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A Screenplay Is Three Acts, Five Plot Points, and Eight Sequences

Do not be fooled. Writing a good screenplay is extremely hard work and it could take a really long time to finish. Even though they are a couple hundred pages less than a novel and come with a font and format that eats up page space a script could take longer to complete. Like anything else there are no short cuts that will not result in noticeably sloppy work.

Any screenwriter who says they can churn out a feature length script from conception to completion in a month is either an amateur or a demigod. Swedish director Ingmar Bergman could do it, but he was the exception. Three-time Oscar winner (some would say four time) William Goldman spent eight years researching for the infamous Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid. Textbook perfect screenwriter Robert Towne took twelve years to grind out his masterpiece Chinatown. The best of the craft know that when they take on a project it better be something worth spending at least the next six months of their life's work.

The scariest thing that will face any writer is the first blank page. With all that work ahead and nothing but a good idea to get started with, a screenplay can appear to be a very daunting thing. Fortunately there are many who have faced the challenge and overcame it. Some of them even left clues along the way for everyone else to follow in their footsteps.

The Secret to Success Is Structure, Structure, Structure

More good news is that producers, agents, and studios do have an idea as to what they want to turn into a film even if they do not know how to create this material themselves. While there is no exact formula for writing a good movie the chances of writing a successful movie can be greatly improved by crafting a three-act story plotline.

Also known as three-act story structure, using this technique has given many screenwriters an edge while helping millions of others to get started. Its basis is simple. Three-act story structure works off the given idea that all stories start with a beginning, have some sort of a middle, and will eventually come to an end even if they do not happen in that order.

Although it is not the purpose of this article to detail the essential elements inside each act a standard one hundred and twenty page script using a three act structure would more than likely break down with: act I coming to a close around page forty or forty-five when the character faces a point of no looking back and is forced to move forward, the act II climax happening sixty pages later with the character facing either an all time low or high, and the act III climax coming fifteen to twenty pages later to finish the film's story. 

 3 Acts:
Act I (40 -45 pages): nhân vật đối diện với một hoàn cảnh khi mà ko thể quay đầu lại mà phải tiếp tục đi tiếp

Act II climax (next 60 pages): nhân vật đối diện với một  đỉnh điểm ( low or high)

Act III climax (next 15-20 pages): kết thúc bộ phim

Helpful, yes, but trying to write the story after only defining the three acts in a screenplay is like trying to date a skeleton. There would be a lot missing.

Movies Have Five Major Points to Their Plots

Another way to look at a three-act story is to define it with five major plot points. In every three-act movie there is always an event that will change the character's entire life called the inciting incident. From there the protagonist will eventually be forced to commit to the story by becoming locked in the conflict. By trying various methods to overcome obstacles the character will reach a first culmination in the story around the middle of the film. By trying other methods the character will face a devastating moment a little later when they reach the story's second culmination. Then, at the very end, when the character thinks they have got it all figured out they will encounter a twist that will plunge them into one more battle.

5 Major Points:

Inciting incident: sự kiện thúc đẩy

Locked in the conflict: Rơi vào xung đột

First culmination: Điểm cao trào thứ nhất

Second culmination: Điểm cao trào thứ hai

Twist: Bước ngoặt

Five major plot points to help fill in the three acts, but that still leaves many questions. Does every story need to end with a twist? Hopefully not all of them and not all of the time. It can work, but usually it leaves the audiences a little unsatisfied. Once they know the twist that the entire film is hanging itself on then why watch it again? The screenwriter who begins using only the tools mentioned above does so without the aid of his or her best friend: The Eight Sequences.

The Eight Sequences Inside a Movie's Story

In the multitudes of screenwriting self-help books many of them make references to sequences in a script without carefully explaining what they are. This is tragic because these sequences truly are a screenwriter's best friend. Besides the scene, a sequence is the smallest unit with which to view a script's story making it the most essential part of the story to define before writing.

Broken down, they work hand in hand with the three acts and five major plot points. The inciting incident of act I is the first sequence. This will make the second sequence a bit longer than the others since it will carry the story until the climax of act I occurs with the moment the character is locked in. The third and fourth sequence will introduce obstacles that lead to the first culmination or mid-point climax of the story and the fifth and sixth sequences will do the same up to the second culmination or act II climax. Sequence seven will probably reveal the twist of act III and sequence eight will bring the story home to its end with the act III climax and resolution.
8 Sequences

1             Sequence 1. Inciting incident

2.           Sequence 2. Inciting incident – locked in (climax of act I)

Sequence 3 + 4. Introduce obstacles that lead to first culmination (midpoint climax)

Sequence 5 + 6. Introduce obstacles that lead to second culmination (act II climax)

Sequence 7. Twist of act III

Sequence 8. act III climax and resolution

Giải thích:

-Obstacles: Những khó khan trở ngại

-Culmination: điểm cao trào

-Climax: đỉnh điểm

A general rule of thumb is that each sequence runs about fifteen pages long, however, the second sequence may run a little longer while the seventh sequence will probably be shorter.

There are No Absolute Rules to Story Structure

Now after clearly defining the three acts, five major plot points, and eight sequences of a story sit down and fill it in with a scene outline. Not so daunting after all is it?

Several writers, especially beginners, shun these guidelines thinking that they are too formulaic and only used to tell "hero" stories. This is to their loss. With so many types of stories and genres the possibilities are endless. These theories do not hinder creativity, but enlighten it.

Still there are no absolute rules to crafting a great screenplay... just an endless list of "do or perish" suggestions. Utilizing the guidelines and taking the advice of these critical suggestions will greatly improve a writer's chance of selling their work. In the end it is all about what an audience will connect with and want to reconnect with over and over again.

Sources:

• Goldman, William. Adventures in the Screen Trade. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1983. Print.
• NA, . "Plot: Five Key Moments." The Script Lab. The Script Lab LLC, 2012. Web. 19 Mar 2012.
• NA, . "The Eight Sequences." The Script Lab. The Script Lab LLC, 2012. Web. 19 Mar 2012.

Copyright Michael Thompson