What's the average length of an action sequence?

Question

What's the average length of an action sequence? You know, like a fight scene, car chase, etc. 3 to 4 minutes / pages?

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]What's the average length of an action sequence? You know, like a fight scene, car chase, etc. 3 to 4 minutes / pages?[/nq]
2.3758 minutes. No more, no less. Hard and fast rule.

;-)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]What's the average length of an action sequence? You know, like a fight scene, car chase, etc. 3 to 4 minutes / pages?[/nq]
There's no such thing as an average length for an action scene because there's no such thing as an average action scene. It's like asking what the average temperature is for a contintent? Would fifty degrees be about right?
Who cares? What difference does it make?
Action scenes are no different than any other kind of scene. They are there to serve the forward progress of the story. If you want to know how long an action scene should be, you apply the same rule that applies in respect to any other kind of scene.
What purpose is the scene serving in the story? What story information does it contain. How crucial is the scene? Is it a minor moment? A pivotal turning point? Generally, the more important a scene is, in story terms, the greater weight it ought to have in terms of building up to it and letting it play out. If that scene happens to be an action scene, the same rule applies.
On the other hand, if it's a minor scene in which relatively little occurs - in a story sense you don't really want it to go for too long, because even with all the bells and whistles and guns and bombs, audiences are going to catch on pretty fast that nothing of significance is really happening.
And "averages" don't matter. Every scene, action or otherwise, should be just as long as it needs to be to do it's work, neither longer nor shorter. And there is no particular length for that.

NMS

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]What's the average length of an action sequence? You know, like a fight scene, car chase, etc. 3 to 4 minutes / pages?[/nq]
[nq:1]2.3758 minutes. No more, no less. Hard and fast rule. ;-)[/nq]
Umm. Someone else told me it was 2.3759 minutes. Guess they were wrong. It seemed bit long to me at the time. Yours sounds better, much tighter. :-)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]What's the average length of an action sequence? You know, like a fight scene, car chase, etc. 3 to 4 minutes / pages?[/nq]
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is one long chase. Well, several of them,
actually. It doesn't give you much time to catch your breath. pant pant pant
W ; )

What's the average length of an action sequence?

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions