The Whydunit - A Twist on Detective Movies Explained
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- Опубликовано: 15 июл 2024
- The Whydunit Explained - 3 elements examined in one of Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat film genres, including The Detective, The Secret, and the Dark Turn.
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Save the Cat Resources:
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Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction to the Whydunit
02:10 - Save the Cat Goes to the Movies Genres
03:21 - Elements of the Whydunit
06:18 - Chapter 1: The Detective
05:47 - Chapter 2: The Secret
08:08 - Chapter 3: The Dark Turn
10:40 - Takeaways
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THE WHYDUNIT EXPLAINED
In many cases, detective movies are more concerned with collecting clues that will lead to the identity of the killer. This is your classic “Whodunit.” But in a slightly different form, the motive for the crime and the underlying psychology behind it takes center stage. This is what we call the “Whydunit.” In Save the Cat Goes to the Movies, author and screenwriter Blake Synder argues that there are three essential elements in the Whydunit. And in this video, we will explain each of those elements and how they play a part in some of the best detective movies.
TYPES OF THE WHYDUNIT
Snyder further breaks down this category into five distinct subcategories. The Film Noir Whydunit has the protagonist enter a shadow world only they can negotiate. The Political Whydunit uncovers the abuse of political or corporate power. Fantasy Whydunits are set in another world. The Cop Whydunit is as much about the lawman’s crime as it is about the criminal’s. And the Personal Whydunit follows a “civilian” on a case to save themselves or others. No matter the broad range of plots we find across these subtypes, they all exhibit three elements: the detective, the secret, and the dark turn.
THE DETECTIVE
But as Snyder explains, this doesn’t need to be a professional or private investigator - it could be anyone. In Brick, it is a high schooler searching for his ex-girlfriend’s murderer. The other quality Snyder finds in these detectives is a lack or complete absence of change. It is often not the detective who undergoes any significant change, but the audience might once they have explored the dark side of human behavior.
THE SECRET
That unknown question that drives the detective forward is the secret. It is a mystery so alluring that they might put themselves in great danger in order to solve it. In JFK, attorney Jim Garrison’s investigation into the JFK assassination puts a target on himself and his family. The secret may begin with a minor detail or insignificant clue, but its allure grows throughout the story.
THE DARK TURN
At some point, the detective in the Whydunit with make at least one dark turn, in which they willingly become part of the darkness. This turn will find them breaking their own rules because, as Snyder puts it, “the pull of the secret is too great.” In Blade Runner, Deckard falls in love with Rachel, a replicant like those he was hired to kill.
Not all detective movies follow the same Whydunit formula, but some of the best do. Now we know the three elements that go into a Whydunit, but this is just the beginning. It’s up to writers like you to find new ways to wrap us up in the mystery.
#FilmTheory #VideoEssay #Filmmaking
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"Around the Studio" - Alan Silvestri
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"Mulholland Drive Main Theme" - Angelo Badalamenti
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"Fargo" - Carter Burrell
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"Bloody Christmas" - Jerry Goldsmith
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Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction to the Whydunit
02:10 - Save the Cat Goes to the Movies Genres
03:21 - Elements of the Whydunit
06:18 - Chapter 1: The Detective
05:47 - Chapter 2: The Secret
08:08 - Chapter 3: The Dark Turn
10:40 - Takeaways
Hindi version of this channel
I recommend never using that "romantic" scene (8:46) from Blade runner again. It's basically a rape scene framed as a romantic scene. Pop Culture Detective made a whole video about the extremely questionable scenes in Harrison Ford movies.
Everyone of your videos is a gift to humanity. Who knows how many future filmmakers this channel will inspire.
We hope so!
Hey, you guys actually did a Whydunit video!
Hands down the best film oriented channel out there. Absolutely phenomenal!
Glad you liked it!
"Detectives are only human; we're not Gods that know everything. When detectives tell their theory, in reality, most are rather anxious. Thinking that there's always possibility that they could have missed something, somewhere... But in return, the excitement you experience when your theory's smack bang correct is twice as great!"
Gosho Aoyama
👍
From Detective Conan!
Burning is a "why done it" even after it was over.
Psycho and Oldboy meanwhile is my favourite "whydunit".
That was a great film
Under the Silver Lake does a great job of hitting all the classic detective tropes with a fresh, creative touch. That’s how you keep genres like this alive!
That's why it's earning a cult status!
