Script Analysis: “Argo” — Part 3: Sequences

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule:

Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown
Tuesday: Major Plot Points
Wednesday: Sequences
Thursday: Psychological Journey (Metamorphosis)
Friday: Takeaways

Today: Sequences.

A sequence is simply a collection of scenes in a screenplay that have their own narrative arc and they have been around since the earliest days of cinema. Arising from this is something known as the sequence approach. Here is a description from Wikipedia:

The sequence approach to screenwriting, sometimes known as “eight-sequence structure”, is a system developed by Frank Daniel, while he was the head of the Graduate Screenwriting Program at USC. It is based in part on the fact that, in the early days of cinema, technical matters forced screenwriters to divide their stories into sequences, each the length of a reel (about ten minutes).

The sequence approach mimics that early style. The story is broken up into eight 10–15 minute sequences. The sequences serve as “mini-movies”, each with their own compressed three-act structure. The first two sequences combine to form the film’s first act. The next four create the film’s second act. The final two sequences complete the resolution and denouement of the story. Each sequence’s resolution creates the situation which sets up the next sequence.

That’s too formulaic for my tastes. Some screenplays may have eight sequences. Some may have two or three times that many. We should never let a formula control where our stories want to go. That can restrict our creativity and lead to formulaic writing. Nevertheless the idea of a sequence has considerable merit:

• Working with sequences breaks down crafting and writing a script into smaller, manageable parts.

• Each sequence has its own beginning, middle, and end which can help to give the story a solid structure.

• With each sequence flowing directly into the next, a writer can give their script a strong narrative push.

When analyzing a script, there are multiple benefits in identifying its sequences:

• We can identify these mini-stories and see how well they track — beginning, middle, end.

• We can track the transitions into and out of them, one sequence to the next.

• We can explore how the sequences influence the pace of the narrative.

An indicator of sequences are the plot points: When a plot point happens, that generally marks the end of a sequence, building to a significant climax that spins the plot in a new direction.

This week: Argo. You may download the script — free and legal — here.

For Part 1, to read the Scene-By-Scene Breakdown created by Nora Berry and analysis of it, go here.

For Part 2, to read the Major Plot Points as identified by readers, go here.

If you’d like a PDF of the Argo scene-by-scene breakdown, go here.

Screenplay by Chris Terrio

IMDb Plot Summary: Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1980.

Writing Exercise: Go through the scene-by-scene breakdown and identify the sequences. Here are two examples from yesterday’s discussion. First from Shelley (@shelleygusto):

UNREST, VIOLENCE, CAUGHT IN CROSSFIRE
1–13

THREE PARTIES PLOTTING HOW TO MOVE TOWARDS ACTION: AMERICAN/CIA, HOSTAGES, IRANIAN SECURITY
14–26

AN NEW IDEA PROPOSED –UNDER PRESSURE
27–33

THE NEW PLAN IS STAFFED — MEET MINOR CHARACTERS
34–40

FUN AND GAMES MINOR CHARACTERS — PUTTING WHEELS IN MOTION FOR UNIQUE PLAN
40–54

INTO THE LION’S DEN
55–67

TICKING CLOCK AND CONFLICTING IDEAS/IDEALS
68–79

DRY RUN — FEELING EACH OTHER OUT
80–88

RUG PULLED OUT FROM UNDER
89–92

IT’S A GO
93–99

BAD GUYS CLOSING IN
100–104

TRUST — THE FINAL COHESION OF THE GROUP
105–108

THE CHASE
109–114

A RETURN AND CELEBRATION
115–117

DISPERSAL
118–120

EPILOGUE
121–122

Here is a second take from pgronk:

P1–11: Point of attack: The embassy is occupied. Six employees escape.
P11–16 Ticking Clock forces Action: The Iranians are re-assembling shredded documents, will soon know who escaped.
P17: The Call to Adventure: Mendez is invited to the meeting to discuss rescue options.
P29–31: Establishing the Objective Goal: Mendez proposes the cover story of making a “Canadian” movie in Tehran.
P31–40: Crossing a Minor Threshold: Mendez goes to Hollywood to recruit allies and find a script.
P41–49: Minor Test of Objective Goal: Mendez and his Hollywood allies stage a PR event to make the project look credible.
P50–56: The Lock In: Mendez gets the green light to proceed.
P57–66: Crossing the Major Threshold to the Innermost Cave: Mendez arrives in Tehran.
P67–78: Rally and Rehearse: Mendez meets the group, gives them their “movie” roles.
P78–89: Major Test of Objective Goal: The group convincingly “scout” for the “movie”.
P90–94: Major Reversal of Fortune: Washington calls off the rescue.
P95: Defying the Gods and the Odds: Mendez decides to go ahead anyway.
P96–114: Escaping the Innermost Cave: Mendez takes them to the airport… and eventually all take off on the jet.
P115–116: Objective Goal achieved: Out of Iranian airspace, Mendez drinks to success.
P116–122: Catharsis and Denouement: Celebration and final payoffs.

Despite the different language systems used, these are largely in sync, even down to the relative number of sequences: Shelley with 16, Paul with 15.

Here is something you can do: Imagine each sequence as a runner in a relay race and as an individual sequence ends, it ‘hands off’ the baton to the next sequence. This is how we create a sense of narrative flow. So look at the sequences as articulated above: How does each one ‘hand off’ the story’s momentum to the next sequence?

Tomorrow we consider the script’s structure in terms of its psychological journey and the dynamic of transformation.

This series started here and we already have 17 volunteers to do scene-by-scene breakdowns of contemporary movie scripts.

American Hustle: Jon
Argo: Nora Barry
Barney’s Version: John M
Flight: 14Shari
Frankenwenie: Will King
Gravity: mattd_85
Hanna: John Arends
Lincoln: pgronk
Looper: erikledrew
Moonrise Kingdom: iamdaniel
Mud: Alejandro
Paranorman: OhScotty
Prisoners: mkm28
The Artist: Traci Nell Peterson
The Social Network: N D
The Way Way Back: Ricky
Wadjda: iamdaniel

If you’d like to participate and do a scene-by-scene breakdown yourself, please indicate which script in comments. We are using scripts available on our site here.

For new volunteers and those who have already volunteered, but not sent me a breakdown yet, please do so by November 20. Thanks!

Circling back to where we started, reading scripts is hugely important. Analyzing them even more so. If you want to work in Hollywood as a writer, you need to develop your critical analytical skills. This is one way to do that.

So seize this opportunity and join in the conversation!

I hope to see you in comments about this week’s script: Argo.

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