From Betty:
Starting your screenplay with a dream sequence? Might want to rethink this. Dream sequences are fun…especially in the middle of a movie. But beware when beginning your screenplay with a dream.
I had a student turn in a screenplay to be read and I happened to see the first page. I loved it! It was SO unique. I had never heard of or seen a movie that touched on that subject, and it was set in the future…in space!
I opened it right away to read. Fascinating. Until I turned to page two and PSYCH! The main character wakes up from their dream in a regular modern day reality. I was so disappointed. The rest of the screenplay was, in fact, really good and original…and while the theme of the dream and the story itself did go hand in hand…I felt duped the rest of the screenplay. I told the student that I loved their opening so much that they should write another screenplay with that as the premise, but explained that it was an unfair way to get me hooked. There was no delivery on the original promise of outer space.
I once heard a rumor that one year at the Austin Film Festival they tossed out every screenplay that began with a dream or a flashback. Hmmm…don’t know if that’s actually true, but I understand why. I had never had anyone give me a screenplay before where the dream was better than the movie itself.
Be careful with those gotcha moments. A lot of TV shows get away with it because we’re used to our characters and if we’ve seen other episodes we are aware that what we’re watching is clearly a dream. But with a feature film, don’t have your viewers pop their popcorn and settle in for a one minute teaser. Just don’t do it.