Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach [Paperback]

Paul Gulino (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 27, 2004

The great challenge in writing a feature-length screenplay is sustaining audience involvement from page one through 120. Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach expounds on an often-overlooked tool that can be key in solving this problem. A screenplay can be understood as being built of sequences of about fifteen pages each, and by focusing on solving the dramatic aspects of each of these sequences in detail, a writer can more easily conquer the challenges posed by the script as a whole. The sequence approach has its foundation in early Hollywood cinema (until the 1950s, most screenplays were formatted with sequences explicitly identified), and has been rediscovered and used effectively at such film schools as the University of Southern California, Columbia University and Chapman University. This book exposes a wide audience to the approach for the first time, introducing the concept then providing a sequence analysis of eleven significant feature films made between 1940 and 2000: The Shop Around The Corner / Double Indemnity / Nights of Cabiria / North By Northwest / Lawrence of Arabia / The Graduate / One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest / Toy Story / Air Force One / Being John Malkovich / The Fellowship of the Ring>

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With a fresh take on the oft-mystifying subject of screenplay structure, Gulino breaks some new ground in what I like to call 'screenwriteology'….the analyses are detailed, clear and insightful….In conclusion, if you're slaving for answers about structure, there's plenty to digest in The Sequence Approach. Bring you appetite, and Chef Gulino will make sure you don't go home with a hungry mind." —Dave Trueman, Script, December 2004

About the Author

Paul Gulino is Assistant Professor of Screenwriting at Chapman University, USA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Continuum (April 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826415687
• ISBN-13: 978-0826415684
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gulino is a great coach for battered screenwriters, July 12, 2004

By 

Jim Macak (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach (Paperback)

Although I've had some success as a TV writer (with drama, sitcom, MOW and soap opera credits) I've never been able to crack the three-act structure commonly associated with screenwriting. For those like me, Paul Joseph Gulino's "Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach" is a godsend. He manages to cut that intimidating and unwieldy structure into much more manageable portions.

In the interest of full disclosure, I taught a TV writing course at Chapman University this spring where Gulino is a tenured professor. And I won't argue with those who might dismiss this review as influenced by that association. I can only point to my produced credits -- there's not a feature among them -- and my desire to write films (in addition to episodic TV) as justification for seeking out this book and embracing it. I strongly encourage others interested in screenwriting to do the same.

Gulino offers a thorough explanation of the eight-act sequence approach (pioneered by Frank Daniel at AFI, Columbia and USC) and an eclectic set of examples. His use of classic and contemporary features lets the reader reconsider and reconnect with some of these great films. Personally, I found this portion of the book an entertaining trek through the history of the craft. Along the way, Gulino also provides a concise and valuable summation of screenwriting techniques.

While beginners will benefit a great deal from this book, I think those who'll likely get the most out of it are those (again, like me) who've already wrestled with the standard screenplay structure -- and lost too many matches. Gulino is an encouraging coach with a different approach that makes a hellava lot of sense. Battered and bruised screenwriters will want to get back in the ring and try again.

55 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books on screenwriting, June 5, 2004

By 

Jeffrey L. Armbruster (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach (Paperback)

Presents a superb approach to writing a screenplay, or any long story. Much more natural than Syd Field, or, God forbid, overly-Dramatica. Sequences break a story into eight manageable, bite-sized chunks, like chapters, instead of trying to break it up into 3, very large and very intimidating acts (Aristotle's "beginning, middle, and end" -- what the hell does that mean? Aristotle's advice equally describes a story and an elephant. Useless). Each sequence addresses a specific dramatic question in your story (sub-questions of the full, 3 act story), sets up the question, builds the conflict and resolution, while increasing the dramatic tension toward your full-story climax. The book provides examples from known movies, and explains dramatic techniques you may not have read before. This is an excellent book. Goes deeper into story building than many other books. Too many writers seem to forget the 1st Commandment of story writing: seduce the reader/audience into wanting to know what happens next. That's it. That's the bottom line for story writing. Any writer or writing teacher who snubs their nose at the 1st Commandment is full of B.S. This book helps you focus on the 1st Commandment.
Two more books every story writer should have: "Advanced Writing," by Wells Earl Draughon, and "A Story is a Promise," by Bill Johnson.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Provides a building block missing in most other books on screenwriting, June 26, 2005

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Ars Gratia Artis - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach (Paperback)

Typically screenplays are divided into three acts. Paul Gulino goes beneath the 3 act structure to lay bare a critical building block for each act: the sequence. His insightful book discusses how a properly written sequence improves the audience experience of the story.

Gulino focuses on how the movie unreels in the mind of the viewer. A sequence works dramatically when it hooks into the psychology of the audience to keep them involved in the story, wondering what's going to happen next.

Gulino locates the origin of the dramatic sequence in the limitations of early movie making technology: movies started as one-reeler stories with a maximum play time of about 15 minutes. When films stories expanded beyond one-reelers, each reel still maintained the same narrative structure because the viewing experience --and narrative flow -- was interrupted every time the projectionist had to swap reels. Each sequence/reel was designed to be a mini-story within a larger story to pique viewer interest so that they would wait in the dark for the reels to change to find out what happened next.

The dramatic unity of the sequence was also necessary for serials shown in installments over the course of weeks. Stories were written so that the reels ended with a cliff hanger, a dramatic hook to make the viewers come back next week to find out what happened next.

Even after technology made it possible for theaters to show a full-length film without interruption, the time frame and dramatic dynamics of the sequence has persisted. Why? Because, Gulino suggests, there are psychological factors at play in the viewing experience. "The notion of a feature film having eight parts [sequences] is, like all else in dramatic theory, tied to human physiology. The division of two hours into sequences of ten to fifteen minutes each also most likely speaks to the limits of human attention, i.e., without the variation in intensity that sequences provide, an audience may find itself fatigued or numbed rather than by what is on screen."

After a brief discussion of four major dramatic techniques to build and sustain audience interest within a sequence Gulino lays out a paradigm of 8 sequences superimposed on the 3 convential acts of a drama. The rest of the book consists of 11 chapters, each devoted to analyzing a particular film in the framework of the sequence paradigm. Salted among the chapters are sidebar discussions of various dramatic techniques and issues like exposition, character arc, motif, subplot, and reversals.

This reader found Gulino's discussion of two films particularly insightful: "Lawrence of Arabia" and "The Fellowship of the Ring". Upon first glance, these films might seem to be counterexamples of the paradigm. Gulino demonstrates that despite their extended viewing length, such is not the case. The average time for the 16 sequences into which Gulino divides "Lawrence of Arabia" is about 13 1/2 minutes. The thirteen sequences for the "The Fellowship" average a little over 13 minutes.

But in Gulino's judgement "Lawrence of Arabia" is an excellent example of a movie faithful to the dramatic dynamics of the sequence while "Fellowship of the Ring" is an example of a movie that fails. But, of course, "Fellowship of the Ring" was a commercial success. Go figure.

Overall, I found this an insightful and stimulating book.