My favourite podcast Sanspants Radio Presents: Movie Maintenance recently released an episode titled “Does 3 Act Structure Really Matter?”. Being the dedicated fan that I am, I listened to the episode straight away. I found the discussion very interesting and particularly relevant to where I am in writing my screenplay at the moment. Below are some of my thoughts and musings that I took note of while listening to the episode.

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What is three-act structure?

  1. Transition to new world/incident (eg. Mark Zuckerberg being dumped in The Social Network, Mark Watney landing on Mars in The Martian, Romeo meeting Juliet etc)
  2. Achieve goal from inciting incident which prompts new goal, try/fail -mid point; when character achieves initial want and now must face the consequences of that (eg. Mark Zuckerberg’s site takes off and he must now face the legal consequences of stealing ideas, Mark Watney establishes contact with Earth but starts running out of food). This is where the problem of the plot usually is, unless the story is a tragedy in which case this is usually where a glimmer of hope takes place (eg. Romeo and Juliet get married in secret, everything seems to be going nicely)
  3. Resolve/solution of the problem/goal (Admittedly I can’t remember how The Social Network ends so I am going to skip that example however in The Martian, Watney is rescued and becomes a lecturer for future astronauts while poor Romeo and Juliet both end up…well, you know how it goes…)

Is it possible to avoid the three act structure?

Lots of artists such as writer Charlie Kauffman thoroughly detest the idea of following a structure as they believe it limits creativity. Some film theorists (particularly Robert Mckee) preach that by a certain point in a screenplay something must be achieved while at another certain page it must be resolved, however this can cause some writers to restrict their own capabilities. I tend to agree with Kauffman here and think that it is better to write freely however I think that after a few drafts the structure may need to be applied or at least considered for the sake of the audience. That being said, I don’t know how a screenplay can avoid a three act structure. I cannot think of one movie that does not follow it… Even Kaufman’s movies (Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind etc) seem to abide by this device that is so thoroughly ingrained in our minds as we set out to become storytellers. I know there are lots of films that are not in linear order (Pulp Fiction, Memento etc) however I still think the plot hits the same beats as the three act structure. I’d be interested in investigating this more and maybe even asking the class their opinions.

More notes on the podcast to follow in my next post!