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Day 7 Assignments
Reply to post your assignment.
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17 Replies
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Don’s 4 Act Structure
What I learned doing this assignment Filling in the major plot points gives me a roadmap into the screenplay.
Concept: Ill prepared urban explorers become trapped on an abandoned riverboat in the Louisiana bayou.
Conflict: The riverboat is a drug lab, their canoe was stolen, they’re surrounded by gators and meth heads in the swamp.
Act 1
Opening: Four college friends met after five years to hike into the bayou to look for an abandoned riverboat.
Inciting Incident: A local bayou boy warns them away from the riverboat.
Turning Point: Once aboard the riverboat, the boy steals their canoe, stranding them.
Act 2
New Plan Get off the boat and back to shore
Plan in Action Swim or wade to shore
Midpoint Turning Point someone is bitten by a snake, and they must return to the boat
Act 3
Rethink Everything someone must stay with the snakebite victim while the others go for help
New Plan Reason with the meth heads and get the canoe back
Turning Point: Huge failure/Major Shift Meth heads kill someone. Th other returns to the riverboat pursued by meth heads
Act 4
Final Plan Fight the meth heads and take their boat
Climax/Ultimate expression of conflict A final showdown on the riverboat
Resolution The urban explores steal the boat and call the police
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Auguste’s 4 Act Structure
What I learned is, this sounds like a loose outline.
1 – A psychiatrist treats a thirteen-year-old girl with amnesia.
2 – There are two girls. One is mad and is hiding from him.
ACT 1 – A drunken woman sits in front of a fireplace with a glass of whiskey in her hand.
2 – A figure races across the dark room, hits the woman in the head with a poker, and throws her face-first into the fireplace, then sets the house on fire.
3 – The mad girl is caught by the firemen before she can get away
ACT 2 – Her twin sister was hurt in the fire and has amnesia. No one knows she exists.
1 – The mad girl’s sister takes the mad girl’s place and tells the psychiatrist she has no memory of the fire or what happened to her mother.
2 – The psychiatrist releases her to the custody of her aunt, but begins to suspect the girl is lying to him.
ACT 3 – The social worker checks on the girl and finds out there are two girls and they are twins.
1. The doctor decides to put the girl into a mental ward.
2. The social worker picks up the wrong girl.
3. At the doctor’s office the mad girl kills the social worker and the doctor.
ACT 4 – The mad girl goes on a murder spree.
1. She sets the boarding house on fire and steals a shotgun.
2. When her aunt tries to stop her, she swings the gun on her aunt and pulls the trigger.
3. The gun explodes in her face and kills her.
4. Her aunt was afraid of guns. After her husband died, she plugged the barrel so no one would get hurt.
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Renee’s 4-Act Structure
What I learned doing this assignment is how to think more about the big picture to develop a solid foundation for the structure of my script.
Concept: When a three-day journey into space is derailed by space junk, the all-civilian crew must find a way to work together to fix the damaged navigation system and return home.
Main Conflict: they only have 90 minutes to find a way to work together and fix the damaged systems.
Act 1:
• Opening: the protagonist stands in front of a whiteboard looking over schematics for a mechanical system.
• Inciting Incident: she is awarded a prestigious award in mechanical engineering and a spot on the all-civilian flight.
• Turning Point: the craft is hit by space junk and the navigation system is damaged.
Act 2:
• New plan: work with NASA to fix the navigation system.
• Plan in action: the antagonist refuses to let anyone help while he fumbles with trying to fix the navigation system.
• Midpoint Turning Point: he short circuits the communication system, leaving them unable to communicate with NASA.
Act 3:
• Rethink everything: Constance finds the manual and realizes she designed the navigation system!
• New plan: try and convince the others to let her fix the system.
• Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift: she fixes the navigation and communication systems, only to find out the heat shield was damaged.
Act 4:
• Final plan: find a way to fix the heat shield.
• Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: Constance goes outside the ship and finds a way to repair the heat shield. They cross their fingers that they hold during re-entry.
• Resolution: They make it back home safely.
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Josh Lee’s 4 Act Structure
What I learned doing this assignment was the importance of figuring out as much of this as you possibly can. At least for me. I never figure all of it out, but the more the better before writing a word.
