. The audience needs the reassurance that they’re watching a romantic comedy, or thriller, or true life story—it makes them trust the storyteller, and “suspend” their “disbelief.”