"The accident;" and, following the
leader, show the man pinned to the ground by the fallen tree; then
proceed with the succeeding action. You may be sure that the audience
will understand that the man has been knocked down by and pinned under
the tree as it fell; it is only necessary to show these two scenes.
A leader, however, should never be employed to "break" a scene unless
there is absolutely no chance to introduce in its stead a short
_scene_, the showing of which will help the progress of the plot; or
unless a leader will serve the double purpose of breaking the scene
and supplying the audience with an explanation that is important just
at that time.
Taking the two examples just given, in which a leader is used to break
the scene, there is scarcely any doubt that, were you writing these
scenes in scenario form, you might easily substitute scenes that would
help the action of the story and allow you to dispense with the
leaders altogether. For instance, you could show the scene in which
the absent-minded man leaves the water running into the bath and goes
out of the room. Then, show a scene in his bedroom, where he is
contentedly removing the studs from his shirt. Suddenly he remembers
that he has left the water running. With an expression of dismay, he
jumps up and runs out of the room.
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