Aug 8 - Sequence and Montage Building

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On most of the movies I've worked on, the story crew is handed sequences to board according to their strengths. Some get action, some get emotional parts and I typically get the comedy stuff. When you are first handed your script pages (and in some cases just an idea), if the writer has done his job well, your job will be a breeze. Things will flow and you’ll know just where to go with the characters. If not, and this happens frequently, you'll get to dig in and use you storytelling/storyboarding chops to make it better.

 

A lot of times you’ll know right off that there is something wrong with the sequence, but you've got to do you due diligence and board the sequence. Remember, the director has signed off on these pages and thinks they're great. You might discover you haven't caught the director's vision and the pages work in context with other things you are not privy to. Every now and then you'll get revision after revision and each one doesn't seem to be helping the sequence get better. This is a sure sign that you need to flex you story muscles and rework that scene.

 

STRUCTURE

 

In a feature film based on the classic three act structure, your second act is the longest, That's where most of the storytelling takes place. After the set up in act one, the audience spends time with your characters and gets to know and hopefully like them. You’ll be leading them from one sequence to another, each one building on the last till you hit the climax and then resolve the problems in act three.

 

A sequence is built like a mini movie with three ‘acts’. At the beginning of a sequence the character is presented with a problem, he works to solve the problem, the problem is solved or a bigger problem is discovered and you move on to the next sequence. If the problem is unresolved it needs to be escalated so that it can be solved later on in the movie.

 

When you are working on a sequence and it's not playing well sometimes the immediate reaction is -- make it funnier! But that's not usually the best way to go. Start by asking yourself these questions:

 

• Does this scene or sequence need to be here?

• How is it advancing the story?

• Is it in line with the larger story?

• What does my character want?

• How does this sequence help him get it?

• Is the action stemming from character?

• Am I giving the audience any new information?

 

I was assigned the Dodo sequence from Ice Age I after another artist had been working on it. The original concept was the heroes come across a survivalist dodo encampment. When the dodo's discover our heroes in their midst the attack but wind up killing themselves in the process and our heroes continue on their way. It was a fun sequence. Lots of hilarious gags had been drawn and clever ways of the dodo's killing themselves had been invented, yet when we watched the scene it fell flat. My assignment was to gag it up even more. Obviously the sequence wasn't funny enough! I did my due diligence and came up with even more dodo gags. Again it fell flat.

 

After asking the above questions, this scene as it was had no place in the movie. There was no conflict since the dodo's were not a threat and the heroes could just take another path. The scene had a fun concept but needed something else to make it work. Since the previous scene had the heroes looking for food for the baby I took that as the goal (what my character wanted) and incorporated it into the dodo scene. Now we had a conflict! By pitting Sid against the dodo's over the last melon we had a structure to hang all those gags on and the audience had a reason to care. (right click to play)

The sequence was built like this:

Set up/conflict: Need food for the baby.

Manny finds food – dodo steals it.

Heroes ask for it back – denied

Series of back and forth gags till climax – Sid wins!

Heroes achieved the goal and it served the larger story, feeding the baby enabling the heroes to continue on their journey.

 

Here's another example: (right click to play)

This bit from a larger sequence in Tangled starts off with the Eugene wrestling the satchel from Max only to be tossed onto a hanging tree. That's the set up. They go after it, cool gags ensue, we learned in a previous scene that Max is straight laced so it's fun to watch these two characters interact. Eugene triumphantly gets the bag and gloats (another character bit) problem solved. The tree breaks, escalation to the next scene.

 

Here's the set up for Tootsie:

 

 

You learn who the characters are, what they want and it leaves you wanting to see more.

 

You'll need to be careful here to not wrap up each sequence so nice and neat. Leave something off for later. If each sequence resolves at the end, then your movie will feel like a bunch of episodes strung together.

 

 

PACING

 

As we talked about in past lessons, different types of staging can enhance you story points, different pacing speed will keep the audience from falling asleep or give them a break. Consider making the cuts faster as you reach the climax, or longer wider shots if the action is slow. If your character is nervous about something you could make jump cuts and underline his nervousness, a bored character could be shot in a long wide shot showing the stillness around him. (right click to play)

In this example the shots are close and quick emphasizing Astrid's frustration. When she sees Hiccup. The shots are wider and hang longer.

 

MONTAGE

Montage is a good way to show passage of time without using up tons screentime to do it. It is set up much the same way a sequence is. Show the goal, show the character working towards goal, show the end result.

 

When doing boarding a montage, first generate ideas. Lots of them. Now go through and cull the weak ones, next organize them into a build. Generate more ideas, cull, organize. Repeat this process as many times as is necessary till the montage begins to gel. A good song helps if appropriate.

 

Three awesome Brad Bird montages:

The rat finally gets what he wants then -- he's caught!

Edna Mode's disertation on why capes are bad.

Kent gets under Hogarth's skin.

Notice how each of these montages end in a crescendo of cuts. All are funny and move the story along.