I started writing a feature the other day. In the first five pages, I cut to 3 different groups of people. Of course it's all left open ended, and those characters will meet and the story will becoming clearer in the next 10 pages.

My question is this... Is it alright to have 3 different scenes in the first 5 pages? Or should I get into the story with an individual, or a group of people for a certain number of pages, then cut to something else?

Thanks.

If they are good scenes with easy identifiable characters then I don't see a problem with it, though 3 groups of people in 5 pages sounds a bit crammed. It all depends on how it's written of course.

I don't see any issues with it either. The key to the first ten pages is to make something happen to hook the audience in. If you've done that, then you're off to a good start.

Okay thanks.

Also, how would I describe two people chatting on the computer? Via MSN or Facebook or something.

Use INTERCUT between the various locations and you can use an INSERT shot of the computer screens, though if written right it's not really necessary.

Also, keep those chatting scenes short. While they can hold their own on paper, they can quickly get boring on screen.

You might watch the movie You've Got Mail. There was a lot of email and IMs going on in that one. Yeah, it's a chick flick with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, but you could deal for educational purposes. It'll give you a good idea of a good way to do that type on communication.

Hello Tommy,

How many people are in the groups? Are these people essential in the first 10? Are you going to front load a lot of introductions and thereby risk losing readability?

It's a lot easier to see things on screen than in a read obviously. Also, you don't want to steal away vital time capturing your reader with lengthy details and burdens of too many intros.

Sandra

It sounds a bit crammed to me to be honest, but I suppose it could be done by someone that really knows their stuff.

Me... As you know I'm new to this, so probably couldn't pull it off. I will try though...

Sandra... The groups are 2 people in a house, 2 others in another house, and 3 people in jail. The two "house" groups meet up at about page 10... so I might miss out on of their intro's as they will be seen soon enough.

I really don't think I can do this though. The whole feature thing. I've done quite a bit of planning, but I think I've jumped in the deep end and have started drowning. I think I need to write a few more shorts. Anyway if i finish the first 10 pages, I will post it here if anyone wants to have a read, and we will go from there

You don't have to introduce everyone fully when they first appear, you do have the first 25 pages or so to do that and even then character development could carry on until the climax of the movie. Your only real job in the first 10 pages is to get us hooked into reading the rest of the script and hopefully take us to what some call the "inciting incident" or at least start to unravel the story.

Have as many characters as you want in the first 10 pages, don't give us lengthy introductions immediately and bog us down unnecessarily, we only need enough information to allow us to know all you want us to know at this moment. Half the fun of reading a script is finding out who these guys are that we have had a glimpse of, if you tell us everything upfront then it removes a key reason to keep on reading.

Don't give us too much info and yes I don't see any reason why you cannot start a script with 3 scenes and 3 groups of people. Happens all the time.

hey Tom! How's it in Tassie? Yeah, man, do your ten pages and post it. We'll help anyway we can. or e-mail it, whatever u like. cheers

Quoted from Tommyp I really don't think I can do this though. The whole feature thing. I've done quite a bit of planning, but I think I've jumped in the deep end and have started drowning. I think I need to write a few more shorts. Anyway if i finish the first 10 pages, I will post it here if anyone wants to have a read, and we will go from there

The best way to learn to do it is do it.  And don't get TOO caught up in all of this.  As I'm sure everyone here can tell you, once you've slaved away for months driving yourself crazy to finish a first draft, you get to throw it all away and start the really hard work of re-writing!  

The 2 & 2 & 3 in jail doesn't sound too bad. But it depends how it's done.

If you're doing an intercut sort of thing and allowing the audience to see a connection between the groups, I think it's very doable-- just a matter of how you do it and to focus on hooking your reader and making it enjoyable, not cluttered. Easier said than done, I know.

Sandra

I don't see what the big deal is here at all.  3 groups of characters, 7 characters in all, in 10 pages?  What am I missing?  This sort of thing happens all the time.

I guess what does matter is what kind of genre we're talking about, are these main characters, and can you weave in some story while introing them, as well as drwing us in?  Sure you can.

Don't worry about it so much...just do it.

Tommy, you are asking a question here that no one is qualified to answer (including me). First and foremost, finish an outline of your story. Understand what your objective is before begging to write scenes on a page.

When you can see the story as a whole, only then will you know if you should put five different scenes in five pages. Otherwise you will just be pissing in the dark.