Deep
In 2100, when humanity has abandoned the earth, a colony of extravagant creatures still thrives in the deepest abyss of the ocean.
Working with a limited budget of $6.0M, the film achieved a modest success with $11.0M in global revenue (+83% profit margin).
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Deep (2017) exhibits strategically placed narrative architecture, characteristic of Julio Soto Gurpide's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 32 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.5, the film showcases strong structural fundamentals.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Jane, a struggling medical student, is shown drowning in debt and academic pressure, unable to afford her tuition fees and facing expulsion.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 11 minutes when Jane learns about a lucrative sleep study experiment that pays participants substantial amounts of money to stay awake, presenting a solution to her financial crisis.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 23 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This reveals the protagonist's commitment to Jane makes the active decision to enter the sleep study experiment, signing the consent forms and committing to stay awake no matter the cost, crossing into a dangerous new world., moving from reaction to action.
At 46 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat Jane discovers the dark truth about the sleep study: participants who have fallen asleep have died, and the experiment is far more sinister than advertised. The stakes are now life and death., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 69 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Jane reaches her breaking point, witnessing a death or experiencing a near-death moment herself. She nearly succumbs to sleep, facing the whiff of death as her consciousness fades., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 74 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Jane synthesizes what she's learned and finds a way to fight back or escape, combining her medical knowledge with newfound determination to expose or overcome the experiment's controllers., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Deep's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping Deep against these established plot points, we can identify how Julio Soto Gurpide utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Deep within the animation genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional animation films include The Bad Guys, The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie and Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel I. Presage Flower.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Jane, a struggling medical student, is shown drowning in debt and academic pressure, unable to afford her tuition fees and facing expulsion.
Theme
A fellow student or professor mentions something about the cost of success, suggesting that some prices are too high to pay, foreshadowing the moral dilemma to come.
Worldbuilding
We see Jane's daily struggles as a medical student, her financial desperation, strained relationships, and the intense academic environment that drives her toward desperate measures.
Disruption
Jane learns about a lucrative sleep study experiment that pays participants substantial amounts of money to stay awake, presenting a solution to her financial crisis.
Resistance
Jane investigates the sleep study, debates the risks, learns the rules (participants must not fall asleep or face death), and grapples with whether to participate despite the obvious dangers.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Jane makes the active decision to enter the sleep study experiment, signing the consent forms and committing to stay awake no matter the cost, crossing into a dangerous new world.
Mirror World
Jane meets other participants in the study or forms a connection with someone who represents an alternative path, highlighting the theme of human connection versus survival.
Premise
Jane experiences the increasing psychological and physical effects of sleep deprivation, using various methods to stay awake while the promised payment keeps her motivated through hallucinations and deteriorating reality.
Midpoint
Jane discovers the dark truth about the sleep study: participants who have fallen asleep have died, and the experiment is far more sinister than advertised. The stakes are now life and death.
Opposition
The forces behind the experiment close in as Jane's sleep deprivation reaches critical levels. Her grip on reality weakens, hallucinations intensify, and staying awake becomes nearly impossible as her body shuts down.
Collapse
Jane reaches her breaking point, witnessing a death or experiencing a near-death moment herself. She nearly succumbs to sleep, facing the whiff of death as her consciousness fades.
Crisis
In her darkest moment, Jane processes the horror of what she's endured and questions whether survival is worth the cost. She confronts her own mortality and the moral implications of the experiment.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Jane synthesizes what she's learned and finds a way to fight back or escape, combining her medical knowledge with newfound determination to expose or overcome the experiment's controllers.
Synthesis
Jane executes her plan to survive and/or expose the truth about the sleep study, confronting the antagonistic forces and fighting to stay alive through the final hours of the experiment.
Transformation
Jane emerges transformed, having survived the experiment but forever changed by the experience. She is no longer the desperate student from the opening but someone who understands the true cost of compromising one's values.