I can’t remember who invented the word BOGSAT. It’s really handy. What does it mean?
Bunch of guys sitting around talking.
Readers hate BOGSAT scenes.
BOGSAT scenes really slow down your novel or book.
Scenes of BOGSAT in movies usually end up boring audiences to tears. It’s why in “We Were Soldiers” the required BOGSAT scenes were done in ways involving movement. The opening scenes of two Generals walking through the Pentagon with alternating red and white lights was designed to increase interest. Everything constantly changes. Camera filmed slightly upwards. Ceiling shot above the characters in motion.
Now take that scene and put them sitting around a conference table.
Bleh.
Problem is, some people prefer to FILL their novels and films with BOGSAT scenes.
Add movement to them. Don’t have them talk about it and do it, have them talk about it during or after! “Why’d you shoot him?” “Because he was pointing a gun at us inside his pocket.”
The worse thing – unless done for comedic effect – is to have someone explain why they’re doing something as they do it! Such as the scene in BlackHawk Down “Why aren’t you shooting at them?” “They’re not shooting at us.” “How do you know?” A hiss means it’s close. A crack means a hit.” CRACK! “Now they’re shooting at us!”
I’ve got a BOGSAT scene that’s important in my Star Trek novel – Scotty is eating a steak dinner while talking to Lohman. Lohman is so nervous he can’t eat. The scene is communicating a number of things simultaneously – back story, exposition, and giving you a glimpse into the politics of Starfleet – and I’m establishing the change in status of Lohman from a first lieutenant who thinks he’s got 24 more years of Starfleet duty that will be drudgery because he made a career mistake – and Scotty is giving the needed exposition that tells the reader things have shifted rapidly and Lohman is now being given everything he’s ever dreamed of.
I absolutely cannot think of any other way to do this scene except this way. The nature of Star Trek is people sitting in rooms, blah blah blah, camera tilt, sound effect, blah blah blah. Kind of hard to get any action in that. Well, Kirk punching a Klingon in the mouth. So gave Lohman a little of that. The concept of two Star Trek characters walking from point A to point B, or flying in on Helicopters just doesn’t exist in Star Trek movies.
You have to do things within a genre to fulfill expectations. If your goal is to stretch that out in some way, then you have to find ways to do it believably.
If you’ve got BOGSAT scenes, consider this – you’ve got to bind up tension in them in some way to keep them interesting. Far better to eliminate them entirely if possible. But if you can’t – if the information in them is far too important to cut, then combine them with action.
Consider Godzilla, a truly fantastic movie. The scene between Ogata and Serizawa boils down to a soul wrenching moment – “guns against guns. Missiles against missiles!” Serizawa has rejected his military past and sees only the need for peace, while Ogata sees only the need to preserve life. It’s a struggle between the need for force to save life and the ideology of opposition to war – and the one advocating peace knows this can only end one way – he has to die.
This was a masterfully written, acted and directed scene. If I was teaching film class, I’d most definitely include this scene.
This scene is essentially a BOGSAT scene, but it’s exceptionally well done. Instead of two men sitting and drinking tea, they’ve actually been fighting. And the man of peace has just used force against the man advocating force – Ogata is bleeding from a scalp wound Serizawa gave him.
Notice this as well – Serizawa during his monologue is going gray from the stress. He starts the scene with black hair, and is streaked with gray by the end.
It’s best to cut your exposition. When you cannot, consider how to deliver it without five guys sitting at a conference table talking.
