SimplyScripts Discussion Board
Blog Home - Produced Movie Script Library - TV Scripts - Unproduced Scripts - Contact - Site Map
ScriptSearch
Welcome, Guest.
It is March 29th, 2024, 2:02am
Please login or register.
Was Portal Recent Posts Home Help Calendar Search Register Login
Please do read the guidelines that govern behavior on the discussion board. It will make for a much more pleasant experience for everyone. A word about SimplyScripts and Censorship


Produced Script Database (Updated!)
One Week Challenge - Who Wrote What and Writers' Choice.


Scripts studios are posting for award consideration

Short Script of the Day | Featured Script of the Month | Featured Short Scripts Available for Production
Submit Your Script

How do I get my film's link and banner here?
All screenplays on the simplyscripts.com and simplyscripts.net domain are copyrighted to their respective authors. All rights reserved. This screenplaymay not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.
Forum Login
Username: Create a new Account
Password:     Forgot Password

SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board    Screenwriting Discussion    Screenwriting Class  ›  > Story Constraints: Building a Three Act Story Moderators: George Willson
Users Browsing Forum
No Members and 7 Guests

 Pages: « 1, 2, 3, 4 : All
Recommend Print
  Author    > Story Constraints: Building a Three Act Story   (currently 20820 views)
leitskev
Posted: August 8th, 2011, 2:54pm Report to Moderator
Of The Ancients


Posts
3113
Posts Per Day
0.64
Great post, Rick. Rocky really is a great script, too, and I wonder if it's pace would work today. I suspect not. But the script has enough to it that it could be successful in today's market with some very noticeable adjustments. The slow pace wouldn't work on the modern audience, I don't think.
Logged
Private Message Reply: 45 - 50
leitskev
Posted: September 25th, 2011, 8:58am Report to Moderator
Of The Ancients


Posts
3113
Posts Per Day
0.64
Ray, are you out there? Hopefully you're lurking and check in. I got something for you. This is copied from a post on another website. It's a pretty neat breakdown of various structure theories.

I might post some new thoughts of my own soon on this too. Been reading a lot of Carson Reeves at Scriptshadow. I think his GSU emphasis is very useful, and sometimes runs counter to STC 3 Act. I think we have to be careful with all of these theories, which are helpful to the degree they serve story, but can be counterproductive when they don't. Anyway, here's the post:

Originally Posted by Scrivener  
The Inciting Incident

Ok, let’s pose the question, ‘Where do you place the inciting incident?’ and find a path to an answer.

What does everyone agree on? The inciting incident occurs somewhere in Act One.

At some point in Act One, your Protagonist has got to be propelled into the story and the world of the story.

Act Two sees the protagonist in the world of the story and he or she had to move out of their normal world to get into the story world proper. So a believable rift in the protagonist’s universe is needed to kick start the process - something the protagonist HAS to react to.

The problem I see time and again is a weak inciting incident and an implausible reaction to it. The writer’s reaction is usually that it worked in such and such a movie so that is where it had to go in the writer’s script. This is the place that new writers kill someone of such importance to the protagonist that the protagonist is effectively physically or emotionally orphaned.

That may work, of course, but what should happen is that whatever the inciting incident it must be something he or she is not expecting. Something completely out of left field - BUT perfectly congruent with the story.

So where should it go to fire up the interest of a modern movie audience (and a reader)? Probably page 15 is too late. However, that is not a rule.

It will come AFTER you have
* Set up the tone of your story i.e., romantic comedy, detective, horror, sci-fi, thriller - whatever.
* Introduced the protagonist or the Antagonist or Stakes character (a victim of the Antagonist).
* Set up enough of the protagonist's Ordinary World for us to ‘get it’.
* Established enough of the protagonist's character to intimate the 'fatal flaw'.

Then you can spring your Inciting Incident - somewhere between page 8 and page 15 in your first draft. You can always rewrite it later (in the second draft or rewrite of the first draft) and spring the whole lot in a killer opening scene on page one. But only when you have a finished first draft and know from the story that your rewrite will allow that.

Only break the rules when you know the rules.

The way it works is that the inciting incident must be a ‘signifier’ of sufficient and plausible gravity that it will result in the protagonist eventually making the decision to leave the safety of their ordinary world. That decision is NOT the Inciting Incident. The Inciting Incident comes before and results in the decision - usually after considerable and plausible reluctance (both considerable and plausible). The protagonist will try to find every excuse possible in the context of the story not to leave that ordinary world. So the inciting incident has a very big job to do - but it can be as simple as a phone call or as major as coming back home or to the office to find everyone is dead - provided that you have set it up in the first 8 to 12 pages. Think Little Miss Sunshine, Three Days of the Condor. There might even be a perpetrator still in the building (No, Not Elvis!). But eventually, the protagonist makes the decision to take the journey to resolve whatever conflict the inciting incident just caused. That last sentence is critical - it means that the inciting incident is connected directly to rest of the story.

