"Who Wants What From Whom?" is a vital question asked by any actor, director, and screenwriter, when it comes to sort out what a scene, sequence, and even whole movie is all about.
This blog features structural analyses of films and, as a consequence, interests mostly screenwriters, film makers, film students, and architects. (Architects are known to be interested in everything, for some reason.)
The purpose of each analysis is to break the film's story down, scene by scene, and notice the structure of the sequences in it. This is a process that helps a film student understand how a film works; how the story is pushed forward from A to B.
The ultimate purpose of a film analysis, for film makers, is to learn how to use it in reverse; to learn how to compose a story, designing the appropriate scenes and sequences for it. It sounds simple, but it is not easy. You should go out there and do the same thing yourselves. Analyse films. Now.
SCENES & SEQUENCES
After years of head-scratching, reading, going to screenwriting and acting seminars, and even more head-scratching, I concluded that a scene has less to do with unity of location or time and more with the fact that it is about one specific objective and conflict. Once this conflict is resolved, for the best or worst, we move on to the next scene.
Also, each scene features a change, a turning point towards pleasure or pain, causing the characters to feel more fortunate or less fortunate after the scene is over. This is the Aristotelian peripeteia.
The same rules of thumb apply for a sequence. A sequence is a group of scenes bound together by an overall desire and conflict. Once this conflict is resolved, we move on to the next sequence.
In this blog, in each analysis, at the end of every sequence, in italics, one can see an overview of the sequence's protagonists, their desires, and the outcome, thus having a better understanding of the sequence's unifying aspect.
Note: for more on the use of sequences in film structure, see Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach, by Paul Joseph Gulino.
Also note: an invaluable screenwriting handbook, which -among others- explains a lot on analysing films, is Blake Snyder's Save The Cat, as well as its sequel, Save The Cat Goes To The Movies, both of which explain the story moments or beats existing in an archetypical film.
GLOSSARY
Terms used in the blog are found in the Glossary page.
ABOUT THE BLOG'S POSTS
Each post has the following structure, more or less:
LOGLINE
First, a description of the film's plot is introduced, in one short paragraph.
SYNOPSIS
Second, a synopsis of the film is introduced, featuring one paragraph per film sequence.
STEP OUTLINE
Third, a step outline follows, featuring one paragraph per film scene.
Text in italics contains comments on character psychology, plot devices, or other comments of the author.
Sometimes, the symbols [+] and [-] are used, to indicate the peripeteia, the turning points towards pleasure and pain, respectively.
Enjoy!
This blog features structural analyses of films and, as a consequence, interests mostly screenwriters, film makers, film students, and architects. (Architects are known to be interested in everything, for some reason.)
The purpose of each analysis is to break the film's story down, scene by scene, and notice the structure of the sequences in it. This is a process that helps a film student understand how a film works; how the story is pushed forward from A to B.
The ultimate purpose of a film analysis, for film makers, is to learn how to use it in reverse; to learn how to compose a story, designing the appropriate scenes and sequences for it. It sounds simple, but it is not easy. You should go out there and do the same thing yourselves. Analyse films. Now.
SCENES & SEQUENCES
After years of head-scratching, reading, going to screenwriting and acting seminars, and even more head-scratching, I concluded that a scene has less to do with unity of location or time and more with the fact that it is about one specific objective and conflict. Once this conflict is resolved, for the best or worst, we move on to the next scene.
Also, each scene features a change, a turning point towards pleasure or pain, causing the characters to feel more fortunate or less fortunate after the scene is over. This is the Aristotelian peripeteia.
The same rules of thumb apply for a sequence. A sequence is a group of scenes bound together by an overall desire and conflict. Once this conflict is resolved, we move on to the next sequence.
In this blog, in each analysis, at the end of every sequence, in italics, one can see an overview of the sequence's protagonists, their desires, and the outcome, thus having a better understanding of the sequence's unifying aspect.
Note: for more on the use of sequences in film structure, see Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach, by Paul Joseph Gulino.
Also note: an invaluable screenwriting handbook, which -among others- explains a lot on analysing films, is Blake Snyder's Save The Cat, as well as its sequel, Save The Cat Goes To The Movies, both of which explain the story moments or beats existing in an archetypical film.
GLOSSARY
Terms used in the blog are found in the Glossary page.
ABOUT THE BLOG'S POSTS
Each post has the following structure, more or less:
LOGLINE
First, a description of the film's plot is introduced, in one short paragraph.
SYNOPSIS
Second, a synopsis of the film is introduced, featuring one paragraph per film sequence.
STEP OUTLINE
Third, a step outline follows, featuring one paragraph per film scene.
Text in italics contains comments on character psychology, plot devices, or other comments of the author.
Sometimes, the symbols [+] and [-] are used, to indicate the peripeteia, the turning points towards pleasure and pain, respectively.
Enjoy!
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