Intention, Coherence, Detail: the three pillars of storytelling

Intention: the beating heart of the story

This isn’t about the writer’s personal intention, but the story’s own intent. It’s the point of view, the driving force behind the narrative. Intention is essential:

- for the writer, especially during rewrites, to sharpen and strengthen the story

- for the team: producer, director, DoP, actors, editor, throughout the making of the film, to share a common vision

- for the audience, so they can follow the story and it’s evolution, without no loss

Coherence: the invisible architecture

A story is a world we create (even when aiming for “realism”). A world with its own rules, characters, and interactions. Its structure and rhythm. Its style.

This created world, though fictional, must be believable. And it’s coherence that makes it so, that creates a sense of “truth”. Only then can emotion flow.

Detail: the story’s sensory fabric

Details are not superficial or decorative. They are the embodiment of the story, its depth, its underlying threads, its subtext. They give truth to a world and to its characters. Details are everything that tells without explaining, that enrich without insisting.

They give the story substance, texture, and authenticity, allowing it to truly resonate with the audience.

These points of support serve everyone: the writer, the team (producers, director, DoP, editor, actors, production designer, etc.), and ultimately, the audience.

Intention, Coherence, Detail are an interconnected triad that is essential for the flow and clarity of a story, for making it come alive. So the magic can happen.

the three pillars of storytelling