Scenes vs.

Sequences
1. A FILM – Composed of Scenes Sequences (Actions performed by
characters within a specific setting or location and time and place)
2. SCENE - Defines the place or setting where the action takes place and the
events that take place there and consist of a series of shots depicting this
continuous event . 
3. SHOT SEQUENCE - A series of connected Scenes composed of shots that
occurs in multiple locations that convey a major idea. These connected
events advance a distinct component of the story narrative or plot.
4. SHOTS – One action or movement expressing a P.O.V.

Key ACTIONS in Shot Sequences:

Shooting SCENES starts with identifying specific actions that the hero of the story
is performing.

Actors call these actions activities. These are performable actions someone can do
physically.

The key to spotting actions is to get specific. You can open on an action in a close-
up or wide mainly. You can describe what the action is someone is doing the scene
to start the scene off. How does the scene begin?

Rather than “cooking dinner,” think “dicing a potato.” Rather than “delivering
mail,” think “putting a particular letter like a ransom note in a particular mailbox,
perhaps the White House.”

Here’s the most common definition of a scene:  A unified piece of the action, in
one location, with a beginning, middle, and end.
 
Here’s the most common definition of a sequence:  A series of scenes with a
beginning, middle, and end.
Do you see the trend here? There is a start and there is a finish.

HERO GOAL SCENE SEQUENCE

A Hero goal scene sequence is a 3 – 7 page sequence where the hero pursues one
short-term goal from start to finish. Add these scenes together and you get a
sequence. Add these sequences together and you get a story. The three act structure
is helpful, but not complete. What happens in between these major act breaks?
What do we will in the very large second act with? In some films we get
completely lost with nothing actually starting or finishing.

Within a single activity, there is always a goal and within that GOAL there can be
many tactics (small actions) that move this goal forward in dealing with obstacles,
but the goal remains simple.

This short – term goal is a step toward achieving the super-objective for the overall
story which is related to the theme.

So to start off with, we as, “What’s at stake?”

What is the hero going to lose if they don’t achieve this goal?
So each goal leads to something bigger in terms of loss and gain. To the point
where you will lose everything if you don’t achieve their goal. Or if we are still in
the second act, we achieve our goal, but there is a problem attached to the solution,
which leads us into the next goal, to solve that new problem. And once we are
about to solve that goal, then a new problem arises.

For example: Boy wants girl. Boy asks girl to get married. Girl says yes but she
has to take care of her mother. Boy gets girl but also gets mother. New problem?
Boy lives with both girl and mother and can never be alone with the girl. Boy
builds a guest house. New problem, mother’s health conditions requires constant
observation. Boy moves into guest house alone, etc.

At the end of this 3-7 page goal sequence of scene, the hero discovers new
information. In the example above he learns all too late that the girl he loves is
bound to her mother.

(Change) that was previously unknown to the hero. The mother is the change in
understanding. What changes in the hero. His objective is thwarted. This changes
the hero to find a new solution.

This new solution changes the hero’s P.O.V. and helps continue the motivation to
problem solve by offering up a new short-term goal to reach for. Now the second
act doesn’t lag. Now the audience doesn’t get lost. Therefore a story is just a series
of scenes and sequences where we set up hero goals and obstacles to reaching that
goal over and over again.

We have 21 to 23 hero goal sequences in an American movie script.

There are 6 of these small goals in Act I.

In the first half of the second act, there are 6 more short–term small goals as seen
in the diagram below.

The Midpoint – is rich and layered for the 12th goal sequence. Hero goal sequence
goal 18 has a stunning goal. And in act three, you have between 2 or 4 short–term
goal sequences.
Work the scene backward. So when you look at a scene, you know what you
want to happen, but how to you make it seem more organic. How can we begin?
Do we always start with the first line of dialogue? Is an actor just waiting to speak?
What happens before the main action? How do we anticipate what’s coming next?
Start with the first line and ask what happened before this either in the scene or
outside of it. How do we get into this sequence? How did we get out of last the
sequence?

The most challenging part of identifying actions is figuring out what’s going to
happen in advance so you’re ready to record when the moment comes. This is
called “anticipating the action.” When you watch it, it seems natural and
intuitive, but it emerges from thoughtful planning upfront.

We got some great advice from an acting teacher named Uta Hagen, she teaches
you should always ask, “Where did the character(s) just come from?” “What
happened just before this?” “What was the previous beat before this scene?”

The first line of dialogue in the scene appears to be where the scene begins, That’s
what I did in my first scene – but – is it first? Where did the character just come
from? or What was the character just doing before the scene?
In the scene below, the very last shot is the first line of dialogue. The shots below
are in sequence from left to right. So when you ask the question where did the
characters in the scene just come from, then you get the answer that they came
from working the street and we follow them inside.
WHAT IS THE FIRST LINE IN THE SCENE? Backing up: (Lee in his office) He
says, “But sir, I can’t get that much money ready in three days.”

