Spotted a link to this from another thread and thought it deserved a bump up.

This great info for the new writer or someone who is stuck. Though some people may disagree with the notion of a 3 act structure, every story has a beginning, middle and end. It's up to you to fill in the rest!!!

So, a question for debate sake. I'm interested in what other people think/reply:

"Do horror movies follow the 3 act structure? How strong is character development in horror scripts?"

Answers on a postcard...

Depends on the movie. The 3 act structure is a guide, not a law. There's also the cases of movies that aren't so good, and should we accept them or except them from the question?

I think horror movies SHOULD have the same level of character development as a drama, but some of the target audience of those movies does not want to wait for a character to get developed before they get hacked (thank you very much FT13).

However, some of the more current movies that have made impacts did have both of these. Scream, for example, is a horror movie that did have a 3 act structure and character development. Whatever people feel like its shortcomings were, we did feel something when the various characters were killed. Now the depth might not be to the extent of a drama, but we got to know them well enough, especially for the type of movie it was.

Scream's 3 acts were pretty straightforward. The catalyst of the film was the entire teaser which chronicled the death of Casey. Act one ends when Sydney sees ghostface for the first time. The pinch was when Billy was thrown in jail, but she got called anyway. The party marked the third act (should Sydney go or not?). And of course, the climax was the revelation of whodunit and the bloody scene in the kitchen. It was extremely textbook, but worked very well and rebirthed the monster-slasher revolution of the 90's.

A Nightmare on Elm Street also had some solid development to it. The fewer characters die, the more opportunity you have to develop them. Each plot point in the 3 act structure after the catalyst has a death to accentuate it. Teaser was the catalyst. Tina's death was the end of act one. The Pinch was Nancy encountering Freddy as he killed Rod. The third act was instituted when Glen died and Nancy decided to face off with Freddy. Climax is the big house chase when Nancy burns Freddy up. Realization is when Nancy turns her back on Freddy in her mother's bedroom.

So, some of the better movies of the genre do have these elements. But at the same time, gorehounds don't care. Some movies are made for the gorehounds who want the hack n slash just like porn fanatics just want the sex and who cares about the plot, they're just going to fast forward until they see boobies again. I know some people who loved the DVD setup of the Matrix Reloaded. They skipped to the next action scene once the dialogue began. We work hard to bring plot and character into genres that they traditionally get left out of, but there will always be those who just fast forward to the next death to see how cool it is.

Yeah, I agree with you George. Not every movie traditionally follows the 3-act structure, but I also believe the horror genre should have some character development in the script. Remember, good characters create good conflict.

I write and will continue to write like this in all my movies, including horror. Wether or not the producer/director chooses to use the character development is a different story!

This is probably the best overview of the 3 act structure I've read. Plotting out my story beats under each of these headings helped me tighten up the stucture of my last script. It also helped me find the beats I was missing.


ACT ONE

THE CONDITION OF THE ACTION

SETUP: CHARACTER WITH A PROBLEM

Establishes who the main character is and what the character’s internal and external problems are. Also establishes the setting, period, tone, style and point of view of the story.

CATALYST:

The SETUP: CHARACTER WITH A PROBLEM sequence usually contains the CATALYST which is the first hint of what the main dilemma will be because of the first, usually innocuous, moment where the plot begins to act on the character and launch the story.

NEW OPPORTUNITY / PREDICAMENT:

Establishes a new problem which steers the story in a new direction and hints at bigger obstacles to come as the hero struggles to deal with the new disruption to his life.

CAUSE OF THE ACTION

INCITING INCIDENT:

The NEW OPPORTUNITY / PREDICAMENT sequence usually contains the INCITING INCIDENT which is the first significant event where the plot overtly acts on the character and completely disrupts and alters the characters life. The Inciting Incident contains the roots of the cause of the action.

TURNING POINT: POINT OF ATTACK:

An event caused by the antagonist that forces the character to take new action and defines the POINT OF ATTACK where the character "attacks" the problem and creates the ACTION that is the unfolding drama.

This redefines the hero’s general wants/needs into a specific goal and sends the story in a new direction.

The POINT OF ATTACK is an action taken by the hero which raises the Major Dramatic Question that is the primary concern of the plot.

ACT TWO

THE ACTION

PROGRESS: NEW HIGHER OBSTACLES:

The hero makes progress toward their goal. There are new conflicts and higher obstacles introduced that places the character’s success in doubt.

MOVING FORWARD METAPHORE: ARC DEFINITION:

The PROGRESS: NEW HIGHER OBSTACLES sequence usually contains the MOVING FORWARD METAPHORE: ARC DEFINITION which contains overtones about the character’s growth and hints at the outcome of the story.

POINT OF NO RETURN:

The POINT OF NO RETURN is a point in the story where the hero is confronted with an obstacle that is so large that if he continues he will risk so much that he will be unable to go back to the relative safety he was in before and must follow his new path to its inevitable conclusion. It’s a point of decision and action that defines a very low point in the story where any hope of success for the character seems small and the answer to the MDQ is in doubt.

POST POINT OF NO RETURN:

A beat immediately after the POINT OF NO RETURN that doesn’t necessarily advance the story but it does illustrate the character’s change because of the PONR. This beat is usually an up beat to contrast the down beat of the PONR.

COMPLICATIONS, HIGHER STAKES AND SUBPLOTS:

The goal is harder to achieve than the hero thought and is tested more than he ever expected. Subplots develop and further complicate the hero’s path to his goals and raise the stakes.

