The Four-Act Paradigm
The Four-Act Paradigm
If the second act is twice as long as the first and
third act and also has a major plot point in the middle of it, then why not
just call the paradigm four acts instead of three?
This logical question has occurred to
more than one screenwriter. One of the more eloquent discussions on the matter
happened on the Screenwriters Listserv on the Internet. Andrew Ferguson begins
the discussion, followed by two replies I've kept anonymous:
Field calls it the "pinch".
Vogler calls it the "second major threshold". What they both refer to
is the middle of the traditional second act of the three-act structure.
For God's sake, gentlemen, LET'S CALL A
SPADE A SPADE! It's been there all along, yet no story structuralist wants to
go against the grain and say that the middle act is in fact TWO ACTS (point C
on the diagram).
What's the problem with acknowledging
that the traditional three-act structure has in fact been a four-act structure
all along? It's not going to shake the foundations of Hollywood. But it might
help screenwriters fix stories that sag between pages 30 and 90 (in the
120-page paradigm).
p.1/120
REALM 1 .
. . . A .
. . .
REALM 4
. * | * .
. * |
* .
. * |
* .
. * |
* .
. * | * .
. * | * .
. * | * .
. * | * .
. * ACT 1
| ACT 4 * .
p.30
B-------------------|-------------------D p.90
. * ACT 2
| ACT 3 * .
. * | * .
. * | * .
. * | * .
. *
| * .
. * |
* .
. * |
* .
. * |
* .
. * | * .
REALM 2 .
. . . C .
. . .
REALM 3
p.60
LEGEND:
REALM 1 The hero's Ordinary World. This is the realm
That the
hero knows -- he knows the terrain
and how to live in it. But here is just your
average
Joe Public, although he displays hero
potential.
REALM 2 The Netherworld. This is the realm the novice
hero must
pass through to reach the Kingdom of
Evil. This territory is unknown, frightening
and
wonderful. Here, the hero is swept along
on an
inexorable tide that leads to ...
REALM 3 The Kingdom of Evil. Here the forces of evil
are the
masters. This is their home turf,
where they
are strongest. The hero is gonna
have to be
very clever to avoid capture.
REALM 4 Back to the Netherworld. Only now the hero
knows the
rules and expectations of this
realm. He'll need this knowledge
to help him
evade the
pursuit by the Bad Guys.
NOTES ON THE ACTS.
- Each act is the reflection
of it's opposite. Realm 1 is the
opposite of Realm 3, just
as Realm 2 is the flipside of Realm
4. Where in Act One the hero feels relatively
safe, secure,
and in control, in Act
Three he faces mortal danger,
uncertainty, discomfort,
etc.
- In Act Four, the flight,
the helpers of Act Two reverse to
become hinderers (revealed
to be agents of evil all along),
the hinderers of Act Two
reverse to become helpers
(swapping sides to join
the forces of good).
- The development of the
hero shows a similar opposition between
Act 1 & 3 and Act 2
& 4. In Act One the hero is a
powerless
orphan; in Act Three he
has become a powerful warrior. In Act
Two he is a wanderer in
the Netherworld, acting on his
own behalf and being
pulled or lead toward the domain of evil;
by Act Four the hero has
become a Martyr working for society,
leading the way instead of
following.
There is *nothing wrong* with working
in four acts instead of three. You still work with a beginning, middle, and
end. You still work with ascending levels of conflict and crises. It will only
make your story stronger by clarifying the middle of your story.
First response:
If it works for you, your writing and screenplays,
go for it. I've often felt reading other scripts the middle of Act Two was a
critical point in the story; getting from page 30 to page 90 is agony without
page 60, to my way of thinking, so I try another mini-story in 30-60 and
another mini-story in 60-90 --call them B-story and C-story perhaps.
Second response:
Welcome to the club! You're not alone
on this one. In fact, when I was teaching the screenwriters class in Texas, I
told the students there that I was a firm believer in mythic four act structure
as I call it. They kind of looked at me like WHAT? Now there's four of them?
Vogler even divides them into four acts
himself. I don't think he goes into it in JOURNEY but in his class he flat out
told us he looks at them in four acts. I was happy to see someone else thought
the way I did.
