3 Act Structure

  Now that I know what my film is about, I need to do some more research and planning into film structure.  Most stories can be structured into three Acts:

Act one is where the main characters of the film are introduced and sets up the tone and conflict of the story.  At the end of Act one, there is a catalytic moment where something significant happens which changes the course of the story.

Three Act Structure

Act two is the main bulk of the film which explores the consequences of the catalytic moment.  This act explores the what happens, how this effects the characters and what the possible outcomes are.

Act three is where the resolution of the film takes place and the audience found out the outcome of the film.  The end must tie up all the loose ends so that the audience understands what the story is about.  By the end of the film, the theme should be clear so that the audience understand the film better.

  In order to explore this structure in more detail, I will look at 2 films in a similar genre to that of my own film and see how these films fit into the three act structure. From this, I will then have a greater understanding of the structure and will therefore be able to plan a three act structure for my own film.

  The first film I have decided to look at is the crime thriller 'The Last House On The Left.'

  In act one, the main character, Mari, and her family members, Emma and John, are introduced as they go away on a vocation to their lake house.  Mari then goes to visit her friend Paige at the nearby local store. At this point, the two of them then meet Justin, a teenager who is passing through the town and invites the two of them back to his hotel room.  This then proves to be a catalytic moment when Justin's family members return.  This is because one of the family members shows Justin the front page of a newspaper which shows some of the family that broke free from custody and killing police officers. The family now deem it to risky to let Mari and Paige go and this is the significant part of the story where the course of the story takes a completely different direction.

In act two, the consequences of the catalytic moment are revealed to the audience.  Following this, the family of Justin's kidnap Mari and Paige using Mari's car.  Mari is then able to convince the driver to go off road. Mari tries to escape but eventually, after a fight breaking out, the driver, Krug, crashes into a tree.  The complications and hence the height of tension is where Paige is stabbed to death and Mari tries to escape by swimming across the lake, then being shot in the back by Krug.  The family then go towards the house of Mari's parents to seek refuge.  This is the plot point two where there is a height of tension as Mari's parents eventually realise that the family in their house are responsible for the what happened to Mari when she crawls on the doorstep barely alive.

  Act three is where the resolution of the story takes place.  The resolution could be seen as an act of justice because the gang of the family are either killed or knocked unconscious.  This film conforms to the idea of the three acts as all the loose ends are tied up and the audience have a clear understanding of what the story is about.  Also, at the end of the film, the audience understand that this story is thematically about justice.

  The second film I have decided to look at is the crime thriller 'Copycat.'

  In act one, the main character, Helen, is introduced as she is in a dream.  She is revealed to be a specialist on serial killers and, in the dream, she is tormented by a serial killer when she is giving a speech at the university and then wakes up to realise it is all a dream and in fact, this killer is imprisoned.  Nevertheless, the serial killer who is in prison previously tried to kill her so she is revealed to be agoraphobic.  Following on from this, murders start to take place and some police officers come to her in order to get her help and advice to find a killer.  This is the catalytic moment and changes the whole course of the story.  However, this opens up a world of different possibilities and consequences that could occur after this.

  In act two, the consequences are revealed.  The police and this women, Helen, eventually find out that this serial killer is being a "Copycat" of an old serial killer.  They find it difficult to find him as he leaves no clues behind and eventually, to throw them completely off the scent, the killer then tries to copy another killer. This means that they no longer know who the killer will target next.  The killer then begins to send emails to Helen about the victims he will kill next. This shows how the catalytic moment has affected the main character.

  In act three, they eventually find who the killer is but this leads to further complications.  The killer manages to kidnap Helen and capture a police officer who comes to save Helen.  The criminal tries to kill them both, firstly by shooting the police officer- assuming she is dead - and then goes to kill Helen. Helen manages to escape and the police officer - who is revealed not to be dead - kills the serial killer.  This ties up the loose ends of the film and helps the audience to understand that this story is also thematically about justice.