3 Act Structure - EXPLAINED

The narrative structure of your film decides how engaging your film is going to be. With the turn of events at the right moment, screenwriters are able to keep the audience engaged. One such ancient and effective way that is still followed in writing stories is 3 Act Structure.

Welcome to Weekly Articles and today, it's 3 Act Structure.

Let's begin understanding what the 3 act structure is. As shown above, 3 Act structure consists of 3 acts.

Act 1: Setup and Exposition

Act 1 serves as the beginning of the film. The opening section of Act 1 is what's going to decide what the film is about, who should we be looking out for, and allowing the audience into the world of our characters. Here, our main characters are introduced and the setting of the world we are in is shown.

Example - In The Dark Knight, Joker robs a bank with his henchman eventually killing them after successfully robbing the bank.

In Inglourious Basterds, Hans Landa interrogates Lapadite about the Jews in the town. Here, we get to know about the character we need to look out for.

Next, comes the Inciting Incident, The inciting incident is a crucial moment that disrupts the protagonist's ordinary life and presents a challenge or opportunity. This incident sets the story in motion, sparking the main conflict that the protagonist must face throughout the narrative. It's up to the characters here to decide if they want to indulge in such an opportunity.

Example - In The Godfather, Sollozo comes to Godfather with an offer for financing the drug trade. The godfather declines indulgence in such unethical business because of his ethics and principles.

Plot Point 1, also known as the point of no return, here characters go on a journey and decide to enter a new world. From here, the characters cannot return back to the ordinary normal world they used to be in, physically, mentally, or morally. Something about the way they think has changed which has led them to take on this new journey. The character has left their world for achieving a specific goal.

Example - In Interstellar, Cooper leaves Murph behind to head the mission of finding a new planet. Through Dr. Brand, Cooper gets to know about the condition of planet Earth and how his daughter's generation will be the last to suffer. This forces Cooper to make a decision and head to space for the safety of his daughter and humanity.

Act 1 ends here and we enter Act 2.

Act 2: Confrontation

Rising action, Act 2 is the longest part of the three-act structure, often comprising about 50% of the story. During this phase, the protagonist encounters a series of obstacles, conflicts, and challenges on their journey to achieving their goal or resolving the main conflict. Tension builds as the protagonist struggles to overcome these hurdles, leading to a series of ups and downs in the story.

In the rising action, we get to know the possible sacrifices the has to do in order to get what he wants.

Example - In Interstellar, Cooper and Crew land on Miller's planet and think of waves as mountains. This causes them to the life of Doyle, time in relation to Earth, and fuel which could have been used to visit two planets now can only afford one.

Midpoint, The midpoint is a significant event that occurs roughly in the middle of Act 2. It can be a major revelation, a twist, or a moment of realization that changes the course of the story. It often raises the stakes and adds new dimensions to the narrative. The character's perspective regarding the accomplishment of his goal changes. Here, we get to know what the characters have to deal with in order to achieve their goals.

For example, In Pulp Fiction, Vincent Vega is killed by Butch Coolidge.

Post-Midpoint, The characters with small victories and losses head closer to their goal. The character now has some experience with the world and is ready for the upcoming challenge.

With this, we enter the final Act of the 3 Act structure, Act 3.

Act 3: Climax and Resolution

Plot point 2, through the 3rd plot point, we enter the 3rd Act. This is the lowest moment of the character also known as the the dark night of the soul. The character fights with all the available knowledge against the antagonist's forces. The characters have to rediscover themselves in order to get what they left their world for. This is where the major transformation happens within our characters.

For example, In Interstellar, Cooper sacrifices himself due to a lack of resources in order to get Dr. Brand to Edmunds's planet.

Climax, we finally get to the climax of the film. This is the final confrontation between the protagonist and antagonist. This is the deciding moment of the entire story either our protagonist gets what he wants or he doesn't depending upon the story.

For example, In Interstellar, Cooper falls into the tesseract and realizes he is the ghost Murph used to always talk about. Cooper communicates to Murph through her watch gravitational anomalies.

Resolution and Conclusion, the story is over, the characters have got what they deserve and arrive home.

For Example, In Interstellar, Cooper after successfully communicating the gravitational anomalies passes out and finds himself in a space station. Looking around at the wonder Murph has done and finally meeting Murph. Murph advises Cooper to get back to Edmunds where Dr. Brand is setting up the next habitable place for humanity.