The author of Screenplay and The Screen Writer's Workbook, Syd Field, has outlined a certain paradigm that most the majority of screenplays follow. A paradigm is essentially an overall pattern created by a film that helps us categorise it. This particular paradigm is the structure that holds screenplays together. Syd Field said that screenplays follow a three-act structure. This means that the standard screenplay can be divided into three different parts, these being: Setup,Confrontation, and Resolution.
Act 1:
This would be the act which usually lasts for the first quarter of the movie. If the movie is 2 hours long you'd expect Act 1 to take up 30 minutes of the film, however it varies from film to film depending on how long it is.
Dramatic Premise - The film is about Kale being under house arrest and discovers, after spying wit his friends, that his neighbour is a serial killer. But after the Police fail in discovering who his neighbour really is, Kale decides to take matters into his own hands with his friends.
Main Character - In the film, Disturbia, we are introduced to the main Protagonists within the first 30 minutes of the film. We are first introduced to arguably the "main" Protagonist, Kale, who is in a car crash and witnesses his Dad's death. Following this One Year Later we see Kale put under house arrest for hitting his school teacher.
We then are introduced to other character such as Ashley, Ronnie, and Julie (Kale's Mum). We see their relationships are how well they know each other, from here the audience have established who the Protagonists are.
Inciting Incident - This is when the plot of the film is set in motion. For example in the film Disturbia the inciting incident is when Shia LeBeouf's character realises that his next door neighbour is a cereal killer while spying on him, as seen in the mobie poster, and this sets the plot up for the rest of the film.
Act 2:
Act two will normally last about two quarters of the film so if the film is about 2 hours then the second act will be around an hour.
Obstacles - Within Disturbia the first obstacle is that the main character is kept under house arrest and cannot go out of his house within a certain distance otherwise the Police will come, this isn't ideal for him as he cannot leave his house at all. The next obstacle would be when he first realizes his next door neighbor is serial killer, but cannot do anything due to the first obstacle, being under house arrest, and the fact no one would believe him.
First Culmination - This is the part in the film where the main character Kale (Shia LeBeouf) is close to achieving the final end goal but then something happens which will then prevent him from doing so. The first culmination is when Kale gets video evidence of his neighbor being a serial killer, but the serial killer anticipates this and attacks the house Kale lives in.
Midpoint - At some point in the film there is a point where the Protagonist looks as if he will achieve his goal, however this is the part of the film in which something happens to the Protagonist meaning he looks weak and there's the possibility of the Antagonist winning. This is the part in Disturbia when the serial killer attacks Kale's house and starts throwing him and almost killing him at some points. This makes Kale appear weak as at one point you think Kale is about to be killed.
Act 3:
This is the part at the end of the film where the Protagonist eventually and finally achieves his goal. There are only two parts to this section.
Climax - This is the part in which Kale has to go to the serial killers house to try and find his Mum, after the serial killer has taken her. This builds up a lot of tension as there are a lot of points where you think the serial killer neighbor could jump out any minute.
Denouement - This is when the film has reached its end and the Protagonist overcomes the Antagonist even though the odds were stacked up against him. The part in Disturbia when Kale finds his Mum and kills the serial killer with a pair of shears after he is attacked while helping his Mum.
This would be the act which usually lasts for the first quarter of the movie. If the movie is 2 hours long you'd expect Act 1 to take up 30 minutes of the film, however it varies from film to film depending on how long it is.
Dramatic Premise - The film is about Kale being under house arrest and discovers, after spying wit his friends, that his neighbour is a serial killer. But after the Police fail in discovering who his neighbour really is, Kale decides to take matters into his own hands with his friends.
Main Character - In the film, Disturbia, we are introduced to the main Protagonists within the first 30 minutes of the film. We are first introduced to arguably the "main" Protagonist, Kale, who is in a car crash and witnesses his Dad's death. Following this One Year Later we see Kale put under house arrest for hitting his school teacher.
We then are introduced to other character such as Ashley, Ronnie, and Julie (Kale's Mum). We see their relationships are how well they know each other, from here the audience have established who the Protagonists are.
Inciting Incident - This is when the plot of the film is set in motion. For example in the film Disturbia the inciting incident is when Shia LeBeouf's character realises that his next door neighbour is a cereal killer while spying on him, as seen in the mobie poster, and this sets the plot up for the rest of the film.
Act 2:Act two will normally last about two quarters of the film so if the film is about 2 hours then the second act will be around an hour.
Obstacles - Within Disturbia the first obstacle is that the main character is kept under house arrest and cannot go out of his house within a certain distance otherwise the Police will come, this isn't ideal for him as he cannot leave his house at all. The next obstacle would be when he first realizes his next door neighbor is serial killer, but cannot do anything due to the first obstacle, being under house arrest, and the fact no one would believe him.
First Culmination - This is the part in the film where the main character Kale (Shia LeBeouf) is close to achieving the final end goal but then something happens which will then prevent him from doing so. The first culmination is when Kale gets video evidence of his neighbor being a serial killer, but the serial killer anticipates this and attacks the house Kale lives in.
Midpoint - At some point in the film there is a point where the Protagonist looks as if he will achieve his goal, however this is the part of the film in which something happens to the Protagonist meaning he looks weak and there's the possibility of the Antagonist winning. This is the part in Disturbia when the serial killer attacks Kale's house and starts throwing him and almost killing him at some points. This makes Kale appear weak as at one point you think Kale is about to be killed.
Act 3:
This is the part at the end of the film where the Protagonist eventually and finally achieves his goal. There are only two parts to this section.
Climax - This is the part in which Kale has to go to the serial killers house to try and find his Mum, after the serial killer has taken her. This builds up a lot of tension as there are a lot of points where you think the serial killer neighbor could jump out any minute.
Denouement - This is when the film has reached its end and the Protagonist overcomes the Antagonist even though the odds were stacked up against him. The part in Disturbia when Kale finds his Mum and kills the serial killer with a pair of shears after he is attacked while helping his Mum.
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