History Main / ThreeActStructure

Bear in mind that the three-act structure comes from Ancient Greek drama, and actually from Creator/{{Aristotle}}'s ''Literature/{{Poetics}}'' who analysed a number of plays as conforming with this structure, and some which did not but which he still saw as good works. This structure was more influential on European drama rather than English drama. For instance, Creator/WilliamShakespeare was famous for his plays not really adhering to it, filled with asides, subplots, and characters and not really putting his characters motivations in such clear lines. In classical Hollywood, the term came in from the sound era where the influx of theatrically trained talent as screenwriters, directors, and producers which also lent the films to be fitted on the more rigid studio system model. Film-makers actually experimented and rebelled against this structure constantly between TheSixties and TheEighties as noted by film scholar David Bordwell but since UsefulNotes/TheBlockbusterAgeOfHollywood, a new intensified version of the three-act structure has become the production norm, and has become widely known and imitated on the internet later on.

Related to the first act is a general screenwriting rule of thumb which states that the protagonist, the central supporting characters, and the scenario must all be introduced and clearly established within the first ten minutes of the movie in order to hook the audience's interest -- any longer, and you risk losing them. Novel writing generally follows the same rule, replacing the first ten minutes with the first fifty pages.

At the "Midpoint," the protagonist will seem to be close to accomplishing the ultimate goal, but [[YouCantThwartStageOne events will conspire to prevent success]]. Expect TheCenterpieceSpectacular to unfold. As a result, the protagonist will reach [[DarkestHour his/her lowest point]] and will often temporarily [[TenMinuteRetirement give up in despair]]. In a tragedy, the Darkest Hour becomes their Brightest Hour and the Midpoint flips from one of near-victory to one of near-defeat.

At some point during this stage (often halfway), the protagonist will seem to be close to accomplishing the ultimate goal, but [[YouCantThwartStageOne events will conspire to prevent success]]. Expect TheCenterpieceSpectacular to unfold. As a result, the protagonist will reach [[DarkestHour his/her lowest point]] and will often temporarily [[TenMinuteRetirement give up in despair]].

In the case of television, owing to its serial nature, the three-act structure is modified or streamlined either for season-arcs or in the case of episodes, mini-arcs that was mapped out by Creator/DanHarmon as a kind of miniature circle whereby episodes would start from a stable setting, flirt with some change and problem before returning to the status-quo.

See ActBreak for how the Three-Act Structure gets adapted for the small screen. See also TheHerosJourney, which isn't directly related to the Three-Act Structure, but happens to fit nicely within it, and likewise gets used a lot when plotting stories, particularly of a epic, heroic, or fantasy/sci-fi nature. (To give an idea: the terms CallToAdventure, RefusalOfTheCall, and ThresholdGuardians are all based on Hero's Journey concepts.)

The Three Act Structure is a typical and frequently-used narrative structuring template. Most of the mainstream movies released by Hollywood conform to this template, but it can be found in other story-telling forms as well. The idea is that the story is structured so that all of the action falls into one of three acts, with regular plot-points (or reversals) used to bridge each act, and send the narrative into a different direction than it had previously been going.

If done well, the Three Act Structure is a useful tool in making interesting stories that develop and progress logically. If done poorly, there's a feeling that what we're experiencing is something we've seen many, many, ''many'', '''many''' times before.

See ActBreak for how the Three Act Structure gets adapted for the small screen. See also TheHerosJourney, which isn't directly related to the Three-Act Structure, but happens to fit nicely within it, and likewise gets used a lot when plotting stories, particularly of a epic, heroic, or fantasy/sci-fi nature. (To give an idea: the terms CallToAdventure, RefusalOfTheCall, and ThresholdGuardians are all based on Hero's Journey concepts.)

Occasionally, "Point of Attack" is included as a separate concept to the Inciting Incident - the Point of Attack sets the plot in motion, and is often outside the protagonist's control; the Inciting Incident is when the conflict is thrust upon the protagonist, forcing them into action and setting up the motivation for the main character.