CONCEPT – 4 Felons doing community service at a closed down psychiatric hospital encounter what they first think is a supernatural presence but they realize it’s actually someone with a score to settle who has planted weapons around the building attempting to get them all to kill one another once their paranoia reaches a fever pitch.
MAIN CONFLICT – The main security guard – C.J. – his father was killed by Sam (the main character) and C.J. believes that community service isn’t quite enough punishment for the crime.
ACT 1 OPENING – Everyone arrives late at night. Males are searched by C.J., females by security guard Jane and then it’s time to get to work, salvaging whatever can be salvaged, whatever is deemed important enough to save.
INCITING INCIDENT – Someone catches a glimpse of the “ghost.”
TURNING POINT – After getting more than a glimpse, they try to leave but the one door they use has been barricaded shut. (All other entrances and exits are electronically locked to keep out squatters and the homeless).
ACT 2 PLAN – Simple, the guards just need to call the security company… except their phones are missing. Is this the work of a supernatural presence or a real life presence?
PLAN IN ACTION – Everyone stay together and explore, trying to find any way out of the building they can. They are officially locked in and cut off.
MIDPOINT TURNING POINT – After going into a random room, there’s stuff written all over the walls pertaining to Logan’s criminal history. Things no one knew about besides him. There’s definitely another human presence in this building. Paranoia is now going through the roof.
ACT 3 RETHINK EVERYTHING – Now it’s time to go hunting. There’s someone there with them and they need to be found.
NEW PLAN – But maybe it’s one of the group that’s the guilty party. Paranoia wins out and murder begins.
TURNING POINT – C.J. shoots and kills (not sure yet), but no one knew he had a gun. Now, suspicion of C.J. rises.
FINAL PLAN – Sam suggests to Brooke that they stay away from C.J. and Kristi who seem to have chosen sides at this point.
CLIMAX/EXPRESSION – C.J. reveals that he and Kristi are the ones behind it all. Sam murdered C.J.’s father and he wanted Sam to be killed likewise in what would’ve been labeled an accident. What no one knows about Sam is that he used to be a contract killer and he retired from that life after he killed C.J.’s father because he felt so awful about it.
RESOLUTION – This I’m not sure of. The obvious thing would be to have Sam kill C.J. and make it out alive and everything is right as rain. However I’m not sure I like or want that, so unfortunately, I’m leaving my resolution blank.
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Jason’s 4 Act Structure
What I learned doing this assignment is that it helps to break down your structure into bite-size pieces, each with a mini-structure or goal. My structure is still very much a work in progress.
1. Tell us the following:
Concept – When a tourist group rushes into a nuclear bunker after an explosion, they find themselves trapped inside with a dead man and one of them must be the killer.
Main Conflict – Staying alive while being trapped in the bunker and figuring out who among them is a killer.
2. Fill in each of these with the answers you have right now.
Act 1:
Opening – Wife and Husband on their honeymoon prepare to go out, but there’s tension between them; Prepper has a conflict with Front Desk Girl. There’s a threat of a nuclear event, but nobody takes it seriously.
Inciting Incident – There is an explosion coming (sirens blare with warning) and everyone rushes inside the bunker. Front Desk Girl doesn’t make it when Prepper closes the door on her before she gets in, which seems cruel, but in hindsight saved them as the explosion rocks them just as he closes the door.
Turning Point – They find a dead man in the bunker. His throat is slit.
Act 2:
New plan – They need to stay alive, but come to the conclusion someone in the bunker is likely the killer. Drug addict freaks out, is subdued by the group, dies.
Plan in action – People interrogate each other to try to figure out who is the killer.
Midpoint Turning Point – They find a gun in Prepper’s backpack. There is a struggle and Jeopardy Guy gets control of the gun. He accidentally kills Inheritance Girl. Becomes distraught and kills himself. Prepper gets the gun and now he is in charge.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Act 3:
Rethink everything – Only Wife, Husband, Deaf Girl, and Prepper left. They are in survival mode and comply. Prepper is the prime suspect but puts the pressure on Husband. Husband has secrets that bring suspicion on him when being questioned. How well does Wife actually know Husband?
New plan – They watch the outside radiation level. The three conspire on a plan to overtake Prepper: When the outside radiation level drops to a survivable level they will make a run for it.
Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift – Husband does something to raise the ire of Prepper. Husband goes for it with their plan. It looks like he has won the battle, but when he celebrates for just a moment with Wife, Prepper gets a jump on him. Husband is killed, Deaf Girl is injured. Prepper ties up Wife with cord. Prepper justifies it as self defense to Wife and Deaf Girl.
Act 4:
Final plan – Prepper says he didn’t kill the first man, but it just sounds like he’s in denial. He says all he has done is defend himself against Husband. He’s increasingly unhinged as he speaks, but he’s being truthful, talks about his beliefs, government conspiracies, and how to survive indefinitely in the wild. It’s unnerving how he seems to be losing grasp of reality.
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict – Wife sees an opening and makes her move. Deaf Girl kisses Dead Man – reveal that they were together – and scurries up to get the item. Wife yells at her to get out, but she doesn’t stop. Deaf Girl can’t breathe, collapses, falls to the floor dead. Wife gets out as rescue workers in Hazmat suits show up.
Resolution – Wife has gotten over the incident. She’s on a vacation with a friend. She appears to have overcome her weakness/fear/wound, but then ominous sirens blare – another catastrophe? She reacts in a commanding way that scares her friend. It was nothing and she laughs it off, leaving her friend stunned.
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Julie’s structure
What I learned doing this assignment is: the importance of keeping the Contained guidelines in mind as I write.
1. Tell us the following:
Concept:
DJ plans to infiltrate Europe with new, lethal drug, starting with
Switzerland.
Main Conflict: DJ and Anna, daughter who is desperate
to leave his drug-selling cult.2. Fill in each of these with the answers you have right now.
Act 1:
Opening:
DJ leads illegal Rave inside Swiss mountain bunker.
Inciting Incident: Jim, American DEA agent, tries to arrest
DJ for selling drugs to teens during Rave.
Turning Point: DJ escapes. Anna sells new
drug to Jim, thinking he’s the way out of her life. Anna and Jim are
attracted to each other and get lost in bunker while flirting.Act 2:
New plan: To search for way out of Bunker.
Plan in action: They start to fall for each other and
enjoy wandering together. DJ follows them and terrifies them.
Midpoint Turning Point: They make love. Jim
reacts to drug.Act 3:
Rethink everything: They confess to each other their true
roles. DJ overhears.
New plan:
they hear noise and decide to follow the noise. They get more and
more lost.
Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift: They stumble upon teens manufacturing
drugs.Act 4:
Final plan: follow teens out of the bunker.
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict:
DJ arrives and is obviously the leader of the drug manufacturing
operation. Daughter is enraged and confronts
him. They battle. She wins with help from Jim.
Resolution: Drug manufacturing operation ends. Teens
and Anna are free. Jim has fulfilled his mission. -
What I learned is that I still have some brainstorming to do to strengthen my 4 Act structure…maybe I need to switch up the POVs…
• Concept: When a couple on a romantic vacation become trapped in a Castle full of ghosts they are forced to negotiate a risky escape.
• Main Conflict: The ghosts don’t want them to leave and the Tour Guides refuse to help.
Act 1:
• Opening: A couple taking a drive through the countryside have just started their vacation.
• Inciting Incident: The grocery store on Google maps is closed so they decide to stop at a Castle Restaurant.
• Turning Point: They are invited to dine by two charming tour guides and by the end of the meal are too tired to continue on their journey and accept the offer of a bed for the night.
Act 2:
• New plan: They wake up after hearing strange noises.
• Plan in action: They want to leave.
• Midpoint Turning Point: They realize they are locked in the Castle and are not alone.
Act 3:
• Rethink everything: They make a deal with the ghosts.
• New plan: Allow us to leave and we’ll help you pass over.
• Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift: Two of the ghosts pass over but take the mining CEO with them.
Act 4:
• Final plan: One of the Tour Guides tries to help the Doctor.
• Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: All hell breaks loose.
• Resolution: The CEO and Doctore escape and vow to become better people.
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Russ’s 4 Act Structure
What I learned is this story may have potential as an ambiguous psychological horror.
