Overview
The concept of "stakes" in dramatic storytelling is explained, highlighting their importance in making scenes compelling and emotionally engaging for the audience.
Definition and Importance of Stakes
- Stakes refer to what a character stands to lose if they do not achieve their objective in a scene.
- High stakes make scenes more gripping and increase audience investment.
- Stakes can be literal (life or death) or emotional (loneliness, regret), and are crucial regardless of genre.
Examples and Applications
- Action or superhero movies have obvious high stakes (lives, cities, the world).
- Even in smaller-scale stories, like romances or family dramas, emotional stakes need to feel significant to the character.
- The effectiveness of a scene often depends on whether the stakes are clearly established and sufficiently high.
Diagnosing Weak Scenes
- Scenes may fail if character objectives are vague or stakes are too low.
- Raising the stakes can make even ordinary situations feel urgent and important.
Practical Illustration
- An example involving a blind date shows how increasing the perceived consequence (ending up alone) changes the actor's energy and urgency.
- Scenes become much more engaging when characters face meaningful consequences for failure.
Recommendations / Advice
- Clearly define what the character stands to lose in every scene.
- Ensure stakes are high enough to generate tension and interest.
- Revisit scenes that feel flat to examine whether low stakes might be the issue.