He told us exactly what I told my
students that day. Us writers will just have to keep that little ditty to
ourselves. I can hardly get producers and development people to understand
three act structure. Throwing another one in would just devastate them. :-)

I don't care how many acts a screenplay
has. If you want to use the logic above, which does make some sense, then call
it four acts instead of three. However, who ever said all acts had to be
roughly the same length?
The reason I continue to use three-act terminology
is simple: it comes out of beginning-middle-end logic, which is essential to
good storytelling. But saying this, I also know the long second act is the most
troublesome part of the structure.

A variation of the 4-act paradigm is
the structural argument made by Kristin Thompson in her excellent and important
book, Storytelling in the New Hollywood. While I
believe that here, as others do elsewhere, Thompson raises issues on what are
essentially semantic disagreements, her insight into the four large movements
of screenplay storytelling is sharp:
"Instead of starting with an a
priori assumption that all films have three acts, we can instead
simply study the plot patterns to be found in a sampling of Hollywood films,
both from the studio era and from more recent times. What we find is striking.
A great many of these films -- indeed, I would contend, the bulk of them --
break perspicuously into four large-scale parts, with major
turning points usually providing the transitions.
"Drawing upon what seems to me the
most usefully descriptive terminology that has been employed by scenario-manual
authors and commentators in other narrative arts, I will refer to the four
parts of the average feature as [italics mine] the setup, the complicating
action, the development, and the climax. A short epilogue usually follows
the climax. This schema points up something I will elaborate shortly: that
movies very often present a crucial turning point more or less at dead
center."
If you are more comfortable with
calling these four major structural segments, which indeed are what we find
when we look closely at films (as the dozens of films analyzed in this book
show), a "four-act paradigm" or a four-segment structure, or
anything, rather than a three-act paradigm (as I do), adding
the important footnote that the larger act two has a midpoint "turning
point," then by all means use this terminology. To me it is not important
what labels we put on these structural parts as long as we realize that they
are there and that they determine the structure of screenplay storytelling.
STORY STRUCTURE: The 5 Key Turning Points of All
Successful Screenplays
Hollywood movies are simple.
Though writing a successful Hollywood
movie is certainly not easy, the stories for mainstream Hollywood films are all
built on only three basic components: character, desire and conflict.
Film stories
portray heroes who face seemingly insurmountable obstacles as they pursue
compelling objectives. Whether it’s Clarice Starling trying to stop Hannibal, Captain Miller Saving Private Ryan, or Billy
Elliott trying to gain admission to a ballet school, all these
protagonists confront overwhelming conflict in their pursuit of some visible
goal.
Plot structure simply determines the
sequence of events that lead the hero toward this objective. And here’s the
good news: whether you’re writing romantic comedies, suspense thrillers,
historical dramas or big budget science fiction, all successful Hollywood
movies follow the same basic structure.
Even if you are a novelist, speaker,
marketer or attorney, understanding these turning points, and incorporating
them into your stories, will strengthen your ability to enthrall your reader or
audience.
In a properly structured movie, the
story consists of six basic stages, which are defined by five key turning
points in the plot. Not only are these turning points always the same; they
always occupy the same positions in the story. So what happens at the 25% point
of a 90-minute comedy will be identical to what happens at the same percentage
of a three-hour epic. (These percentages apply both to the running time of the
film and the pages of your screenplay.)
In the
explanation that follows, I want to take two recent blockbusters through this
entire structural process: Susannah Grant’s screenplay for Erin Brockovich; and Gladiator, written by David H. Franzoni, John Logan
and William Nicholson. As different as these two films are in style, genre,
length and subject matter, both have made more than a hundred million dollars
at the box office, both were among the most critically acclaimed films of 2000,
and both employ the same basic plot structure.
STAGE I: The Setup
Erin Brockovich: Erin is a broke, unemployed single mother who can’t find a job, gets
hit by a car, and loses her lawsuit.
Gladiator: Maximus, Rome’s most powerful, and most popular, general, leads his
troops to victory in their final battle.
The opening 10% of your screenplay must
draw the reader, and the audience, into the initial setting of the story, must
reveal the everyday life your hero has been living, and must establish
identification with your hero by making her sympathetic, threatened, likable,
funny and/or powerful.
Cast Away transports us into the world of a FedEx executive, shows him as
likable and good at his job, and creates sympathy and worry when he must leave
the woman he loves at Christmas to fly off in dangerous weather. Or think of
Lowell Bergman’s mysterious, threatening pursuit of a story at the beginning
of The Insider. These setups pull us out of our own
existence and into the captivating world the screenwriter has created.