Act 1:
Opening
– Chase moves into a remote country
house with a large tree stump in the backyard. His family remains behind
for the end of the school year.Inciting
Incident – An item of torn clothes shows up on the stump.Turning
Point – A second personal item mysterious shows up, this time covered in
blood.Act 2:
New
plan – Kindly old neighbors inform Chase about the house being the former property
of a suspected killer who hung himself from the tree that is now the
stump. Chase begins to obsess on the stump items, decides to observe.Plan
in action – Cameras fail at the zero hour. More items arrive. He sits out to
watch, but cannot stay awake. His behavior becomes more erratic &
obsessed.Midpoint
Turning Point – Something shows up which may belong to his family. He cannot
reach them. Something seems to be stalking him in the woods bordering the
property.Act 3:
Rethink
everything – There may be a supernatural or otherworldly explanation.New
plan – Destroy the stump. The neighbor brings a stump grinder.Turning
Point: Huge failure / Major shift – The stump erupts in blood and flesh
when ground. Then cannot be destroyed – it returns.Act 4:
Final
plan – Hunt the things in the woods.Climax/Ultimate
expression of the conflict – TBDResolution
– None. He may be insane, in hell, or on another planet.-
This reply was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by Russell Phillips.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by Russell Phillips.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by
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Matthew Frendo’s 4 Act Structure
What I learned doing this assignment was how to create a strong structure for a contained film. I learned how to place turning points and acts to make them strong dramatically.
Concept: A vicious street gang traps a homeless, female Army vet in an abandoned building so new recruits can hunt her for initiation…but they soon find themselves more trapped than she is when she starts hunting them right back.
Main Conflict: Nikki and hunted vs. street gang led by the Butcher
Act 1:
Opening
– Nikki fights some guys off of a beaten girl. She takes her to the hospital,
finding a flyer for test subjects that pays good money. Antagonist kills
old leader of gang, saying he’s making it too weak and it won’t work for
their future plans.Inciting
Incident – Nikki goes to be a test subject, needing the money, to take the
girl’s place.Turning
Point – 3 Testing subjects find out they are trapped in the building and
are there to be hunted as part of a gang initiation while the gang leaders
watch from the basement. Antagonist brings initiates there and explains
the rules to join their gang.Act 2:
New
plan Escape from the building before getting killed.Plan
in action Nikki calls for police…but the antagonist is a cop. Junkie hides.
Tries to climb down fire escape…and it breaks on her. Tries to go
downstairs…and gets shot at. Other guy tries to reason with them with sympathy…
and they kill him.Midpoint
Turning Point Nikki jumps over to the next building…but then sees they are
going to kill the addict. She hears what her husband told her and looks
around at her life. Then she decides to save them and jumps back over.Act 3:
Rethink
everything Now is working to find ways to fight back and save the addict
too.New
plan Starts making explosives, kills one for a gun, kills another and
taunts bad guys, takes out their cameras. Bad guys are nervous but can’t
leave. Butcher sends his main hitman to get her, while calling off cops.Turning
Point: Huge failure / Major shift Gang gets to them and they battle. Nikki
hurt near death before she kills another. Find out addict was medic who
gets her better.Act 4:
Final
plan They kidnap antagonist’s brother to find out how to get out, and to
get leverage, and find out key is in addict’s stomach. They are going to
trade him for their lives, when he tries to run and Nikki kills him. And
they did it while the antagonist was watching. He chases them.Climax/Ultimate
expression of the conflict – Nikki fights antagonist, who wants to hurt
her for killing his brother, Addict sacrifices himself for Nikki, who
kills antagonist in brutal way.Resolution
Nikki leaves, and sees girl she saved waiting for experiment. Nikki starts
to collapse, until the girl helps her up and helps her walk on. -
Bevo Beaven’s Four Act Structure.
“What I learned doing this assignment is that using a four-act structure lays out the plot points in a very clearly presented sequence of milestones for the whole story.” It’s so much closer than my first pass an assignment or two ago, but there are tweaks to make, and they will be easier now with the specific turning points already there as a roadmap in all four acts.”
Create a first draft of your 4 Act Structure.
1. Tell us the following:
Concept – Beth wakes up in an
18-wheeling driving across the Utah desert at night, middle of nowhere,
being driven by Marv.