What comes before the Inciting Incident in the ordinary ‘safe’ world and what comes after in the journey ‘new rules of operating’ world are connected.

You will often see a claim that the inciting incident should be an unexpected banana peel your protagonist slips on. He didn't see it coming and neither did we. It's that drive-by that happens for no reason. It's an event that makes no sense. Be wary of that execution of the Inciting Incident. It has to fit the story world and the story and make sense. However it really has to be something plausible that will eventually succeed in getting the protagonist well and truly on the journey of the story.


Different screenwriting paradigms use the term Inciting Incident - or its equivalent, in different ways. (I am almost certain that the Stephen Greenfield is the original source of the following paradigm comparisons I have added the odd note here and there - Syd Field, Robert McKee, John Truby, Christopher Vogler and Dramatica).

The Syd Field Paradigm.
Field's Paradigm is a four-act structure masquerading as a three-act structure. It starts with a set-up and inciting incident, has regular turning points in the plot called “plot points” and “pinches” in the middles, and ends with a climax and resolution. His paradigm describes both the external journey involving the attempt to achieve the story goal and the internal journey of the Main Character. Syd Field is adamant that dramatic structure is a series of related incidents leading to a dramatic resolution. The inciting incident is only one of these related series of incidents. He suggests that you have 30 pages to set up the story. He puts a 'plot point' hook at about page 25 to 27 which seems to be his Inciting Incident.

Robert McKee's Central Plot and The Quest
McKee describes plot in two ways. The first is a simple linear timeline called the Central Plot.
McKee's Central Plot is a modified three-act structure. It begins with an inciting incident, proceeds with progressive complications, and ends with a crisis, climax, and resolution. McKee's system uses beats to build scenes, scenes to build sequences, and sequences to build acts. His third act is slightly shorter than the last act in the four-act structure examples. The McKee second act picks up the extra time and is slightly longer than the combined middle acts of a four-act structure.

The second approach McKee uses is called The Quest.
The Quest describes the flow of conflict in a story. The + and — represent the positive and negative tug-of-war of conflict in the backstory before the inciting incident. The “spine” represents the “through-line” / timeline in the story. The conscious and unconscious desires describe the drive behind the external and internal journeys. The inner, personal, and extra-personal conflicts represent the types of pressure put to bear on the protagonist/main character as the story progresses. The conscious and unconscious objects of desire represent the journeys' goals.

John Truby's Twenty-Two Building Blocks
A combination of Joseph Campbell's mythic structure and original work, Truby's Twenty-Two Building Blocks plot structure loosely conforms to a three-act structure. Truby is a proponent of the idea that Plot is what Character does, and Character is defined by actions. As such, his plotline is a combination of a Hero's actions motivated by his internal Need and an external Desire (goal). The actions of various Opponents and Allies counterpoint the Hero's efforts. The plot has an inciting incident, ends with a new equilibrium, and has several revelations and reversals along the way.

Let’s give the next to last word to John Truby. He says there are Four Necessities that are key tools early in the writing process. They are, briefly: The NEED, the INCITING INCIDENT, the DESIRE, and the OPPONENT – and each of these four elements must be intimately and necessarily connected to the others for your story to work as well as it can.

Logged
Private Message Reply: 46 - 50
leitskev
Posted: September 25th, 2011, 8:59am Report to Moderator
Of The Ancients


Posts
3113
Posts Per Day
0.64
Part Two

NEED: what the character needs to fulfil them and create a good life. They will not fulfil this need until the end of the story. It is usually unconscious, and until they fix this aspect of themselves they’re acting immorally / hurting someone / hurting society by their actions.

The necessary DESIRE LINE is the one that will eventually cause your hero to address his NEED when he realises he cannot get what he wants by remaining who he was. It also guarantees your hero runs smack into his OPPONENT.

The INCITING INCIDENT is the thing early in the story that upsets your hero’s world and causes them to come up with a goal. Again, you have to find the necessary Inciting Incident. This is the singular event that creates the conditions for the hero to create their DESIRE LINE towards the goal (which eventually causes your hero to confront his NEED if he is to succeed).