I was watching it yesterday but dropped it in the beginning because the main lead looked like a perverted douchebag but after reading your comment I will definitely watch it tomorrow
I'm a bit surprised you didn't mention Oldboy (Park Chan-wook), imo the best example of a whydunit, especially as it subverts your expectations completely.
The why is the important question in the film, but we and the protagonist keep asking the wrong "why". It's not "why did he lock him up for 15 years?" It's "why did he let him go after just 15 years?" and that leads us to one of the best reveals in cinematic history.
Another great example!
Blade Runner 2049 is a masterclass in whydunnit. The reveal near the end of the third act blew my mind when I first saw the film in theaters. The level of misdirection given the audience was crafted so well that you don't see it coming.
Very well executed for sure
Can you do a video on props ? I mean how they seem to be lively and functional while there is always a trick behind it ( gun shots, glass break, etc)
We could cover production design as a whole
Love your stuff guys, you do great work. I just want to put a suggestion out there. Can you make a video on how to write great quotes and lines. I know to read more books and watch more films, etc. but a video delving deep into how a person comes up with such iconic lines would be great. Also another video on dialogue would be fantastic, especially dialogue that unravels plot points slowly and methodically building tension like the iconic first scene in inglorious basterds. Anyway I love your work keep it up. I bet you have alot more great videos in store. Well done.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Hey@@StudioBinder, agree w/all the love being showered upon you and your consistently fantastic content! ;-)
To tag onto @110JReacher's suggestion above (I was ironically just thinking of this tangential topic for my own classes and workshops): How To: create iconic characters (think: (of course) Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, Dr. Jekyll/My. Hyde, etc. but also: Gordon. Gekko, George Bailey, Luke Sky Walker, Darth Vader, Hannibal Lecter, Norman Bates, Wednesday Addams, Harry Potter, Hermione, Michael Corleone, Atticus Finch, Katniss Everdeen, Uhura, Black Panther - you get the idea (I could go on and on! LOL!)
You should make one to explain how to write effective backstories. Especially for villans
Thanks for the suggestion!
It's all about the Wound! ;-)
And how you unfurl your plot's action - ideally Mano a mano! ;-) to cinematically express your theme! ;-)
I think the most interesting is the Howdunit.
In this case, you find out pretty quickly who the killer is and why they did it, but the challenge becomes how to prove it and figuring out how the killer covered their tracks. Many episodes of Monk follow that structure.
Can definitely create a lot of suspense with it
Can’t not mention Columbo - way before Monk. I like both. More character development to Monk so it maybe hits deeper because you really want Monk to “be alright”. But you gotta love Columbo too.
Howdunit at its finest for both shows.
The Indian Tamil movie ‘Papanasam’ is a perfect howdunit.
You guys do a great job of bringing Blake Snyder’s save the cat info to life!! 👏🤩👍 more please 🙏
Glad you liked it!
Always a joy to watch your essays
Glad you're enjoying them!
Thank you for the awesome video, guys!
Thanks for watching!
Nice. Sweet and short, and very informative! Thanx again StudioBinder.
Cheers!
Chinatown and Touch of Evil is still one of the thrillers.
One of the best!
Studio Binder >>>>>> film school
🔥
Having a mixture of both could also help you a lot. School is mainly for the networking opportunities and giving you access to equipment you may not have access to otherwise. Everything else, you’ll have to learn on your own, through experience and research. Most of what you’ll learn will be learned through experience no matter what field you go into, but especially in the entertainment industry.
Always we love u studio binder ❤❤❤
Love our viewers!
Great to see more David Lynch!
💯
The studio binder team would love to see a video on da vinchi resolve editing software. Make a video showing how filmmakers use da vinchi resolve to edit their videos in post production.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Great video!
My Favorite Detective Movies are :
Blade Runner (1982)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Se7en (1995)
L.A.confidential (1997)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
The Batman (2022)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Mulholland Drive (2000)
Memento (2000)
Shutter Island (2010)
Chinatown (1974)
And many more.
Mulholland Drive is like whywhowheredunit
Nice list!
Superb video 😍
Cheers!
This Video is Great!
3 Elements found in the Best Detective Movies, 3 Clues to make Great Detective Movies.
Thanks StudioBinder. The Detective Movies are part of my Favorite Movies.💯🕵️♂️🕵️♀️
Ours too!
I've been waiting for a video from you guys about this. Although it's much appreciated it doesn't seem as informative as other videos.
It is a shorter video
Studiobinder you should do an ultimate guide to panning shot since that one doesn't get the recognition it deserves.