Main Conflict – why is she
there? how’d she get there? how can she get home? she’s slightly injured (shallow
cut in abdomen, not life or death) and needs medical attention. Marv says
he’ll take her to nearest hospital
50 miles away in Blanding, Utah – she needs to know who is Marv,
why is she with him? She needs to get back to New Hampshire for first day
of her new job in electronics sales, supposed to be training with VP of sales
Chris. Marv says he found her off the road in her car passed out and a guy
was trying to stab her and he pulled him off and shoved the guy in the
trunk and took her with him in the truck. Sketchy. Beth needs to know what
really happened to her and why she’s in Utah, not New Hampshire.2. Fill in each of these with the answers you have right now.
Act 1:
Opening – Beth wakes up in Marv’s
truck. Groggy, a million questions.
Inciting Incident – Marv stops at
a tiny truck stop to go to the bathroom, looks back after an interchange
about his cargo and says, “You know I’m here to help you, right?” and when
he leaves Beth in the cab, she finds what looks like a micro-sized push
button transmitter on his seat. Marv wouldn’t answer what he is carrying
so Beth breaks the lock and looks inside the trailer – packed full of
boxes of electronics with her new company’s logo… all exactly the same.
Turning Point – Beth meets
Travis, he’s at first charming in a pretty creepy bad boy male way, as the
minutes progress he cruises in and out of disgusting chauvinist. He’s
fueling his milk tanker truck when Marv comes back to his own 18-wheeler. Beth
shows Travis the button transmitter and asks if he knows what it is for, he
says he has no idea, “just push it.” She does and Marv’s truck blows to smitherines
– huge explosion – just a hulk of burning metal under a mushroom cloud. Beth
is horrified. Travis says I’ll take you rest of the way to Blanding. Her
abdomen is slightly bleeding so she agrees. And there’s no one else
around.Act 2:
New plan – Beth talks with
Travis, she’s trying for information, he’s just focused on sex, talking
about it, she gets angrier with every stupid comment he makes.
Plan in action – Beth tries to find
his button, wants to make him angry so he’ll possibly slip and give her
answers.
Midpoint Turning Point – he says
he’ll tell her something if she has sex with him. She bites her tongue and
says okay and he tells her she was selected, but for what???Act 3:
Rethink everything – Travis suddenly
pulls off the road to try to have sex with Beth. She fends him off,
pushing him down, his head hits a large rock. She think’s he dead.
New plan – Beth figures she’ll bring
Travis’s body to Blanding and explain it to the police. No cell service. She’ll
have to drive the milk tanker truck herself.
Turning Point: Major shift – she hears a faint “help me”
coming from the tank while making her plan, trying to drag Travis, figure
out how to lift Travis’ body into the cab. Beth climbs up on the top, opens
the hatch. A young woman is in there – it’s half full of milk. It’s Leah,
Travis’s wife. While Beth leans over and sees her in there, Travis climbs quietly
up and pushes Beth in. Makes a pithy comment to her and locks down the
hatch.Act 4:
Final plan – Beth talks to
Leah, find’s out Travis put her in the tank, but she doesn’t know why. But
she has made up her mind after 19 years of marriage she is going to kill
him—she knows his weakness. Beth talks her out of it because she needs to
find out what he meant ‘she was
chosen’ and for what. He drives the truck to a dairy and loads the tank
with milk. As it gets deeper they both flounder around. Tread water, hold
on to the side, etc. Beth asks what’s his weakness. Leah tells her.
Climax/Ultimate expression of
the conflict – Travis pulls the truck over as they crest a hill and see
Blanding below them just a few miles away. He wants to tell Beth what’s
going on and he fishes her and Leah out. Explains what’s happening to Leah
and tells Beth something shocking about her past and the son she gave up
for adoption 19 years earlier. Travis: “Don’t you want to meet him?” Beth
gets the advantage over Travis and unhooks the trailer with him tied to
it. She blows up the milk trailer with more of the explosives she found in
the cab. Then drives the tractor into Blanding to a facility Travis told
her about—a huge Amazon-style warehouse complex with signage of her
company on it. She goes inside and find’s out her son’s true identity and
purpose. She destroys the entire complex along with her son (saving the
world as we know it).