TURNING POINT #1:
The Opportunity (10%)
Erin Brockovich: Erin forces Ed Masry to give her a job.
Gladiator: Maximus is offered a reward by Emperor Marcus Aurelius, and he says he
wants to go home.
Ten percent
of the way into your screenplay, your hero must be presented with an
opportunity, which will create a new, visible desire, and will start the
character on her journey. This is the point where Neo is taken to meet Morpheus
and wants to learn about The Matrix, or where
Ike gets fired and wants to go meet the Runaway Bride.
Notice that the desire created by the
opportunity is not the specific goal that defines your story concept, but
rather a desire to move into…
STAGE 2: The New
Situation
Erin Brockovich: Erin begins working for Ed Masry’s law firm, meets her neighbor
George, and starts investigating a case in Hinkley, California, but then gets
fired
Gladiator: Maximus is asked by the dying Emperor to take control of Rome and give
it back to the people, in spite of the ambition of his son Commodus.
For the next
15% of the story, your hero will react to the new situation that resulted from
the opportunity. He gets acclimated to the new surroundings, tries to figure
out what’s going on, or formulates a specific plan for accomplishing his
overall goal: Fletcher has to figure out that he’s been cursed to tell the
truth in Liar, Liar; and Mrs. Doubtfire devises
a plan for seeing (his) children.
Very often
story structure follows geography, as the opportunity takes your hero to a new
location: boarding the cruise ships in Titanic and The Talented Mr. Ripley; going to Cincinnati to bury
his father in Rain Man; the President taking off
on Air Force One.
In most movies, the hero enters this
new situation willingly, often with a feeling of excitement and anticipation,
or at least believing that the new problem he faces can be easily solved. But
as the conflict starts to build, he begins to realize he’s up against far
greater obstacles than he realized, until finally he comes to…
TURNING POINT #2:
The Change of Plans (25%)
Erin Brockovich: Erin gets rehired to help win a suit against PG&E.
Gladiator: Maximus, after learning that Commodus has murdered his father, vows to
stop the new emperor and carry out Marcus Aurelius’ wishes.
Something must happen to your hero
one-fourth of the way through your screenplay that will transform the original
desire into a specific, visible goal with a clearly defined end point. This is
the scene where your story concept is defined, and your hero’s outer motivation
is revealed.
Outer
motivation is my term for the visible finish line the audience is rooting for
your hero to achieve by the end of the film. It is here that Tess discovers
that Katherine has stolen her idea in Working Girl, and
now wants to close the deal herself by posing as a broker. This is what we’re
rooting for Tess to do, and we know that when she’s accomplished this goal (or
failed to), the movie will be over.
Please don’t confuse outer motivation
with the inner journey your hero takes. Because much of what we respond to
emotionally grows out of the hero’s longings, wounds, fears, courage and
growth, we often focus on these elements as we develop our stories. But these
invisible character components can emerge effectively only if they grow out of
a simple, visible desire.
STAGE III: Progress
Erin Brockovich: Erin gets some Hinkley residents to hire Ed to represent them, and
gets romantically involved with George.
Gladiator: Maximus is taken to be killed, escapes to find his family murdered,
and is captured and sold to Proximo, who makes him a powerful gladiator.
For the next
25% of your story, your hero’s plan seems to be working as he takes action to
achieve his goal: Ethan Hunt begins closing in on the villain in Mission: Impossible 2; Pat gets involved with the woman
of his dreams in There’s Something About Mary.
This is not to say that this stage is
without conflict. But whatever obstacles your hero faces, he is able to avoid
or overcome them as he approaches…
TURNING POINT #3:
The Point of No Return (50%)
Erin Brockovich: Erin and Ed file the lawsuit, risking dismissal by the judge, which
would destroy any hope of a settlement.
Gladiator: Maximus arrives in Rome, determined to win the crowd as a Gladiator so
he can destroy Commodus.
At the exact midpoint of your screenplay,
your hero must fully commit to her goal. Up to this point, she had the option
of turning back, giving up on her plan, and returning to the life she was
living at the beginning of the film. But now your hero must burn her bridges
behind her and put both feet in. (And never let it be said that I can’t work
two hackneyed metaphors into the same sentence).