The necessary OPPONENT is the one person in the whole world who is best able to attack the hero’s main weaknesses (and ultimately confront his NEED). He is also competing for the same goal (otherwise everyone could get what they want and the story would be over). Tying the Opponent tightly together with the INCITING INCIDENT often (but not always) results in stories in which the Opponent is subsequently discovered to be the cause of the Inciting Incident.

Christopher Vogler's Hero's Journey
Christopher Vogler's description of the Hero's Journey plot is usually presented as a circle.
Like Syd Field's Paradigm, Vogler's Hero's Journey is a four-act structure camouflaged as a three-act structure. That's where the similarity ends. Based on Joseph Campbell's work on mythic story structure, Vogler has relabeled the plot points to describe the external journey of the Hero, and the internal journey of the main character (The Character Arc). Vogler's setup and inciting event take the form of Ordinary World and Call to Adventure. Like Field and other paradigms to come, major events function as turning points for the acts, such as Crossing the Threshold into the Special World, Ordeal, and The Road Back to the Ordinary World. Crisis and climax show up as Resurrection and Final Attempt. Return with the Elixir and Mastery approximate the story's resolution.

Michael Hauge's Six Stage Plot Structure
Despite its name, Hauge's Six Stage Plot Structure has its roots in a four-act structure. It starts with a setup followed by an inciting incident called Turning Point #1: Opportunity. It has regular turning points in the plot to indicate act breaks (Turning Points #2, #3, & #4), and ends with a climax (Turning Point #5) and resolution (Aftermath). Hauge's paradigm describes the Outer Journey as the attempt to achieve the story goal. The Inner Journey describes how the Hero (Main Character) goes from living fully within his Identity (a mask that hides his inner trauma and desires) to a life free of the Identity and fulfilling his Destiny.

Dramatica's “Act Structure”
Dramatica clearly uses a four-act structure. It starts with a setup of plot points and story dynamics and an inciting incident. It has regular turning points in the plot to indicate act breaks driven by the Story Driver, and ends with a crisis, climax, and resolution of plot points and story dynamics. It also explores four throughlines; two more than the other story paradigms. The Overall Story throughline is the rough equivalent of the outer journey found in other paradigms. The Main Character throughline is the counterpart to the inner journey. Dramatica counterpoints the Main Character throughline with the Impact Character throughline. Exploring the relationship between the Main and Impact Characters is done in the MC/IC Relationship throughline.

and the one I really like:

Phil Gladwin -
In the course of a normal day for them they take their usual steps to tackle their familiar problem when something unusual happens, and creates a new need for them to solve this Unusual Problem. (This need usually takes the shape of a question in their head.) They should pretty well drop else everything they are doing at this point, and work on answering this question. After a bit of a struggle they get to a point where they get their answers, or they get their need satisfied, only to find out that in accomplishing this they have opened up a whole new, and much, much bigger problem. This is the end of Act 1.

Let’s break that down into what’s needed. You have to:
1. Show us your Hero, show us what kind of a person they are, and their normal everyday life.
2. Show us how they have a Familiar Problem.
3. Show them taking steps to solve their Familiar Problem.
4. Show how, somewhere along the line, they will encounter an unusual event which produces their Unusual Problem.
5. This unusual event is called the Inciting Incident. It can be the tiniest thing, but it should have the potential to turn the Protagonist’s life upside down, and to create a situation that will last till the end of the screenplay. When you are looking for this incident, you need to find the event that will eventually lead your hero into the most difficult struggle of their
life.

Contour - Jeffrey Schechter
ACT I / Plot Points 4 - 5
In these two plot points of Act One, several landmarks occur:

The inciting incident will occur. This is the event that will rock the hero's world and change things forever.
The hero has an increased awareness of his or her inner needs.
The stakes are made clear. This is what the hero stands to lose.
The proverbial call to adventure occurs or is alluded to. The hero is summoned or made aware that he or she may need to leave the ordinary world but either doesn't acknowledge or refuses to answer the call. Yet!

Finally, Ronald Tobias sets out his argument in approximately the following steps:
Based on the book "20 Master Plots (And How to Build Them)" by Ronald B. Tobias. ISBN 0-89879-595-8.

Sort of reworked to show the three act structure.
Act 1 (or Phase 1) – Setup

The protagonist is shown before the change.

The incident that prompts a crisis, and thus the change, is presented. This is called the initial transforming incident, or inciting incident.

The first effects on the protagonist of the incident unfold. Tobias cautions the author to keep to action and reaction, and cause and effect.

(It is also important to foreshadow the transformation, showing there are lessons to be learned or insights to be made, etc.)

