ABSTRACT
Knowing story structure helps the writer. It can help the writer illuminate the character and theme. Knowing structure will also help the writer get from beginning to middle to end of his screenplay. Films, since the early 1900s, have been referred to as having a Three Act Structure. This came from the live theatre tradition, where most plays were divided into three acts (two intermissions). It was only natural, when full-length screenplays were first written, to look at other forms of story-telling entertainment for inspiration and structure. Screenplays were expected to be about 120 pages worth of dialogue and action. The classic Three Act Structure is designed to help the writer take his time. Act one of the Three Act Structure describes in setting up genre and tone and setting up the normal life. Act two presents confrontation and Act three explores climax, resolution and sense of future.
