The five W's allow
for directed writing.

Allow me to begin with an example from one of my favorite movies. The directed writing style of the scriptwriters makes it easy to see that four of the five W's were all answered within the first three and a half, count 'em, three and a half minutes of the movie, while the fifth "W" was answered within the first twelve minutes:

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The Who, What, When, Where, Why
of Mr. Holland's Opus

Who: Mr. Holland, a determined musician. The opening shot scans from a glance at some sheet music to Mr. Holland's hands on the keys. His intensity provides the first connective tissue that allows us to know he is as sure of his desire to write and play music as our desire is to see him do this. We then scan to a shot of him faux-conducting, as it is apparent that he wishes his music could be performed by a complete orchestra.

What: Before you even see Mr. Holland for the first time, the black screen conveys the opening credits, and you hear the rhythmic sounds of the piano in the background. You already know that this movie deals with music, whether or not you deduced from the title of the movie that an opus is in fact a musical piece.

The "who" and "what" are taken care of in the first two minutes and twenty seconds of the film, leaving a mere seventy seconds for the "when" and "where" to come to fruition. You may think this is an impossibility. There's no way seventy seconds can provide adequate time to answer two fundamental questions that will sustain the premise of the remainder of the movie. Wrong! Read on to learn how the gifted writers of this screenplay did just that:

When: "...The Warren Commission, almost a full year after the Kennedy assassination..." comes over the radio as Mr. Holland's wife, Iris, wakes him up for the day. We already know that the year is 1964, as Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. The time frame has been set. The time that he awakens is 6:45, and we learn that Mr. Holland is not too familiar with this time of day, as he asks if the sun really comes out that early. We wonder what is making him get up that early if it isn't his usual routine.

Where: John F. Kennedy High School, where Mr. Holland will begin teaching music as a "gig" that he'll quit if it doesn't work in order to try something else.

Finally, the "why" is answered at approximately eleven minutes and twenty seconds into the film. A bit more groundwork needed to be laid (including the first four "W's") in order for the "why" to make logical, coherent sense:

Why: The school's football coach does us the service of asking the ultimate question to Mr. Holland, "Why did you become a teacher?" Mr. Holland responds, "I started teaching because I was hoping it would give me some free time to do some composing. I'm a composer. That's what I really do." His hopes are seemingly shattered at his hope to be able to do this when the coach tells him he can't remember the last time he had that was free.

It is important to note that directed writing encompasses all five W's and takes heed of the fact that they will all be answered, yet provide the forum for bringing up more innovative potential questions to be asked and answered throughout the course of the rest of the movie. Mr. Holland's Opus is just one compelling, worthwhile example of a directed writing script that captures the essence of the "who, what, when, where, why" that readers are so curious to know.

Check out some of your favorite movies and see how long it takes for the five W's to be answered. You might be surprised at just how quickly the scriptwriters direct your attention to the very answers you have been waiting to learn.

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