5/4/2019
Posted by admin
Learn the three-act structure. If you have no idea what the last step was about…learn it. Here it is, in the briefest of brief forms: ACT I tells us about a world and characters as they are meant to be, and introduces a problem they need to solve. For example, “The Goonies live their lives happily in their little section of the world, until they discover that developers want to turn the goon docks into condominiums, so…” ACT II develops the characters more and deals with the problem. For example, “So, the Goonies enter One-Eyed Willy’s maze and try to get through all the traps in order to…” In ACT III, several things happen, probably the most important being that the hero, early on in this part, gets to a point where he or she is ready to give up. BUT and this is the important part: he or she is somehow given the idea that giving up is not the answer and instead figures out a way to win the day. For example, “Sean Astin, in Goonies, figures out a way to turn One-Eyed Willy’s traps against the villains and instead manages to get enough jewels to save the Goon docks.”
Write your story in three acts. The pillars of a screenplay are the Three Acts. Each act can operate independently, and when taken together provide the full arc of a story.[4]- Act One: This is the set-up for the story. Introduce the world and the characters. Set the tone of the story (comedy, action, romance, etc.). Introduce your protagonist, and begin exploring the conflict that will drive the story. Once the protagonist is set towards the objective, then Act Two begins. For dramas, Act One is typically 30 pages. For comedies, 24 pages.
- Act Two: This act is the main portion of the story. The protagonist will encounter obstacles on the path to the resolution of the conflict. Subplots are typically introduced in the second act. Throughout the second act, the protagonist should be showing signs of change. For dramas, Act Two is typically 60 pages. For comedies, 48 pages.
- Act Three: In the third act, the story reaches its resolution. The third act contains the twist of the story and ends with the final confrontation of the objective. Because the story has already been established in the second act, the third act is much faster-paced and condensed. For dramas, Act Three is typically 30 pages. For comedies, 24 pages.