Pacing: The Speed of The Story

Developing your own speedometer for scenes

Pacing in story is basically the speed at which the story is told.

At certain story twists and turns, the speed at which we arrive at those changes can have an effect on the viewer. Even in a somewhat predictable story, a fast pace can shorten the events in a way that could still surprise us.

Or having one continual slow pace through the story could affect the “tone” of a story to make it more serious or frightful.

Not knowing how to use the pacing of a story can have a devastating effect on your story, too.

An action scene with a slow pace could be boring. A fast pace on a drama can make it too confusing for the audience to follow.

So, how do you know what kind of pacing to use, and where?

Well, it comes down to the tone you want, and where.

Do you want viewers to feel dread or a sense of adventure? Do you want them to take the story seriously or are your creating a comedy?

It could also be any combination on those things within the story, separated by your scenes.

Once you’re sure about the tone and the kind of story you will tell, you can set up your pacing.

Pacing is the time in between the events of your story– the time in between reveals, the time in between payoffs, etc.

The more time in between important events in your story, the slower the pace. The fewer events in between, the fast the pace.

Let’s see an example of a slow-paced scene: (2001: A Space Odyssey, “The Deactivation of Hal 9000”)

In this scene, Dave is only trying to do one thing– deactivate the computer on the spaceship.

All of his actions within the scene are to complete that one objective. In all, it takes about four minutes and 35 seconds of screen time for Dave to complete his very crucial task. All the while, HAL is saying everything he can to convince Dave not go through with the deactivation. In a very chilling but calm voice, he is all but screaming at Dave. Dave is nervous and moving as fast but in weightlessness, his movements are slow yet deliberate.

Despite the intensity and anxiety of this scene, it’s about as slowly paced as a scene can get. This is a great example of a scene being slowly paced but action-packed.

Now let’s try a fast-paced scene:

In only the first six minutes, so much story has transpired. We see an invasion force approach a heavily armed beach, we see the expressions on the men’s faces as they grapple with anticipation, anxiety, and fear beyond belief. We land on the beach and virtual slaughter begins. Some are shot right away when the landing-craft door opens, some drown, some are shot underwater.

By some miracle, we see men emerge on the beach and make their way to cover below the enemy gunners. We also see medics attend to the wounded and dying, choosing who to help and who is beyond help.

It’s an action scene, but by story standards, there is so much to digest in such a short period of time, it makes the scene seem very close to reality.

When you craft your story, you want to be sure the amount of information is distributed in a way that makes sense for your pacing, from scene to scene.

There are a few examples of stories keeping one pace throughout the whole movie, but generally, you’ll want to mix it up. The audience will need breaks from time to time to process the information you give. Good pacing means you’ve distributed the information in an even and well-intended way throughout the whole story.

Story never ends!

Jason