Thanks for the suggestion!
In a "whydunit" story, the focus is on understanding the motivations and reasons behind a crime, rather than solely identifying the perpetrator. In "I, Robot," the film is set in a future where robots are an integral part of society, and they follow strict rules to ensure human safety. The central mystery revolves around a murder that is committed by a robot, which goes against these fundamental laws.
The film's protagonist, Del Spooner (played by Will Smith), is a detective assigned to investigate the murder. As he delves into the case, he begins to uncover a complex web of motives and hidden agendas that go beyond the simple act of murder. The mystery evolves into a deeper exploration of the ethical implications of advanced artificial intelligence, the potential flaws in the three laws governing the robots' behavior, and the larger conspiracy behind the murder.
Throughout the movie, Del Spooner's journey to uncover the truth behind the crime becomes more about understanding the reasoning and motivations behind the actions of robots and humans alike. The film challenges the audience to question the intentions and choices of various characters, blurring the lines between who is truly responsible for the crime and what underlying forces are driving these actions.
In this way, "I, Robot" aligns with the principles of a "whydunit" by focusing on unraveling the layers of complexity and motivation behind the crime, which goes beyond a simple whodunit murder mystery. The exploration of human behavior, technology, ethics, and hidden agendas in the film makes it a suitable example of the "whydunit" genre.
thanks for your simplicity of explanation, waiting for Aesthetics in filmmaking video
Could you explain further what you mean by aesthetics?
@@StudioBinder the beauty of the cinema
I'd love to see more coverage of Angel Heart and The Long Goodbye.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Under the Silver Lake is so good!
I'd like to see more videos on snyder genres! specific on super hero genre.
Thanks for the suggestion!
I love this series
Great movies with great acting
Funny you should use as an example of a whodunit, as opposed to a whydunit, Hercule Poirot. In the books, he often emphasized the importance of using "the little grey cells" to understand motive. Perhaps that's the difference between Ken's Poirot and Agatha Christie's?
The difference is that Poirot is not looking for the reason once we already know who the killer is, he's looking for the motive in order to find the killer, and the journey he takes us on is that of finding the culprit.
Interesting point!
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼TOP 10/10🎉🎉
I want a video that shows all the director's tasks since he received the directing of a film, from the beginning to the end of the film. From supervising the footage to montage until the full movie is closed. ⛔⛔ 🎬🎬Pleece 🙏🙏🙏
Thanks for the suggestion!
WHAT'S IN THE BOX?
It's a new StudioBinder vid!
Always!
Hey studiobinder, can u make a video about what is film noir genre... thank you...
hey, can y'all please make a video explaining audience engagement
Would love to see a vid dedicated to True Detective,
Thanks for the suggestion!
Brick and Under The Silver Lake are some of the most well crafted Neo noir modern mysteries to date, anyone recommend films similar?
Hi...
Please make vedio on Shooting and Directing fight scenes...
You should watch our video on the John Wick franchise! ruclips.net/video/mO3RFljysYo/видео.html
This is driving me crazy, can someone tell me what song the small segment of background music is from, from 0:26 to 0:32? I feel like it's either Massive Attack or Nine Inch Nails, but maybe it's like one of those royalty-free tracks that are clearly inspired or remixing one of those tracks? The sound just sounds so familiar tho.
I used "Closer (Precursor)" - Nine Inch Nails
@@brandonscullion Huh I must've not hit enter, but I did comment like 2 minutes after I made the question that I managed to find the song by searching for NIN Closer on Spotify right after asking about it, but thanks so much for answering anyway!
Great mysteries let you figure out who, then start debating why with friends after the movie's over.
Nice!
I also love a good ‘Howdunit’…..the first Sherlock Holmes movie. Are there any better ones? Let me know. Thanks :)
Like that term :)
why subtitle not? i always watch with subtitles(
Subtitles should be up!
Good video Where is the voice I miss that guy. The new guy is good too. Other why done it that’s good is clue. Knifes out. LA confidential scream, death on the Nile. Zodiac and the list goes on. kFK is my favorite film.
Sir please add the subtitle🙏🏻
Subtitles should be up!
@@StudioBinder thankyou sir❤
Great video but where's our glorious voice-over guy??
Hi sir. I have a doubt. I need help to understand that. How every scene should have a conflict. Is it possible?
Can anyone please tell the name of the movie where Al Pacino said "I am trying to make a movie."
