ScreenplayUnderstanding structure

What is structure?

In a general sense,what does structure mean to you?

Structure in story

✤ Screenplays succeed in part because of a structure, just like the structure within everyday things

✤ The root “struct”-

✤ to build, or put something together

✤ the relationship between the parts and the whole

Structure

✤ ...the parts and the whole...

✤ Let’s use the game of chess as an example:

✤ Pieces: paws, knights, kings, queens, etc.

✤ Players: You can’t play without players

✤ Board: You can’t play without one

✤ Rules: Need to follow the rules of the game

Structure

✤ Those 4 parts (pieces, players, board, rules) are integrated in the whole, a game of chess. This relationship between the parts and the whole determine the game.

✤ The same relationship holds true in a story, and a screenplay is a story told with pictures!

Story Structure

✤ The story is the whole! What are the parts?

✤ Actions

✤ Characters

✤ Dialogue

✤ Scenes

✤ Acts

✤ Conflicts

✤ Incidents

✤ Episodes

✤ Events

✤ Music

✤ The structure is the glue that holds everything in place!

Structure

✤ The most common and successful structure, is the 3-Act Structure

✤ Why?

✤ Because all stories have a beginning, middle, and end!

✤ And we can use math to figure out how it breaks down...

3-Act structure

✤ Most scripts are 90-120 pages in length...

✤ ...Divide by 3...

✤ ...Each act is roughly 30-40 pages long

3-Act Structure

✤ Act 1: The Set-Up

✤ Act 2: Confrontation

✤ Act 3: Resolution

Act I: The Set-Up

✤ Typically 30 pages in length

✤ This is where you:

✤ Set up the story

✤ Establish the characters

✤ Launch the dramatic premise (what the story is about)

✤ Illustrate the situation (the circumstances around the action)

✤ Create the relationship between the main character and others

Act I: The Set-Up

✤ The First 10 pages of the screenplay are the most important

✤ It usually takes 10 minutes of watching a movie to determine whether or not you like it or not.

The Segue

✤ In order to transition from one act to another, you need to change the direction of the story.

✤ We call this device a “plot point”

✤ A plot point is defined by any incident, episode or event that hooks into the action a spins it around in another direction

✤ Always a function of the main character

Plot Points

✤ Do not need to be big or dynamic scenes

✤ Purpose is to keep story progressing

✤ Acts as the “true” start of the story

✤ Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

✤ When Frodo and Sam leave the shire

✤ The Matrix

✤ When Neo takes the red pill

3-Act Structure

✤ Act 1: The Set-Up

✤ Plot point one

✤ Act 2: Confrontation

✤ Plot point two

✤ Act 3: Resolution

Act II: The Confrontation

✤ Typically 30-60 pages in length

✤ Revolves around the character encountering obstacle after obstacle that keeps them from achieving their need.

✤ Your main character needs to survive Act II

✤ Things need to happen!

Act II: Confrontation

✤ Lord of the Rings: The journey, and obstacles, and weather, creatures, and danger made up the second act.

✤ The Matrix: Rebirth, training, the oracle, agents, Morpheus gets kidnapped...and just as he gets rescued...

✤ Bam! Plot point two

✤ Neo discovers he is the one.

Act II: Confrontation

✤ “All drama is conflict. Without conflict you have no action; without action you have no character; without character you have no story; without story you have no screenplay.”

✤ -Syd Field

Act III: Resolution

✤ The last 30 pages of the story

✤ Resolution does not mean ending.

✤ The ending is just the last scene

✤ Resolution means solution

Act III: Resolution

✤ The Matrix:

✤ Resolution: Neo saves morpheus, discovers he is the one, wakes from death, destroys the agent, and rescues his crew from the sentinel attack.

✤ Ending: Neo places a phone call to an “unknown” (machines) threatening to show people the true reality, then flies into the sky

How to start

✤ To begin a screenplay you need a subject, not just an idea

✤ A subject is an action and a character

✤ An action is what the story is about

✤ A character is who the story is about

Subject and Character

✤ Take out a piece of paper...

✤ List 5 of your favorite movies (or movies you know very well)

✤ Who is the main character?

✤ What are the actions they go through?

✤ For one (your absolute most favorite movie of all time) identify the the three acts, and two plot points