Resources to help you develop your 3-ACT PLOT
Awesome Articles about 3-Act Screenplay Structure
The three-act plot structure has been used longer than any other documented storytelling system in history. It goes back to the ancient Greeks and Aristotle, who described it in his groundbreaking work Poetics.
The vast majority of feature screenplays employ the 3-Act plot structure. This has been true since movies began. Ask any professional screenwriter. They all know it intimately. Audiences know it too. Even if they’re not aware that they know it. If you listen to film critic podcasts, they all refer to the Act breaks.
Here we’ve assembled some excellent resources to help you understand the three-act structure and why it’s important for your feature. Scroll down if you prefer video to reading.
Three Act Structure: Breaking Down Acts One, Two, & Three in Movies
The idea of writing an entire screenplay can be daunting, but if you break it into pieces, it can be easier to picture in your mind and on the paper.
The Three-Act Structure In Screenwriting
The three-act-structure is a model that goes all the way back to Aristotle’s dramatic theory as outlined in his work Poetics. In modern times, screenwriting lecturer Syd Field published extensively on the three-act-structure and established it as a paradigm. So what is it?
Three-Act Structure in Film: How to Write a Screenplay in 3 Acts
Traditionally, the overall story of a Hollywood screenplay unfolds over three acts. While William Shakespeare was loyal to the five-act structure when writing his plays, modern screenwriters generally adhere to the three-act screenplay structure.
What is The Three-Act Structure? No Formulas Necessary
Screenwriters have a tendency of defining the three act structure by either vehemently opposing it or swearing by it. Some define it entirely differently than others. How is that possible? Well, let’s answer ‘what is the three act structure,’ learn its original intention, and see if we can find some middle ground between the many perspectives
Vital Videos with information about 3 Act Plot Structure
How Three-Act Screenplays Work (and why it matters)
A screenplay having three acts is not just arbitrary, nor is it a myth – some of your favorite movies use it. Lindsay Evans explains why it works (17 minutes).
3 Act Story Structure with Save the Cat's Beat Sheet — Parasite Movie Explained in 15 Beats
Studiobinder studies the Oscar winning Korean film, Parasite, in this 20-minute video essay, where they map the 15 story beats and Acts from the script using Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat beat sheet.
3-Act Screenplay Structure - Screenwriting Tips & Myths
A step-by-step guide to act structure, key story beats, sequences and themes. Ideal for screenwriters, novelists or short-story writers. From Click Imagination – 12 minutes.
Scriptwriting: Three-Act Structure - Five Minute Film School
In this episode, in less than four dizzyingly jam-packed minutes, Jon-Michael from Five-Minute Film School explains the three-act structure to a script.