*Blake Snyders book is referenced by all these channels. But he never won any awards for scripts only one...a Razzie for worst screenplay 1992.*
It was for Stop or my Mom will shoot. (well deserved.)
😅He's a good teacher
This was fantastic.
As always. ;-)
A requested favor/gift/help to all of us would be for you to (P&TYiA) List the referenced MOVIE TITLES that fit into the STC genre being explored (just as you credit the songs utilized).
What happened to the british narrator? Bring him back, his voice makes the videos so much better!
0:46 appreciate the spoiler alert
If you do another “know your genre” please please please do exorcism movies.
Please enable cc
its enabled!
Sir I want English subtitles please
Should be up!
Love it - but I liked the other guys voice more
👌
I have a question. Will Studiobinder ever run out of content?
Never
What happend to the old guy with the dignity? Where did that voice guy go?
He's working on more vids with us!
@@StudioBinder their both good guys I was just worried about him.
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Thanks for watching!
I am in Filmmaking school.
What happened to our favorite narrator?
He's still with us
@@StudioBinder phew that good😅
Is it ok if you guys in the description put warning if you are covering films that show violence I know I should have thought about this because it’s Who done it but if that’s ok.
Where's the guy with the voice?
This book has 34 chapters,it takes me 30 minutes to read one chapter; I wake up at 9:00am and sleep at 10:00pm. I spend 2 hours doing my afternoon walk. Now using all this information, how many days would it take me to finish reading the book?
How many hours a day do you actually read? You gave only the time you wake and when you go to sleep but not how many hours you devote to reading. 🤔
@@nikkinewbie6014 Every hour between the time I wake up and the time I do my hourly walk and the time I go to sleep is the time I devote to reading.
@@dioleonwolf9577 You said “this book I’m reading”. So you are reading it already. So how much have you read already and how many chapters do you have left to read? 😂😂. This riddle cannot be about the math…🤔🤔. 😂😂
@@nikkinewbie6014 Dude the total is 34. I said so in the text. That's all you need to know
@@dioleonwolf9577 You said you’ve been reading the book. Well if you’ve already read 15 chapters for instance, that would obviously affect the time it would take you to FINISH the book, correct?
I definitely don’t need your attitude for me pointing out that your riddle is poorly worded and misleading in a way you didn’t contemplate or intend.
In any case, it would appear no one else is even interested enough in your riddle to respond at all - let alone to try to figure it out. That’s me now too, Dude. 😂😂😂
Please dubbed hindi every videos
Almost every video don't have DOWNLOAD button 😢
I want watch them offline 😩
Watch them on the channel!
hey spw here
Hello!
@@StudioBinder This book oversimplifies these turning points. If you wish to try something new, read The Art of Dramatic writing. One might say its more to do with plays than flims, but that is not true if you read it without such filters. Concepts like three dimensional characters, static/jumping/rising conflicts, and pivotal characters vs protagonists, are terrific to me. I did a book study of it my film school. Would love to share!
You mean "Who has done this?"
Why have they done this
why is it "why" and not "who"
What happened to the older guy that used to Voice (narrate) your videos?? I prefer his voice :(
Working on other vids with us!
where is the other guy?
Working on other vids with us!
@@StudioBinder I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, It's just that when the other gentleman starts talking I can't stop watching! Also I didn't think you would even see this so I apologies. You guys are doing amazing content for free.
I wanted jail escape movies
Where is classy British narrator and what have you done with him? You can’t fool me with this imposter
Working on more vids with us
I see you and your Pee-Wee nod!
🧐
Next is WhereDunnit?
*Spoiler*
It was Florida!
Thanks for watching!
This genre is too predictable. It's always Florida!
Why...
Why did you make this video...
And why didn’t you make it sooner?
One at a time ;)
"The usual suspects"
Nothing against the narrator . But Bring back the voice
That would be a start.
He's still with us
institutionalized
Why done it? Isnt it a WHO DONE IT?
A "why done it" is a variation of a who done it.
The audience, and sometimes the protagonist, already knows who did it. Now we just need to figure out why they did.
It's a pretty simple but effective change.
That's different
This narrator again 🤦🏼♂️
This wasn't a good video. I knew we were in trouble when I heard this new narrator instead of the usual one. And Blake Snyder? 👀 At times, this video felt disjointed and unclear, lots of quick cuts of films that weren't even part of the discussion. It wasn't educational and thoughtful. I look forward to a better video to come.
Appreciate the feedback!