Related to the first act is a general screenwriting rule of thumb which states that the protagonist, the central supporting characters and the scenario must all be introduced and clearly established within the first ten minutes of the movie in order to hook the audience's interest -- any longer, and you risk losing them. Novel writing generally follows the same rule, replacing the first ten minutes with the first fifty pages.

The '''Second Act''', the '''Confrontation''', is the longest, generally twice as long as the other two acts, or the second and third half-hours in a two hour movie. In this act, the main character(s) meet their {{Mentors}}, LoveInterests are established and, most especially, the protagonists will encounter [[ThresholdGuardians obstacles]] in the form of people, objects and settings that appear with [[RisingConflict rising potency and increasing frequency]] in order to stymie the protagonist. In particular, the presence of [[{{Villains}} the foe]] will be felt, causing the first clashes between TheProtagonist and TheAntagonist.

At some point during this stage (often halfway), the protagonist will seem to be close to accomplishing the ultimate goal, but events will conspire to prevent success. Expect TheCenterpieceSpectacular to unfold. As a result, the protagonist will reach [[DarkestHour his/her lowest point]] and will often temporarily [[TenMinuteRetirement give up in despair]].

If done well, the Three Act Structure is a useful tool in making interesting stories that develop and progress logically. If done poorly, there's a feeling that what we're experiencing is something we've seen many, many, ''many'', many times before.

At some point during this stage (often halfway), the protagonist will seem to be close to accomplishing the ultimate goal, but events will conspire to prevent success. As a result, the protagonist will reach [[DarkestHour his/her lowest point]] and will often temporarily [[TenMinuteRetirement give up in despair]].

Occasionally, "Point of Attack" is included as a separate concept to the Inciting Incident - Whereas the Inciting Incident sets the plot in motion, the Point of Attack is when the main character finds the motivation to accept the quest.

See ActBreak for how the Three Act Structure gets adapted for the small screen. See also TheHerosJourney, which isn't directly related to the Three-Act Structure, but happens to fit nicely within it, and likewise gets used a lot when plotting stories, particularly of a epic, heroic, or fantasy/sci-fi nature. (To give an idea: the terms CallToAdventure, RefusalofTheCall, and ThresholdGuardians are all based on Hero's Journey concepts.)

The '''First Act''' is the '''Setup'''. Generally speaking, it lasts the first quarter of the story, and is where the main characters are introduced and the dramatic premise (i.e. what the story's about) and the dramatic situation (i.e. the setting and context in which the story's taking place) are established. At some point in the First Act (usually half-way, but not always) the CallToAdventure (or in more mundane settings, an IncitingIncident) occurs to set the plot of the film in motion. Whether the protagonist [[JumpedAtTheCall accepts it]] or [[RefusalOfTheCall not]], it doesn't matter; [[TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive events are set in motion]] causing the protagonist to follow the path of the narrative, whether they want to or not.

The '''Second Act''', the '''Confrontation''', is the longest. In this act, the main character(s) meet their {{Mentors}}, LoveInterests are established and, most especially, the protagonists will encounter [[ThresholdGuardians obstacles]] in the form of people, objects and settings that appear with [[RisingConflict rising potency and increasing frequency]] in order to stymie the protagonist. In particular, the presence of [[{{Villains}} the foe]] will be felt, causing the first clashes between TheProtagonist and TheAntagonist.

See ActBreak for how the Three Act Structure gets adapted for the small screen.

->“I took a master class with Billy Wilder once and he said that in the first act of a story you put your character up in a tree and the second act you set the tree on fire and then in the third you get him down.”
--> StarWars and [[TheEmpireStrikesBack Empire Strikes Back]] Producer '''Gary Kurtz''', [[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2010/08/star-wars-was-born-a-long-time-ago-but-not-all-that-far-far-away-in-1972-filmmakers-george-lucas-and-gary-kurtz-wer.html LA Times interview]]