The Screenplay: The Sequence

The part bigger than a scene but smaller than an act

Definition

The sequence is a series of scenes that share a common goal, theme, setting, or other aspect. Usually in fiction films a screenwriter organizes a sequence around a major segment of the plot. Each act will consist of a number of sequences, and thinking in terms of sequences helps a screenwriter to outline, organize and understand his screenplay on a level that is in between the levels of the scene and the act.

History

The history of the sequence derives from the industrial processes that defined filmmaking in the first half of the 20^th century. The camera makers and film companies agreed on a standard of 35mm film with 4 perforations for each frame, and an image with an aspect ratio of 4:3 or 1:1.33 or most commonly, 1.33. This image is 4 units wide and 3 units tall. Similarly the thickness or gauge of the film stock was standardized, and film companies produced film stock in standard lengths. Cameras were designed to hold film in magazines of a certain size, and the camera film rolls that fit in these magazines would run at most about 11 minutes at ‘sound speed’ or 24 frames per second.

The first fiction films the industry settled on were ‘1-reelers’ that were one reel in length or so, never more. Film processing companies processed the edited films in lengths equal to the cameral rolls, though later they could print them out in double rolls or reels.

Machines were invented and designed to run films as they were edited along with the sound film that held the dialogue and production soundtrack on optical film. Before the sound systems were invented and standardized on, films were edited more simply, by hand with eye, scissors, and glue, and reviewed on rollers operated by hand, through small viewers, or were simply projected in a nearby room to judge timing. But when sound came in, it was important to hear what the actors were saying, and so ‘uprights’ were invented by the Movieola company that resembled sewing machines, with foot pedals that ran the film forward and backwards at sound speed, in synchronization with the optical soundtrack.

These ‘uprights’ were designed to hold film rolls up to one camera roll or one reel long.

The result of these industrial decisions led editors to construct films in terms of reels. Films were released in terms of how long they were, measured in reels: there were 1-reelers, 2-reelers, 6-reelers, 12-reelers, and so forth. A 12-reeler ran about 2 hours, a 9-reeler ran about an hour and a half, because when the leaders were considered, each produced and printed reel of film would run about 10 minutes at sound speed.

Because each reel was processed separately, a cut had to come at each reel end. And because during projection each film roll of 2 joined reels would get torn and scratched at its ends more than in the middle (and also because film projectors were switched over by hand, and projectionists get nervous and switch early sometimes), editors had to make sure that the projection reels would end with a bit of superfluous film that could be lost without damaging the sense of the story. A reel would end on a long take with not much happening, for example; or it would end with a fade to black, and the next reel would open with a fade from black. These paired fades were the safest way to bridge reels with the least danger of a jump in the film, or a break, being apparent to the audience (and kicking them out of the story world of the movie). If a little black got torn off, lost, or the projectionist cut from one projector to the other early, the only difference would be the length of time the audience sat staring at a dark screen, contemplating the scene that just ended and anticipating the scene that would come next.

As a result, editors cut scenes together in reels, and ended the reels with fade-outs. Each of these reels corresponds to a sequence, and the idea of grouping scenes in this way spread to planning scenes, and so to writing the screenplays.

The Sequences of a Classical Movie

This is the way the classical Hollywood movie was broken down — the standard way, although it wasn’t anything rigidly held to.

1. Sequence 1 introduces us to the hero and his world, and ends with an Event, or Initiating Incident, that introduces the story’s Problem.
2. Sequence 2 shows how the Hero at first tries to avoid the Problem. He tries to ignore it, or get someone else to take care of it, for instance. But at the end of Sequence 2, he knows he has to deal with it himself, or the Problem has grown to ensnare him so that he can’t choose to do anything else but fight back.
3. Sequence 3 shows the first attempt at solving the Problem.
4. Sequence 4 shows the second attempt at solving the Problem.
5. Sequence 5 shows a third attempt at solving the Problem. (These sequences may also deal with sub-plots, or with stages along the predicted path of solving the problem. For example, a journey is composed of stages of movement and rest, and a career is composed of successes and failures along the way to ultimate success or failure.)
6. Sequence 6 brings everything to a head, and ends with the scene of greatest tension and suspense for the audience.
7. Sequence 7 resolves the main Problem in terms of action.

8. Sequence 8 wraps everything up and returns the basic world of the story to balance. The consequences of success or failure are here made evident.

• Act I consists of the first 2 sequences; Sequence 2 ends with the First Curtain
• Act II consists of the middle 4 sequences; Sequence 6 ends with the Second Curtain
• Act III consists of the final 2 sequences

Of course nothing is so simple or straightforward in tales, and this rigid pattern or formula is only a suggestion and screenwriters held it in mind in terms of a general sense only. Over-reliance on such patterns would only teach us in the audience to know every step of the tale in advance, almost on a clockwork schedule, and we wouldn’t be surprised, shocked, or even entertained by the story itself.

(Composed on keyboard Friday, June 6, 2008)