Act 2 (or Phase 2) – Complications

This act shows the “full effects of the transforming incident.” As this is a process plot, the process of transformation is developed by degrees.

Being a character plot, self-examination is used greatly. From the book: “Whatever actions the character takes are a direct expression of what the character thinks. The character’s nature determines the action…”

Act 3 (or Phase 3) – Climax and resolution

This act shows the incident that defines the outcome of the change (final transforming incident or clarifying incident).

Tobias mentions that in this act, it is common for the protagonist to have learned a lesson, or learned a lesson other than what he thought he would learn (where illusion is replaced by reality).

He also is usually a bit sadder but wiser.

Growth and understanding occur.

Tobias comments that a character should be “primed” for an event to affect him (the inciting incident). Tobias was discussing the disproportionate impact of a mistaken kiss on a Chekhov character. Had he not been “primed” (given proper description of his psychology and actions illustrating it), then the extreme impact would have fallen flat. Tobias identifies an incident that starts a change in the protagonist's life. Be sure the reader knows who the protagonist is before the change!
Now let the ripples of the incident begin to stretch out..."There are lessons to be learned, judgments to be made, insights to be seen."
Then show us the full effects of the transforming inciting incident.
What hidden parts of the main character are stirred up in the wake of the storm?
Then show us (often via another incident) the results of the transformation. What does the protagonist (and the reader) learn?
"It's common for a protagonist to learn lessons other than what he expected to learn. The real lessons are often the hidden or unexpected ones. Expectations are baffled; illusions are destroyed. Reality overtakes fantasy," says Tobias.
Now the task of suggesting page numbers. Remember that the Inciting Incident CAN occur on page 1 or page 21 or anywhere in Act One. But the usual rule of thumb is that an inciting incident is not just a single banana peel event. There are five connected Inciting Incident related plot points throughout the movie (Truby - if I remember rightly).

I've added examples from Little Miss Sunshine

INCITING INCIDENT The first critical dynamic in the script is the "Inciting Incident". This is the point in which the “hero” encounters some thing, force or person that shakes his everyday/normal world up and sets him on the path to adventure. This point usually comes around 10-15 minutes into the movie.
Inciting Incident (Aunt Cindy calls)
END OF ACT ONE The next structural point in the movie comes when the hero is fully thrust into the "special world". This is considered to be the end of Act One. Often, the hero will attempt to refuse this "call to adventure" before fully accepting the task before him. This point usually comes around 25-30 minutes into the movie.
First Act Break (Olive promises Richard she will win the contest then Richard hits the table and says "We're going to Florida")
MIDPOINT/CONFRONTATION The next structural point is considered to be the major point of confrontation. This is when the hero fully confronts the forces that are against him. Here the battle is on and the two opposing forces go at each other and the hero usually comes out the loser. This point usually comes around 55 - 65 minutes into the movie.
Mid Point Setback (Grandpa dies - but his values win through at the end through the hero's decision)
Second Act Reversal - reveal a much bigger problem than the getting to Florida (They discover that all the other contestants are more polished and more talented than Olive - big insight - there is no way Olive can win this contest)
END OF ACT TWO This structural point will often be the lowest point in the movie. It is the point where all looks lost and in some case the hero will actually appear to die physically. This point usually comes around 70- 80 minutes into the movie.
Second Act Break (They get to Florida - fulfils the second act goal - which was to get to Florida and register Olive - they get to Florida and register Olive)
END OF ACT THREE / DENOUEMENT This structural point takes place at the conclusion of the movie. It is here that the hero finally triumphs or accepts his losses (in a tragedy). Any loose ends still left will be tied up here. This point usually comes in the last 15 minutes of the movie. Now the big question - can the hero go back to things as they were in the hero's ordinary world BEFORE the Inciting Incident occurred? This is where you write your magic moment insight and audience satisfaction. Aahhhhh!

So, to return to the initial question, Where does the Inciting Incident go?

The best way I can state it is that readers and producers often leaf through pages 8 to 15 looking for the Inciting Incident - even before they have read the opening.

Probably a good place to put it.

Hope this helps.

But there is more. Is the Inciting Incident in Starwars when Luke Skywalker sees the hologram of the Princess, when he and Ben discover the dead Sandpeople, when Luke discovers his nuked aunt and uncle, or when Peter Cushing zaps the Princess' planet? Care to vote? Or better, argue?
Logged
Private Message Reply: 47 - 50
RayW
Posted: September 27th, 2011, 11:48am Report to Moderator
Old Timer


Freedom

Location
About a thousand years from now.
Posts
1821
Posts Per Day
0.36
Oh, wow.
That's a nice find, Kevin.
I appreciate you thinking of this thread then digging it up and posting this.
Very thoughtful of you.