CULMINATION TOWARD THE MAIN PLOT:

The conclusion of one dramatic tension and the start of a new one. The hero moves inexorably closer to his goal and discovers new info and better understanding of the nature of the opposition before him. The antagonist is aware of the hero’s actions and takes actions to prevent the hero from learning the truth about the conflict and obstacles the hero is trying to overcome. The focus shifts from subplots to the main plot.

TURNING POINT: ALL HOPE IS LOST:

The greatest set back of the story for the hero. It appears as if achieving the goal is impossible but the hero has no choice but to try because he will have an even worse fate should he abandon his quest now. The hero’s internal needs/flaws are confronted defining the hero’s arc. The hero discovers a hidden truth about the nature of the obstacle and conflict to his goal which sets a new path for the hero that will lead to an inevitable conclusion and answer the MDQ.

ACT THREE

RESULT OF THE ACTION

FINAL PUSH TOWARD THE MAIN PLOT:

The intensification of the hero’s quest for his goal that will result in getting something new or different from what he originally set out to achieve. The actions of the hero set into motion events that contain the answers to the MDQ and the roots of the result of the action.

FINAL CONFRONTATION:

The hero has reached the end of the path that has brought him to his goal. The only thing standing in his way is one obstacle that is greater and unlike any faced before. In this moment the hero must finally confront his internal flaws/needs and be changed in order to achieve the external goals and finally answer the MDQ.

DENOUMENT AND RESOLUTION:

The final outcome of the story and how the hero’s life has been changed because of it.

that was great thanks i needed help because i'm thinking of making a script i've got the plot but didn't know how to push the story along and that helped alot thanks

Quoted from bert George gives a pretty thorough treatment.  If you don't have the patience for that, I heard it like this (somewhere...): Act 1:  Get your hero up a tree. Act 2:  Throw rocks at him. Act 3:  Get him down. An additional thing I read recently on this topic also struck me as something to think about.  Each individual SCENE should contain roughly the same structure; a set up, complications, and a resolution, with conflict of some sort between the characters involved every step of the way.

I like this! I also believe that whenever possible you should start a scene in the middle. If two people are having a conversation in a diner assume that they have been there a while and didpensed all the small talk. Begin the conversation in the middle and let the dialog reveal what may have already been discussed.

Quoted from Harry_Tuttle I like this! I also believe that whenever possible you should start a scene in the middle. If two people are having a conversation in a diner assume that they have been there a while and didpensed all the small talk. Begin the conversation in the middle and let the dialog reveal what may have already been discussed.

This is what’s usually summed up with the general rule, “Arrive late, leave early.”


Breanne

I was always taught the three act structure could be broken up into eight sequences, two in act one:

1. Inciting incedent:  What sets everything in motion.  Seen above in Martin's post.
2. Beginning of the journey:  The character starts the journey.  By the end of act one, all of the main characters have either been introduced or at least mentioned.  Any guns in act three are introduced by now.

Then there are four in Act Two:

3.  My teacher didn't name this past "getting the band together."
4.  The character continues their journey, but at the end, we hit the mid-movie plot point that turns everything around.
5.  The character has to deal with the new information and obstacles.
6.  Ends with your crisis point.  In a comedy, i.e. happy ending, this is where your character looks like they are not going to succeed and they are about to give up.  IN a tragedy, they've got it all, but they need just a little more, leading to their later downfall.

Then the last two in Act Three:

7.  The too easy solution.  The character comes up with a solution that's just too easy to work well, because if it was that easy, we wouldn;t have needed act two.
8. Denoument:  The character does the hardest thing they have to do to succeed, or in a tragedy, make that final attempt to overreach and fail, losing everything.

And as in the above Bert quote, all sequences should have the three act structure built into them.  When done right, they could be a mini-movie of their own.  Or part of a movie serial.

This is an excellent thread.  It's really late so I'll be coming back tomorrow.

I want to add that in novel format, one is always looking to write:

Goal
Conflict
Disaster

Reaction
Dilemma
Decision

Lather, rinse and repeat... and the order might instead begin with disaster when things aren't so hunky-dory rather than showing "the normal world" first.

Conflict is the big player though and it's important to try and weave this into everything if we can.  Even the choosing of a chocolate bar can be something major if we do it right.

In the reaction time, it's important to give the audience a time to feel what the character feels.  Allow them to grieve if necessary or weigh the options--whatever it is, but this is just as important as anything else.

Then comes the time of the dilemma: when nothing looks good.

There's never a good option--that's the deal with storytelling.  Well, it's probably the deal in life too.  But somehow, the character has to choose and the audience, reader or viewer needs to be part of the internal dialogue, or, if it's played out with other characters... that can be a whole new interesting take on things.

However it's done though, it's an important part of the emotional experience--that link between the makers of the story and those witnessing it.

Even in a thriller format, when reactions may be more reflexive if there isn't much time to do much rational thought; still, the audience needs time to assimilate, and this is all part of pacing and structure.

Not an easy thing to master.

Working within the guidlines of a three act structure is probably a good thing to do despite my suspicions that there are many more ways to construct a good script.

Intuition tells me that things aren't always paint by number; yet the best way to learn is with a bit of a map and the three act structure is just that.

Sandra

Steven King's On Writing is the best most straightforward book on some of these ideas. Read it. It'll learn ya!

it's been 17 years since George posted this, and here i am 17 years later learning from it even after long gone of george, its's his legacy he left behind
in his words "Remember that this whole thing is like a diary; it's just for you. No one else will probably ever see anything in here, but the fact that it exists will shine through like a blinding light once your screenplay is done. I've got stuff written about characters and situations in some scripts that never come out, but the fact that it's there somehow makes the character more real."
and that's it,Some script never come out, but the fact that it's there somehow makes the character more real
Hope My contribution will also be there when i'll be long gone
God Bless Earth