Act structure
Encyclopedia
Act structure explains how a plot of a film
story is composed. Just like plays
(Staged drama) have 'Acts', critics and screenwriters tend to divide films into acts; though films don't require to be physically broken down as such in reality.
Whereas plays are actual performances that need 'breaks' in the middle for change of set, costume, or for the artists' rest; films are recorded performances shown mechanically and therefore don't need actual breaks. Still they are divided into acts for reasons that are in aesthetic and structural conformation with the original idea of Act in theatre. Act breaks in a film are usually very obscure for lay audience and only a trained person can detect the ending of one act and the beginning of another in the progression of a movie; although learned people can typically mark it by a 'plot point
' in writing process or film appreciation. The idea of Act structure is of more value in Screenwriting
(i.e. while writing a Screenplay
) than watching a film, though the act breaks are never actually written in the final copies of screenplays, unlike in play scripts where they are clearly mentioned as such; e.g. Act 1 Scene 3, etc. However, in television scripts called Teleplay
s clear denotations about Act breaks are almost always included, usually to coincide with commercial breaks.
Act is the broadest structural unit of enacted stories. The most common paradigm in theatre, and so in films, is that of the three act structure
proposed by Aristotle
. Simply put, it means that any story has a 'beginning', a 'middle' and an 'end'. Playwrights and screenwriters divide their stories into three major parts viz. 'Set up', 'Confrontation' (alternatively called as 'conflict' or 'complication') and 'Resolution'. These form the basic three acts of any performance- staged or screened.
Though various theories have been proposed and debated, the Three-act structure stands as the most popular one. Also, this is what Hollywood has discovered and proved as the most successful in commercial movie making. The rest of the world may have various ways of looking at the plot.
It follows that the enacted story opens with the introduction of characters and situations, backdrop, locale etc. It creates interest in the audience and takes them to feel concerned as to what the real problem is and what may happen with it. Plays, and screenplays, usually revolve around main characters
- the 'Protagonist
' and the 'Antagonist
' who engage themselves into a battle. That is "Set up".
The next part- and considered to be more important- is complication of the problem of the story. It intrigues the audience all the more, giving them more and more information and putting various points of view for imaginative comparison. This eventually leads to higher points of audience interest. Because this second Act of most screenplays add all the possible dramatic values to the plot, this is considered to be the core part of a script. The Antagonist and the Protagonist try and experiment with all their strengths (and weaknesses of the other) to win the battle. That is "Confrontation".
This takes us to the third- and the most important- act, the "Resolution". This means it tends to 'solve' the problem (-s) of the story developed so far. But this is not obvious, as it is expected to bring the 'climax
' (or a series of climaxes) to give the audience the pay-off. The tool usually implemented is a 'do or die' situation where doors of escape for either or both of the two characters go on closing one by one, leaving them with only a thin chance that demands the fullest exploitation of their qualities and energies. This so called jaw-dropping, breath-taking, arm-rest-grabbing 'obligatory moment' for the audience leads to the final outcome of the entire plot. And it is usually the triumph of the good (Protagonist) over the evil (Antagonist), with rare exceptions.
demands a more delicate handling. Screenwriters and Script doctor
s have tried to provide alternative ideas, which again are open for debate. As said earlier, cinema across the world and 20th century has evolved its own ways of putting a story. Also, this theory may not be fit for non-fiction
films like documentary
or corporate films, which may not have a 'plot' at their base with 'characters' and all their 'actions and speeches' predecided, like the feature films have. Such non-fiction films require their own forms of arrangement.
What is important here is that ideas of Act structure help us understand films better. More importantly, these are 'tools' of the screenplay writers who can break down the story at hand and play with various ways of presenting it to find the best possible one. Experts have gone long way ahead in dividing plot to even smaller structural units and they keep working to find the most effective formula of structuring a film story.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
story is composed. Just like plays
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
(Staged drama) have 'Acts', critics and screenwriters tend to divide films into acts; though films don't require to be physically broken down as such in reality.
Whereas plays are actual performances that need 'breaks' in the middle for change of set, costume, or for the artists' rest; films are recorded performances shown mechanically and therefore don't need actual breaks. Still they are divided into acts for reasons that are in aesthetic and structural conformation with the original idea of Act in theatre. Act breaks in a film are usually very obscure for lay audience and only a trained person can detect the ending of one act and the beginning of another in the progression of a movie; although learned people can typically mark it by a 'plot point
Plot point
In television and film, a plot point is a significant event within a plot that digs into the action and spins it around in another direction. It can also be an object of significant importance, around which the plot revolves. It can be anything from an event to an item to the discovery of a...
' in writing process or film appreciation. The idea of Act structure is of more value in Screenwriting
Screenwriting
Screenwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is a freelance profession....