It is at
precisely this moment that Truman crosses the bridge in The Truman Show, and that Rose makes love with Jack
in Titanic. They are taking a much bigger risk than at any
previous time in these films. And as a result of passing this point of no
return, they must now face…
STAGE IV:
Complications and Higher Stakes
Erin Brockovich: Erin sees less of George and her kids, while Ed brings in a big firm
that alienates the Hinkley plaintiffs.
Gladiator: Maximus becomes a hero to the Roman people and reveals his true
identity to Commodus.
For the next
25% of your story, achieving the visible goal becomes far more difficult, and
your hero has much more to lose if he fails. After Mitch McDeere begins
collecting evidence against The Firm at
that movie’s midpoint, he now must hide what he’s doing from both the mob and
the FBI (complications), and failure will result in either prison or death
(higher stakes).
This conflict continues to build until,
just as it seems that success is within your hero’s grasp, he suffers…
TURNING POINT #4:
The Major Setback (75%)
Erin Brockovich: Most of the plaintiffs withdraw due to the bungled efforts of the new
lawyers, and George leaves Erin.
Gladiator: Maximus refuses to help the leader of the Senate, and Commodus plots
to destroy both Maximus and the Senate.
Around page
90 of your screenplay, something must happen to your hero that makes it seem to
the audience that all is lost: Carol dumps Melvin in As Good As It Gets; Morpheus is captured in The Matrix. If you’re writing a romantic comedy
like Working Girl or What Women Want,
this is the point where your hero’s deception is revealed and the lovers break
up.
These disastrous events leave your hero
with only one option: he must make one, last, all-or-nothing, do-or-die effort
as he enters…
STAGE V: The Final
Push
Erin Brockovich: Erin must rally the Hinkley families to agree to binding arbitration,
and find evidence incriminating the PG&E corporate office.
Gladiator: Maximus conspires to escape from Proximo and lead his former troops
against Commodus.
Beaten and
battered, your hero must now risk everything she has, and give every ounce of
strength and courage she possesses, to achieve her ultimate goal: Thelma & Louise must outrun the FBI to reach
the border; and the Kennedy’s must attempt one final negotiation with the
Soviets in 13 Days.
During this stage of your script, the
conflict is overwhelming, the pace has accelerated, and everything works
against your hero, until she reaches…
TURNING POINT #5:
The Climax (90-99%)
Erin Brockovich: Erin and Ed win a $330 million dollar settlement, and George returns.
Gladiator: Maximus has his final battle with Commodus in the arena.
Several
things must occur at the climax of the film: the hero must face the biggest
obstacle of the entire story; she must determine her own fate; and the outer
motivation must be resolved once and for all. This is the big moment where our
heroes go into the Twister and the
Jewish factory workers make their escape in Schindler’s List.
Notice that
the climax can occur anywhere from the 90% point to the last couple minutes of
the movie. The exact placement will be determined by the amount of time you
need for…
STAGE VI: The
Aftermath
Erin Brockovich: Erin gets a $2 million bonus, and continues working with Ed.
Gladiator: Maximus is united with his family in death, and his body carried away
in honor by the new leaders of the Roman republic.
No movie ends precisely with the
resolution of the hero’s objective. You have to reveal the new life your hero
is living now that he’s completed his journey.
In movies
like Rocky, Thelma & Louise and The Truman Show, there is little to show or explain,
and the writer’s goal is to leave the audience stunned or elated. So the climax
occurs near the very end of the film. But in most romantic comedies, mysteries
and dramas, the aftermath will include the final five or ten pages of the
script.
Understanding these stages and turning
points provides you with a powerful tool for developing and writing your
screenplay. Is your story concept defined at the one-quarter mark? Is your
hero’s goal truly visible, with a clearly implied outcome and not just an inner
desire for success, acceptance or self worth? Have you fully introduced your
hero before presenting her with an opportunity around page 10? Does she suffer
a major setback 75% of the way into your script?
But a word of caution: don’t let all
these percentages block your creativity. Structure is an effective template for
rewriting and strengthening the emotional impact of your story. But you don’t
want to be imprisoned by it. Come up with characters you love and a story that
ignites your passion. Then apply these structural principles, to ensure that
your screenplay will powerfully touch the widest possible audience.
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