It's funny that you should post this analyzed list of different approaches.
As I progressed from the simplistic pattern I began with onto the monomyth/hero's journey I ran across a similar analyzed synoptic list and discovered that the cumulative whole of them were semantic arguments over relatively trivial issues.
Physicists may enjoy a good argument over up and down quarks and their flavors, but that's getting way beyond my threshold of practicality.

There's being thorough, and then there's just wasting time.
So, my research pretty much evaporated with that realization of nonsense.

Here's the conclusion of my research, partial as it is:
(Note the "Sheet 2" at bottom for the monomyth analysis).
https://docs.google.com/spread.....c&hl=en_US#gid=0

I think for my stories I'll stick to the three act/dual constraint+challenge for comedies and non-epic stories and monomyths for any epic stories I may conjure up.



As an additional project (in all my spare time, lol), I have also been working on a breakdown of some 2010 independent films.
https://docs.google.com/spread.....E&hl=en_US#gid=0

You may or may not glean anything useful from there.
GL!


BTW, Jeff, I'm giddy with anticipation of whatever spreadsheet you're working on.
GL and well wishes on that project.
I look forward to it!  



Logged
Private Message Reply: 48 - 50
leitskev
Posted: September 27th, 2011, 12:13pm Report to Moderator
Of The Ancients


Posts
3113
Posts Per Day
0.64
Actually, I agree Ray. Analysis can go too far.

I've also become a fan of Carson Reeves script reviews. His emphasis seems to be less on structure and more on the engines which drive a story. I personally am starting to lean towards the simple notion that it's the engines that matter, and structure is good as long as it fuels those engines, but a hindrance when it does not.

Carson's emphasis breaks things down to GSU: goals, stakes, urgency. A story usually requires a likable protag, actively pursuing goals, with clear stakes, and something creating urgency.

But this approach is not perfect either. It's not hard to think of great movies where the GSU is weak. In A Few Good Men, the protag is unlikable, has no real character goal until late in the story, and the stakes and urgency are weak until the latter part of the movie when he risks his career by questioning Col. Jessup.

It occurred to me(I happened to be thinking about this right before the OWC) that another simple human need drives story: curiosity. And it seems to be neglected in all of this structural analysis. Simple curiosity. We want to know what's behind the locked door; who is that masked man; what's in the basement; how will they get out of that trap. These things are more effective when we care about the characters, so I'm not saying the other stuff doesn't matter, but curiosity is an engine all by itself. And many experts will dismiss scenes that create curiosity as expository if the main character's arc is not being moved, but that's a mistake. Sci fi is built around curiosity. Many times horror is as well.

So GSU for me has become GSUQ. The Q is for question, and it reminds me to create questions the audience wants answered. My recent OWC was ALL Q. I wanted to see if that alone could drive a story. It seems to be somewhat effective, perhaps even more effective in more capable hands.

The bottom line, though, is really PTP.

When you get folks into a theater to watch your film, don't let them get up for popcorn. If they gotta piss too bad. Always have stuff going on in the story that people are afraid to miss what happens next. Think of a movie as a book. There should always be a reason to turn the page.

Someone has to piss, make 'em piss their pants. PTP.

Which hopefully this post did not do to you!

good to see ya, Ray. Will be a fun OWC coming up.
Logged
Private Message Reply: 49 - 50
RayW
Posted: September 27th, 2011, 12:34pm Report to Moderator
Old Timer


Freedom

Location
About a thousand years from now.
Posts
1821
Posts Per Day
0.36

Quoted from leitskev
Actually, I agree Ray. Analysis can go too far.

Someone has to piss, make 'em piss their pants. PTP.

Which hopefully this post did not do to you!

good to see ya, Ray. Will be a fun OWC coming up.

A - Cheers!
B - Amen! Seconded!
C - No, sir. Not at all. I thoroughly appreciate both supportive and dissenting POVs.
D - Thank you. It's good to see your good company around here, as well.
And I hope Don crafts up something really evocative for this one.




Logged
Private Message Reply: 50 - 50
 Pages: « 1, 2, 3, 4 : All
Recommend Print

Locked Board Board Index    Screenwriting Class  [ previous | next ] Switch to:
Was Portal Recent Posts Home Help Calendar Search Register Login

Forum Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post polls
You may not post attachments
HTML is on
Blah Code is on
Smilies are on


Powered by E-Blah Platinum 9.71B © 2001-2006