: Re: Can I split a long scene up by switching the camera from one arguing couple to a different couple? If I have a long scene in a cafe with a couple arguing (comedy) can I split the scene

@Steve161

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If the other couple are relevant to the story this would be fine, but if they're not characters in their own right and don't reappear later, it's probably best avoided. At least some of the readers/viewers will want to know who they are, and if they suspect they were only introduced as a scene break the audience will be merciless.

If you were thinking of contrast (for example our couple are arguing their way to separation, the other couple are leading up to a marriage proposal) it could work, but you would have to visit them several times during the cafe scene - it wouldn't work only once.

For something that would break the scene without distracting the audience, something like dropped plates (Amadeus - it's an homage, honest) or a waiter asking how their dinner is going would work better. If you're going for incongruity, go full on and have someone walking past in a gorilla outfit - it'll have the audience scratching their heads but they're more likely to find it quirky than being annoyed by characters they might or might not need to care about.

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