Resolution – Beth with one
Secret Service agent. “Give you a ride, ma’am? She just stares. Him: “You
know we’re here to help you, right?” -
Diana’s 4-Act Structure!
What I learned: When you have a good concept, the structure creates itself.
1. Tell us the following:
Concept: Woman set up on blind date with a cannibal.
Main Conflict: Date finds out she is dinner!2. Fill in each of these with the answers you have right now.
Act 1:
Opening: Best friend of Protagonist learns she has been
sleeping with her husband.
Inciting Incident: Friend goes on cannibal café or some
site like that and schedules a date for her friend.
Turning Point: Friend goes on blind date with cannibal
on a yacht.Act 2:
New plan: Forget dating. Don’t get eaten!
Plan in action: Since she cannot escape, she must
either kill the cannibal or trick him into not eating her.
Midpoint Turning Point: Cannibal comes to bring her to
the kitchen.Act 3:
Rethink everything: Forget dating. Kill or be eaten.
New plan: Kill date.
Turning Point: Huge failure/Major shift: She can’t eat
her date because she has fallen in love with him.Act 4:
Final plan: Cannibal couple buy her former best friend
a private chef dinner at their place.
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: Cannibal
couple arrives at friend’s house.
Resolution: Cannibal couple eat husband and force
friend to eat her husband before she becomes dessert. -
Jay’s 4 Act Structure
What I learned from this assignment is that structure is necessary for the base foundation of the story and for supporting all other story elements.
1. Tell us the following:
Concept: When a doomsday comet
appears, colonists on Mars fight to survive the apocalypse.
Main Conflict: While trying to
keep her team alive, the commander fights nature, monsters, and man, the
latter of which who believes he is the savior of the human race.2. Fill in each of these with the answers you have right now.
Act 1:
Opening: During a typical Martian
dust storm, the colonists are burying one of their own. The protagonist helps
dig the grave. While the antagonist leads the prayers, the protagonist
does not participate.
Inciting Incident: An atypical
storm rolls in. As a priority message from Earth comes in, a meteorite smashes
the communications array. The crew must fix the array and retrieve the rest
of message. The commander goes out to fix the array and is killed. The
protagonist has to assume command.
Turning Point: As the meteorites are
not letting up, the protagonist and the team engineer go out to fix the
array. While outside, they experience a Mars quake, which produces a large
crack in the ground. The dead commander falls into the crack. From the
crack they hear a giant shriek.Act 2:
New plan: The commander and the
engineer must fight off the alien monsters while they fix the array.
Plan in action: The array gets
fixed, but the engineer is taken and killed by the alien monsters. The
commander makes it back to the ship. For some, reason the aliens do not
advance on the colony.
Midpoint Turning Point: The
commander, the antagonist, and the computer engineer finally hear the
message. A comet, appearing out of nowhere, is headed for Earth. It’s an
extinction level event.Act 3:
Final plan: Although it could mean
the end of the human race, the commander decides she is not going to give
herself to the antagonist.
Climax/Ultimate expression of the
conflict: The antagonist tries to take her by force. The hero’s mother
visits her; shows her past, present, and future. Tells her she must have
faith; that she will be shown the way. The commander succumbs to the antagonist.
Immediately after, the antagonist claims to own the commander. It is then
that she kills the antagonist.
Resolution: With the computer
engineer by her side, the protagonist gives birth. A priority message
comes in, not from Earth, but from an Earth ship bound for Mars. -
Diana’s 4-Act Structure!
What I learned: When you have a good concept, the structure creates itself.
1. Tell us the following:
Concept: Woman set up on blind date with a cannibal.
Main Conflict: Date finds out she is dinner!2. Fill in each of these with the answers you have right now.
Act 1:
Opening: Best friend of Protagonist learns she has been
sleeping with her husband.
Inciting Incident: Friend goes on cannibal café or some
site like that and schedules a date for her friend.
Turning Point: Friend goes on blind date with cannibal
on a yacht.Act 2:
New plan: Forget dating. Don’t get eaten!
Plan in action: Since she cannot escape, she must
either kill the cannibal or trick him into not eating her.
Midpoint Turning Point: Cannibal comes to bring her to
the kitchen.Act 3:
Rethink everything: Kill or be eaten.
New plan: Kill date.
