ur-grue Scene Breakdown Writer
What This Skill Does
Breaks a documentary sequence into a detailed scene-by-scene breakdown with action descriptions, narration cues, interview placement, and B-roll requirements.
When To Use This Skill
- You are building a paper edit or offline edit plan and need to structure raw material into scenes before starting the cut
- You want to present a sequence structure to a broadcaster or editor before the rough cut
- You are writing the narration script and need the picture structure mapped out first
- You want to check whether a proposed sequence structure serves its narrative purpose before committing editing time
What You Need To Provide
Required: A description of the sequence (what it covers, what it needs to achieve narratively); the raw material available (interview excerpts, observational footage descriptions, archival material); the sequence's position in the film (opening, mid-film, climax, closing) Optional: Approximate target running time for the sequence; the film's overall tone and narration style; specific interview lines or quotes you want to include; the preceding and following sequences for context
How the Assistant Approaches This
- Establishes the sequence's narrative function — what question or story beat it opens, develops, and closes
- Structures the scene order to create maximum forward momentum: establishes before explains, shows before tells, plants before pays off
- Writes each scene with three elements: Action (what the audience sees), Narration Cue (where and approximately what the narration should say, or "N/A" if the scene plays without narration), and Interview Placement (which interview line or subject appears, if any)
- Adds B-roll requirements for each scene — what additional footage is needed to cover cuts or add visual depth
- Closes with a "Next Step" note: which scene to confirm material for first (typically the one most at risk of having no footage), whether commentary-writer should be run to develop the narration cues into full script, and whether rough-cut-notes will be needed once a first cut exists
Output Format
Scene-by-scene breakdown document. Each scene: Scene number, Approximate running time, Action (what we see), Narration Cue, Interview Placement, B-roll Required. Followed by a Sequence Notes section flagging potential structural problems or missing material. Target length scales with sequence complexity — typically 400–700 words for a 4–6 minute sequence. Output ends with a "Next Step" note: which scene to verify material availability for first, whether to run commentary-writer to develop narration cues, and whether rough-cut-notes will be useful once an assembly cut exists.
Quality Criteria
- Scenes are numbered and have approximate running times that total to the target sequence length
- Action descriptions are specific and visual — not "we learn about X" but "we see X doing Y in Z location"
- Narration cues are brief prompts, not finished narration — they indicate editorial function, not final script
- Interview placement identifies specific speakers and approximate content, not generic "interview here"
- Sequence Notes honestly flags missing material or structural risks
- Output includes at least one concrete next action the user can take immediately (confirm material availability, run commentary-writer for narration development, or prepare rough-cut-notes after the assembly cut)
Example
Input
Sequence: The opening sequence of a documentary about a fishing community's response to a dramatic decline in their catch over three years Narrative function: Establish the community, the landscape, the way of life — and introduce the crisis without explaining it yet Position: Film opening, before the title card Target running time: 5–6 minutes Available material: Observational footage of early-morning boat departure; harbor at dawn; boats returning with small catch; interview with veteran fisherman Elias Strand about what the sea used to be like; archive footage of the same harbor in the 1990s when the catch was abundant; underwater footage of fish schooling (2010, not current); community meeting footage (not for this sequence) Tone: Contemplative, visually led
Output
Scene Breakdown — Opening Sequence Documentary: Fishing Community / Declining Catch Target: 5–6 minutes | Position: Pre-title
Scene 1 — Darkness before dawn Approx. running time: 0:45 Action: Black screen. The sound of water before the image. Slow fade up to: an exterior shot of the harbor in near-total darkness. A single light on one of the boats. The sounds of preparation — ropes, engines idling. Narration Cue: No narration. Sound only. Interview Placement: None. B-roll Required: Confirm pre-dawn harbor footage exists and is usable in low light. If not, this scene may need to be replaced with a cut from darkness to dawn.
Scene 2 — The departure Approx. running time: 1:15 Action: A fishing boat leaves the harbor. We follow it from the dock, then cut to on-board — the crew moving efficiently, doing a job they have done thousands of times. The harbor recedes. The open sea appears. Narration Cue: No narration. Possibly a single title card over black before this scene: the town name and "Atlantic coast." Interview Placement: None. B-roll Required: On-board footage of crew during departure. Aerial or wide shot of boat leaving harbor if available — do not use drone footage if it disrupts the observational register.
Scene 3 — The sea as it was Approx. running time: 1:00 Action: Archive footage: the harbor in the 1990s. Full boats. The same landscape, louder with life. Then: underwater footage from 2010 — a dense school of fish. Both sequences play without explanation. Narration Cue: No narration. Let the contrast work visually. Interview Placement: None. B-roll Required: Archive footage as described. Confirm archive rights are cleared. Underwater footage: confirm year and species visible are relevant to the current story.
Scene 4 — The return Approx. running time: 1:15 Action: The present-day boats returning to harbor. The catch is visible — or noticeably absent. We see the crew's faces as they dock. No one is laughing. The contrast with the archival abundance is felt, not stated. Narration Cue: Single narration line over the dock unloading — approximately: "This year, they brought back less than a quarter of what the boats could carry." (To be finalized in narration draft — this is the first time a fact is stated.) Interview Placement: None in this scene. B-roll Required: Close-ups of the catch (or near-empty hold). Faces of the crew. Avoid melodrama — observe rather than editorialize.
Scene 5 — Elias speaks for the first time Approx. running time: 1:15 Action: Elias Strand, veteran fisherman, at the harbor or on his boat. This is the first interview element in the film. He speaks, but not yet about what's wrong. Narration Cue: Narration sets Elias up briefly before he speaks: approximately one sentence on who he is. Then out. Interview Placement: Elias on what the sea used to feel like — his relationship to it, how long his family has fished. Not yet the decline. Save his account of the decline for later in the film. Use the lines where he speaks about the sea with love and memory. B-roll Required: Observational footage of Elias at work, in context. His hands. The harbor behind him.
Scene 6 — The title card Approx. running time: 0:15 Action: Elias's final words fade out over a wide shot of the harbor. Title card appears. Narration Cue: None. Interview Placement: None. B-roll Required: A single compelling wide shot for the title hold — harbor, sea, or landscape.
Sequence Notes
- This sequence depends entirely on the contrast between archival abundance and present-day scarcity. If the archive footage (Scene 3) cannot be cleared or is visually poor, the sequence loses its central structural device. Establish archive availability before locking this structure.
- The opening (Scene 1) requires pre-dawn footage of sufficient quality. If unavailable, consider opening on Scene 2 and beginning in motion rather than stillness — acceptable alternative.
- Elias's interview placement (Scene 5) is intentionally restrained. Resist the temptation to have him explain the problem in the opening sequence. The explanation is not the opening's job.
Known Limitations
- This breakdown is a structural plan, not a locked editorial sequence. It assumes that the raw material described actually contains usable moments matching each scene description — confirmation requires reviewing the footage.
- Running time estimates for observational sequences are approximate. Actual cut times will be determined by the editor based on available footage quality and pacing decisions.
- This skill works from written descriptions of footage, not from the footage itself. Moments that read well on paper sometimes don't exist in the material, and vice versa.