Vale's Technique of Screen and Television Writing

6

Division of Knowledge

The previous chapter has not exhausted all the functions of information. Until now, we have only considered the information which is to be given to the spectator. But we must realize that there are different actors in the story, that each of them may have a different knowledge about events which take place, and that their knowledge may be different from that of the audience.

This division of knowledge is complicated, but must be understood. Let us assume A killed B. C may have been present, and therefore he has the same knowledge as A. But D and E do not know anything about it. The spectators may have seen the actual murder and in that case, they have the same knowledge as A and C. Or they may not have seen it or have ...