Turning Point: Huge failure/Major shift: She can’t eat
her date because she has fallen in love with him.Act 4:
Final plan: Cannibal couple “award” her former best
friend a private chef dinner at their place.
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: Cannibal
couple arrives at friend’s house as the chefs.
Resolution: Cannibal couple eat husband and force
friend to eat her husband before she becomes dessert. -
Heather Esancy’s 4 Act Structure
Wow, I learned a lot on the process of these brainstorming exercises. I have already evolved my story and improved upon a few areas. I am trying to keep an open mind and will see where the characters take me. I am just not clear yet on the ending. Side note: 90% of this is based on a true story!! Truth is stranger than fiction!
Here is what I have so far:
Concept:
A widow named Clara with untreated psychological issues fearfully navigates covid in quarantine alone.
Main Conflict:
She believes covid is seeping through the walls of her apartment.
Act 1:
Opening: Clara shops to prepare for the uncertain time ahead. We learn she is a talented artist and that she was married to a much older man.
Inciting Incident: Clara is panic stricken by “Chinese virus” and visibly and irrationally now fearful of Asian people.
Turning Point: We learn Clara’s neighbor in her apartment building is Asian and works at a hospital.
Act 2:
New plan: Clara takes measures for her own safety inside her apartment. She struggles with loneliness and autonomy as a recent widow.
Plan in action: Clara rations food and medicine and begins to decline.
Midpoint Turning Point: Clara’s daughter, Michelle, cannot reach her mother.
Act 3:
Rethink everything: Clara paints wildly bizarre images and her actions become more erratic. She thinks “they” have hacked her computer and have all her bank access.
New plan: We learn the truth about Clara’s family and medical history and mental illness by way of her talking to herself while painting and a photo album. Michelle and Clara exchange several text messages which grow concerning.
Turning Point: Clara flees her home to get to the bank to withdraw all her money. She believes covid has infiltrated her apartment and she will die soon. Clara rifles through papers, stuffs some in her pocket and writes something on a slip of paper. She leaves phone and purse behind.
Act 4:
Final plan: Clara’s daughter and a friend from art class come to check on her and discover Clara’s apartment empty. It is riddled with cleaning fluids, sterile mess. Many bizarre paintings are strewn about, some are still wet. Through scattered documents, we learn Clara received an inheritance.
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: Clara drives absently, as if she is no longer in her body, taking no heed for red lights. Many near misses, and 911 calls to report her, yet she goes undetected and unfound like a bandit.
She is shown in a ditch with her car. She has no food, nor water and has soiled herself. It is the middle of winter and she left the house in short sleeves with no coat. She falls asleep whining for her dead husband. A chicken scratched withdrawal slip dated 3 days prior for $145,928.46 is on the passenger seat.
Resolution: She wakes up in an overwhelmed covid clinic surrounded by dying people and chaos. The antithesis of the “safety” she was seeking.
Clara is injected with something. All we see – a medical name tag reveals Jim Jr., the son of her late husband.
FADE TO BLACK.
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Linda’s 4 Act Structure
I learned that I’m still struggling with the structure but it’s starting to come together.
• Concept: A young Black military chaplain stays behind in an evacuated US military base in Iraq, and his antagonistic base commander allows only one week for him, his assistant, and base interpreter to keep a sacred promise to 20 fallen soldiers who died there in a surprise insurgent attack.
• Main Conflict: Tanji’s divinity-school training and motivation of rivalry with his preacher-father don’t prepare him to handle the war-zone pain, suffering, and danger that forces him to find his true mission in life.
2. Fill in each of these with the answers you have right now.
Act 1:
• Opening: In a large tent in FOB Camp Wolf, 20 standing rifles capped by soldiers’ helmets, are lined up with a pile of effects in front of each
• Inciting Incident: Because it all happened so fast and too many soldiers were killed instantly, Tanji persuades a resistant Major Sloan to let him stay behind to finish finding effects of fallen soldiers and notify their families.
• Turning Point: The base is attacked again. Major Sloan suspects Adiba’s insurgent brother, Baqir, thinks the Americans are holding his sister captive.
Act 2:
• New plan: Against regulations, Major Sloan recruits Tanji’s chaplain assistant, Mario, to report back to him. He’s determined to get rid of Tanji, who’s put all of them in danger.
