Development of Drama

The development of drama is all based on the conflict and external conflict of what is happening within the story and what to drive the story forward.

External Conflict

Encounters between a protagonist who has a dramatic need in the scene and an antagonist, who opposes that need in the scene. When things come to a head the editor will often rely on the editorial technique of shot-reverse-shot to move back and fourth between the two characters. Showing the audience a character close-up will immerse the viewer in the growing emotion in that the character; at the same time, the viewer will be anticipating the reaction of the off-screen agent in the exchange.

Characters enjoy the suspense in all its various forms and they like to be teased and challenged.

• Withholding a characters identity at a key moment challenges an audience to make intelligent guesses.
• Cutting away from a scene invites the audience to imagine how the action in the first scene might be continuing. 

Internal Conflict

When a protagonist is involved in a battle with him or herself, a feeling two opposing needs occur and this is when internal conflict arises. 

The editor may favour close coverage to capture this internal struggle. Shots will be selected which focuses on eyes and mouth to show feelings of discomfort, unease, tension or on other bodily parts such as hands, feet to show signs of strain and tension, in hope that the viewer will feel the same struggle.

The Dramatic Context

An editor needs to make sure that the current scene relates to what came before it and what comes after it. 

The editor must also decide whether the level of tension/suspense in successive scenes needs to be maintained or whether relief of some kind such has a comedic tone needs to be introduced. Dramatically effective narratives achieve a variety and balance in the way events are structured. Tension without relief becomes uninteresting. 

Subtext 

An editor can sometimes create subtext through the way shots are assembled for example, a character might be saying one thing, but according to what the editor chooses to show the audience might be led to understand something other than what is being expressed verbally. 

Key Dramatic Beats

The editor can indicate progression towards key dramatic beats in the narrative by cutting from wide coverage of action to close coverage of that action. 

The most obvious example of this is a 2 person dialogue, the editor cuts from a medium, such as a two shot of both characters, to individual close ups (using the shot reverse shot technique). This can add emotion build-up in the exchange and increase dramatic effectiveness to the scene.