Intent: The invisible navigation quadrant of the Film

A screenplay is above all a tool for conveying intention. It is not written solely with the future audience in mind, but also to guide an entire team towards the realisation of a vision.

When writing, we sometimes imagine a viewer already sitting in the cinema, absorbed by the story. But between the words on the page and the images on the screen lies an entire world: the world of filmmaking. A screenplay is a blueprint, a project that must weather the storms of reality in order to come into being: budget constraints, location availability, unpredictable weather, actors’ interpretations, the inspirations of the director, production designer and costume designer, the editing of image and sound, the music, and even the colour grading.

What protects - and enriches - the soul of the film through all these transformations?

The intention of the story.

A clear intention becomes the collective compass for everyone involved in the film. The actor understands the truth of the character beyond the lines; the cinematographer translates atmosphere into light; the editor knows which emotions to privilege and what the point of view is; the composer aligns with - and deepens - the inner rhythm of the narrative, and so on.

Without that clarity of intention, each department risks moving in its own direction, not necessarily the right one. The film fragments, dilutes itself, and loses substance at every stage of its making.

A screenplay is not an end in itself but a beginning. It is not the film, but the promise of the film.

Intention is more than what can be explained; it is what permeates every line of the screenplay. It reveals itself through the precision of the stakes, the coherence of the interactions between characters, the authenticity of the characters, the singularity of the atmosphere, the subtext, and more besides.

To write a screenplay with a clear intention - the intention of the story itself - is to invite an entire team to share the same dream, the same vision. It allows everyone, from the production manager to the boom operator, to contribute to a work greater than themselves individually.

The resulting film will never be exactly the one imagined while writing. It may even become something better, enriched by the collective intelligence of all those who carry it forward. But for that magic to happen, the original intention must be powerful, clear and generous enough to withstand the inevitable compromises of production, while remaining flexible enough to embrace the discoveries made along the way.

Because a screenplay is a promise made to everyone who will bring it to life, audience included.

Déborah Braun / 90pages

Script doctor

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