On Screen
Performance is mostly reaction, and the camera knows it
The best-remembered moments in film are frequently of somebody listening rather than speaking.
On Screen
Performance, structure and what a scene is doing while you watch it.
21 articles · updated August 11, 2026 · page 1 of 2
On Screen
A scene is doing at least three things at once
Good scenes advance plot, change a relationship and reveal character simultaneously. Weak ones do one.
More in On Screen
On Screen
Three-act structure is a description, not a recipe
Almost every story can be described in three acts after the fact. That is a property of the description, not evidence of a rule.
On Screen
Genre is a contract, and breaking it has to be paid for
Genre sets what an audience is promised. Subverting that promise works only when the film gives something back in exchange.
On Screen
Point of view is a decision the camera makes on your behalf
Whose knowledge you share determines almost everything about how a story feels. It is a structural choice, and it is rarely…
On Screen
Exposition is a delivery problem, not an information problem
Audiences do not object to being told things. They object to being told things by characters who have no reason to say them.
On Screen
The first ten minutes teach you how to watch the rest
An opening sets the register, the rules and the rate at which information arrives. Audiences calibrate fast and hold that…
On Screen
Endings fail for structural reasons long before the last scene
A disappointing ending is usually the point at which a problem set up much earlier becomes visible. The final scene is rarely the…
On Screen
Comic timing is a rhythm problem solved in the edit
Comedy on screen depends on duration measured in frames. The same performance is funny or flat depending on where the cut falls.
On Screen
Fear is built from anticipation, and the reveal spends it
Horror technique is mostly about controlling what the audience expects and when. The monster is the least interesting part of the…
On Screen
Action scenes fail when you cannot tell where anyone is
The most common defect in screen action is not a lack of spectacle. It is a collapse of geography that leaves the audience unable…
On Screen
Realistic dialogue is not the same as recorded speech
Real conversation is repetitive, overlapping and largely uninformative. Screen dialogue imitates its texture while doing entirely…