f Writing-for-the-cut: What can screenwriters learn from film editors about storytelling?

This article explores an approach to screenwriting using storytelling dynamics found in film editing. I call this ‘writing-for-the-cut’. This idea finds its roots in the lively theories and debates of early Soviet filmmakers such as Lev Kuleshov and Sergei Eisenstein in the 1910s and 1920s. They viewed editing as a juxtapositional dynamic, one that invites the audience to ‘discover’ the story for themselves. From their Hegelian notion of juxtaposition to its more nuanced application today, I discuss three kinds of cinematic juxtaposition: suggestion, puzzle and kinesis. I then explore how these dynamics might be embedded in the screenplay.