What is the 3 Act Story Structure in films?
Three-act story structure is the most used story structure in films, it is very popular amongst screenwriters and easy to understand. In this article, we will explore the various components of 3 Act structure and will learn to incorporate them into your story.
As the name suggests 3 Act story structure divides the story into 3 simple Acts, Act 1 is called “Setup” This is the part of the story where you are going establish everything that you want to reveal in your story as it unfolds, Act 2 is called “Struggle” in this section we raise the tension and stakes for the protagonist and finally in Act 3 is called “Solution” this is the part where the gist of your story “Climax” lies.
Every Act is further divided into sections and has a few components in it, for better understanding we will understand the concepts by taking an example from one of the well-crafted film of Hindi cinema “Haider” by Mr. Vishal Bharatdwaj.
Sections and Components of 3-Act story structure:
Act 1 or the Setup
Act 1 only forms approximately a quarter of your story run time. but this is one of the most important sections where you should introduce the characters, their core conflict, and establish the world that they live in. Also, you should consider establishing everything that has a part to play later in your story.
Hook
The main goal here is to let the audience know, something interesting is waiting for them ahead in the story. for better understanding Let’s understand it with our example:
In our example opening scene, the insurgents in Kashmir take the doctor into an old house through narrow lanes of Srinagar to treat an insurgency group leader for the appendix. it was getting worse but they couldn’t take the chance of taking him to the hospital. So the doctor took them to his own home and operated there.
doctor’s wife is not happy with him helping the insurgents; because this can put their lives in danger. At around 10:28 in the movie, an unknown man identifies the doctor as the man sheltering insurgents in his house. the house is soon blown up by the security forces and they arrest the doctor.
This marks the point where the hook ends and we step into the setup-world section of our story.
Setup world
Soon after the hook, you should introduce your audience to the world the protagonist lives in. In other words, you introduce your protagonist, and what he/she does for a living, and you lay the setup for the subplots. for better understanding Let’s understand it with our example:
In our example; What follows immediately after the hook is the setup world part of our story. this is the part where we get to know that Haider is the main character of the story, about his love interest, and how important it is for him to find his father back.
We kept introducing new characters and set up their background with Haider till we reached the point where the inciting incident started.
Inciting Incident
Inciting incident is the points that set things into motion for the protagonist. this is the point from where the tension keeps rising in each step of the story as it unfolds. for better understanding Let’s understand it with our example:
The film hit its Inciting Incident at 27:03, where Haider found his mother and uncle singing and dancing with joy, soon after his father’s disappearance and when he questioned, their intentions, he was slapped by his mother.
this incident compelled him to believe that no one is looking for his father and he is the only one who cares, so he must step out to find his father.
Act 2 or the Struggle / Confrontation
In this section, you raise the stakes for the protagonist through the introduction of subplots in the story. In other words, you bombard your main character with different kinds of obstacles one after the other. This section has two equal parts divided by the midpoint. these sections are Pinch-point 1 and Pinch-point 2. The stakes in pinch-point 2 must be higher than the Pinch-point 1.
for better understanding Let’s understand it with our example:
Pinch-point 1
This section starts with the introduction of 1st obstacles and it marks the end of Act 1 in our story, in this section we bombard our main characters with different obstacles and subplots that lead to the Mid-point of the story. for a better understanding Let’s understand it with our example:
In our example at this point, we start to introduce sub-plots, like police killing militants for money and his uncle’s aspirations to become a politician and rise to power, we get to know about the point of view of his mother towards his father’s disappearance.
this introduction of new subplots continues till we reach the Midpoint of our story.
Mid-Point / Point of no return
The Midpoint of the story is the point that divides the story into two equal parts. this is the point where all the subplots of the story should come together to raise the stakes, hence point compels the protagonist to rethink his final goal and it forces the protagonist to change. for better understanding Let’s understand it with our example:
In our example, Roohdaar meets Haider at around 1:09:37 into the story which marks the start of the midpoint for our story. here Roohdaar reveals the truth to Haider and his father’s last wish to avenge him.
This revelation completely changes the path of Haider and compels him to venture into the pursuit of a darker and more sinister truth.
Pinch-point 2
Pinch point 2 is the section where we raise the stakes for our protagonist Furthermore, this is the section that consists of the action at its peak; this section also sometimes works as a buildup for the climax of the story. for better understanding Let’s understand it with our example:
In our example, we see Haider’s further venturing into the world of madness, we see Haider almost avenging his father when a series of events started going wrong for Haider raising action and tension at each step for him, and everything after this leads to a final fight which is the climax of our story.
In other words, here we start to bring all our subplots to a meeting point which will mark the end of pinch point 2 and we venture into Climax.
Act 3 or the Solution
Act 3 is the final act in the 3 Act story structure, this is the act where every thin in Act 1 and Act 2 leads up to, in other words, this section where we conclude our story by giving our protagonist a solution; like others, this act is also divided into 2 parts “The Climax” and “The Wrap”.
for better understanding Let’s understand it with our example:
Climax
The Climax is the most exciting part of your story; this is the part where our protagonist overcomes his/her internal conflicts. In other words, this is the section where all the subplots ultimately lead to and this is the section where you deliver the message or essence of the story. for better understanding Let’s understand it with our example:
Everything goes wrong in pinch point 2 will lead to this point, in our story the climax starts with the death of Haider’s love interest “Arshiya”, which was devastating for Haider and now he has nothing to lose, in the final fight Gazala (Haider’s mother) tries to convince him for surrender but Haider refuses.
Eventually, Gazala blew herself up with grenades tied to her belly. his choice leads to the destruction.
Wrap / Back to normal
After the climax, our protagonist has to return to his normal world, but as a changed person. for better understanding Let’s understand it with our example:
In the final fight, Gazala blew herself up and destroyed everything. blood and human flesh were everywhere, his uncle was also wounded, and he was crawling for life on the blood-smeared red snow. Haider picks the gun to finally finish him and avenge his father but her mother’s last words echo in his mind and he chooses not to kill him.
In other and more simpler words he is now a changed man.
Conclusion
3 Three-act structure is one of the oldest and most used structures, but everyone perceives it in their own way. I will recommend you, please watch and break down a movie into the 3-act story structure with your own understanding.
Also read:
- What is Three Act Structure — And Why It Works
- The Three-Act Structure: The King of Story Structures
- Three-Act Story Writing Activity