• Plan in action: Mario is conflicted about the betrayal but judgmental enough of Tanji to comply and anxious that he hasn’t heard from best friend, Trey, after everyone left base.
• Midpoint Turning Point: Baqir shows up with a bomb vest. Adiba is killed.
Act 3:
• Rethink everything: Tanji’s father has a heart attack and wants him to come home and take over his large congregation.
• New plan: Tanji breaks down with Mario and Major Sloan over Adiba, the pain of fulfilling his task for the fallen soldiers, and his broken beliefs. Mario finds unsent email from Trey in Internet Cafe.
• Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift: Tanji tells his father that he’s coming home. He’s a failure in Iraq.
Act 4:
• Final plan: When Mario finds Trey’s effects in the rubble, Tanji disobeys command from Major Sloan to talk Mario down from committing suicide in the bombed-out chapel
• Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: Tanji keeps Mario from blowing up Tanji and himself. Mario agrees to get psych help.
Resolution: Tanji proves he’s a courageous military chaplain. Major Sloan recommends him for a service medal for saving Mario. Adiba appears in the mist and declares her love. Tanji stays to finish his tour of duty in Iraq. His father understands what finding his purpose means to his son.
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<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Jon’s 4 Act Structure
What I learned doing this assignment is how an Act outline can help give you a sense of how much time there is to fill inside an act, which is a good test to see if your turning points are big / dramatic enough.
Title: Pretty Good One
Concept: When an old, married, high school friend shows up at Harsh’s door a day early and without her husband, the two of them discover a renewed chemistry bringing into question where they’ve arrived in life and where they’re heading next.
Main Conflict: Can a married woman figure out if her old best friend is actually her soulmate in the span of twenty-four hours, without betraying her husband?
Act 1 (25 – 30 pages)…
Opening:
-Harsh is settling his uncle’s affairs and getting acquainted with the farm.
-Madline is reading self-help (and / or psych papers on love, maybe visiting a grad school)
-Madeline and her husband are supposed to visit Harsh while they’re in the US
Inciting Incident:
-Madeline and her husband are supposed to visit for the weekend (Friday – Sunday)
Turning Point:
-Madeline shows up alone, sans husband.
Act 2 (20 – 30 pages)…
Reaction:
-They’re completely and utterly professional with each other. Madeline pushes the envelope a bit / breaks the ice (maybe finds their old letters and reads from them)
The Plan:
-They sight-see a bit, around the town, around the farm. She wants to swim in the “crick” (is there one?). More intimate.
-They watch Sliding doors
-They cook dinner together
Turning Point 2:
-Harsh realizes what Madeline’s up to. (she nit-picks an answer he gives and they argue, causing him to figure it out, she reveals her plan, then “so what, If my answers are right you leave your husband?” / “No, maybe, yes.”)
Act 3 (20 – 30 pages)…
New plan:
-Let’s do the 36 questions (https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/09/style/no-37-big-wedding-or-small.html)
-Is this cheating? / Emotionally, but it’s not an affair, so I think we’re good.
Turning Point:
Staring into each other’s eyes for 5 minutes as recommended by the 36 questions
Act 4 (25 pages)…
Climax:
Madeline’s husband shows up. It’s an awkward triangle. She tests the husband in front of Harsh. The husband fails.
Resolution:
Harsh and Madeline both decide she should be with her husband. To trust her gut and everything she’s put into it. (how do they get alone? send him to get a pregnancy test or something, he can borrow Harsh’s car), they have a final convo in the light of day.
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4 Act Structure
Concept: Friends can’t get out of an abandond house. if they get out, they die.
Main conflict: They have only in 59 seconds to dismantle the bomb.
Act 1:
Opening: 4 people happy and drunk end up in an abondond house
Inciting incident: Next morning they found out they can’t get out of the house
Turning Point: One of them blows up into piece when he tries to get out
Act 2.
New Plan: Desperation
Plan in Action: Confessions from all members
Midpoint: Daniel Confesses it was all him
Act 3.
New Plan: Laura’s willing to die
Climax: Laura walks out and bomb didn’t go off
Resolution: Daniel realizes she has right to not to choose him
What I learned doing this assignment is 4 act structure helps organize the major events.
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