(i.e. while writing a Screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
) than watching a film, though the act breaks are never actually written in the final copies of screenplays, unlike in play scripts where they are clearly mentioned as such; e.g. Act 1 Scene 3, etc. However, in television scripts called Teleplay
Teleplay
A teleplay is a television play, a comedy or drama written or adapted for television. The term surfaced during the 1950s with wide usage to distinguish a television plays from stage plays for the theater and screenplays written for films...
s clear denotations about Act breaks are almost always included, usually to coincide with commercial breaks.
Act is the broadest structural unit of enacted stories. The most common paradigm in theatre, and so in films, is that of the three act structure
Three act structure
The Three-Act Structure is a model used in writing and evaluating modern storytelling which divides a screenplay into a three parts called the Setup, the Confrontation and the Resolution.- Structure :...
proposed by Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
. Simply put, it means that any story has a 'beginning', a 'middle' and an 'end'. Playwrights and screenwriters divide their stories into three major parts viz. 'Set up', 'Confrontation' (alternatively called as 'conflict' or 'complication') and 'Resolution'. These form the basic three acts of any performance- staged or screened.
Though various theories have been proposed and debated, the Three-act structure stands as the most popular one. Also, this is what Hollywood has discovered and proved as the most successful in commercial movie making. The rest of the world may have various ways of looking at the plot.
The 'Three-act structure'
According to Hollywood, feature films are considered as audio-visual narrative forms which can be seen in distinct parts called 'Acts'.It follows that the enacted story opens with the introduction of characters and situations, backdrop, locale etc. It creates interest in the audience and takes them to feel concerned as to what the real problem is and what may happen with it. Plays, and screenplays, usually revolve around main characters
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
- the 'Protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
' and the 'Antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
' who engage themselves into a battle. That is "Set up".
The next part- and considered to be more important- is complication of the problem of the story. It intrigues the audience all the more, giving them more and more information and putting various points of view for imaginative comparison. This eventually leads to higher points of audience interest. Because this second Act of most screenplays add all the possible dramatic values to the plot, this is considered to be the core part of a script. The Antagonist and the Protagonist try and experiment with all their strengths (and weaknesses of the other) to win the battle. That is "Confrontation".
This takes us to the third- and the most important- act, the "Resolution". This means it tends to 'solve' the problem (-s) of the story developed so far. But this is not obvious, as it is expected to bring the 'climax
Climax (narrative)
The Climax is the point in the story where the main character's point of view changes, or the most exciting/action filled part of the story. It also known has the main turning point in the story...
' (or a series of climaxes) to give the audience the pay-off. The tool usually implemented is a 'do or die' situation where doors of escape for either or both of the two characters go on closing one by one, leaving them with only a thin chance that demands the fullest exploitation of their qualities and energies. This so called jaw-dropping, breath-taking, arm-rest-grabbing 'obligatory moment' for the audience leads to the final outcome of the entire plot. And it is usually the triumph of the good (Protagonist) over the evil (Antagonist), with rare exceptions.
Limitations
This framework can not be rigidly applied to all the film stories, and there are a good proportion of Hollywood movies that defy this theory. Many films follow this pattern only to a subtle extent, where their genreGenre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
demands a more delicate handling. Screenwriters and Script doctor
Script doctor
A script doctor, also called script consultant, is a highly-skilled screenwriter, hired by a film or television production, to rewrite or polish specific aspects of an existing screenplay, including structure, characterization, dialogue, pacing, theme, and other elements...
s have tried to provide alternative ideas, which again are open for debate. As said earlier, cinema across the world and 20th century has evolved its own ways of putting a story. Also, this theory may not be fit for non-fiction
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
films like documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
or corporate films, which may not have a 'plot' at their base with 'characters' and all their 'actions and speeches' predecided, like the feature films have. Such non-fiction films require their own forms of arrangement.
What is important here is that ideas of Act structure help us understand films better. More importantly, these are 'tools' of the screenplay writers who can break down the story at hand and play with various ways of presenting it to find the best possible one. Experts have gone long way ahead in dividing plot to even smaller structural units and they keep working to find the most effective formula of structuring a film story.
External links
- What is Three Act Structure? by Stephen J. CannellStephen J. CannellStephen Joseph Cannell was an American television producer, writer, novelist and occasional actor, and the founder of Stephen J. Cannell Productions.-Early life:...
- Three-act structure
- A different view on the three-act structure by Yves LavandierYves Lavandier-Biography:Yves Lavandier was born on April 2, 1959. After taking a degree in civil engineering, he studied film at Columbia University, New York, between 1983 and 1985. Miloš Forman, František Daniel, Stefan Sharf, Brad Dourif, Larry Engel, and Melina Jelinek were among his teachers. During these...