If you just open on this shot, visually it isn’t very dynamic, you can do a dolly shot
around the back of his head to see the ROOM. But it doesn’t tell anything about
who he is, so how can you show what he does, who he is??? Use Objects of Focus.
After the establishing shot, there is a quick succession of shots across his desk, cell
phones, money, and drugs are on the table. His words let you know that he is in
debt, but we get an understanding that he is doing something illegal by focusing on
the objects on his desk, and bringing them into focus.

Now work your way back to get to that point. (Who enters?)

In the Reverse shot, we see there is a worker in the room watching T.V. Also not
interesting. But… WORK BACKWARDS. Follow where this worker came from
and how he entered the room…

What you see in the film is opening shots of the city, wide. Then you see a medium
of this guy, and he’s putting flyers around, fast cuts, quick shots, he moves into a
building, and we see a shot of him moving up some stairs. Nothing to wild, but the
movement begs the question… Where is he going? Then the big reveal… His
Boss. NOW YOU’VE GIVEN HIS BOSS AUTHORITY.

Key elements: Besides the actor being a key element in the scene, there are also
objects or props.

Both in writing, acting and directing, objects of focus are also important. Ask what
are some interesting ways that relate to the scene or to be drawn into the scene. In
acting, they call it an object of attention. What object are you focusing on? In order
to bring focus to this object as a writer, you would use descriptive writing.

In the scene above they focus on the object that is being placed in the windshield.
That object is a flyer for hookers, as we follow the worker, we discover that he
works for a pimp.

LIFESTYLE? PERSONAL HABITS? Focusing on specific objects: Dildo, money,

These objects can even be the central focus of the entire plot.

Look at your scene sequences and ask how to strengthen them. Do your
sequences have their own beginnings, middles and ends? Does each scene
lead to the next (create cause and effect/move the story forward?) Do you
have larger sequences that use these scenes to create even bigger turning
points in your plot?

Answer:

Pick a Scene Sequence:

1. How many Scenes are in a Sequence?

How do you get into this shot sequence?

Which shot sequences do I want to stretch out in the edit to create emotional
tension?

Build fear in the viewer by lingering in the reaction shot longer.

Build anticipation. How will this shot sequence and cut affect the audience
emotionally at this moment?

Ask where do you want the audience to look in the frame?

Example:
• She arrives home to her recently deceased mother’s house, so she can sell it.
She discovers her mom was a hoarder.
• She tries going through all her mother’s possessions, but gives up. She only
wants one thing.
• She goes upstairs to her mother’s jewelry box and takes her grandmother’s
necklace. While she puts it in her pocket, she hears something in the
backyard.
• She goes out to the yard. The garden shed door is open and she moves
toward it.
• Inside the garden shed, she finds a key to a safe deposit box at the local
bank.
• She goes to the bank, opens the safety deposit box and discovers a birth
certificate for a child she never knew her mother had. She has a sister.

This is a sequence. See how it’s made up of individual scenes, each moving us
forward to the next scene (creating cause and effect?) The beginning is the woman
arriving at the house and deciding she can’t go through all her mom’s stuff. The
middle is her taking the necklace, hearing something in the yard, going out to the
shed and finding the key. The end is when she discovers the birth certificate and
realizes she has a sister.

Again, each specific scene in the sequence moves the story forward, and the
sequence itself has its own internal structure and carries the plot into a whole new
arena–“Oh my God, I have a sister!”
On the Water Front

• Shots 1- 2 constitute Scene 1.

Act I:
A: Neff's opening confession and Phyllis leaving a message for Neff.
B: Neff's second visit to Phyllis and agreement to kill Phyllis' husband.
Act II:
C: Neff and Phyllis are thwarted by Mr. Dietrichson's broken leg.
D: Neff and Phyllis murder Mr. Dietrichson.
E: Keyes initially concludes the death was an accident, then becomes
suspicions.
F: Neff learns of Phyllis is implicated in a previous murder of a husband;
Neff becomes suspicious
Act III:
G: Neff endures revelations about Sachetti, concludes that his only hope is
to eliminate her. He goes to her place and kills her.
H: Neff sends Sachetti back to Lola, then confronts Keyes in person, tries to
make his final getaway, fails.

3-7 pages a Sequence, within each Sequence you will find 6 scenes will equal to
3-7 pages, 3 Sequences for act I, 6 Sequences for act II, 3 Sequences for act III

So when you look at the Fresh News/New info at the end of your Scene, ask,
‘What is the consequence of the scene?”
“How does this scene change the story?”
What new objective does the hero have based on receiving this new
information?
What changed from before the scene occurred to after the scene occurred?