SET UP YOUR HERO AND THEIR WORLD (Michael Arndt "What I Learned at Pixar")
1. show them doing the thing they love most
2. character's flaw comes out of grand passion
3. storm clouds on horizon
4. bolt from the blue takes away grand passion
5. life is unfair - circumstances of bolt
6. fork in the road -
a. how to deal with new reality
b. high road or low
c. makes unhealthy choice
7. bad choice leads to a accepting the challenge/pursuing the goal
YOUR HERO HAS GOAL AND TAKES ACTION
ACT II A
1. companions and advisors
2. obtacles of increasing difficulty
3. reminder of the stakes
NEW OR HEIGHTENED GOAL SOMETHING HAPPENS TO CAUSE
1. change in stakes - more or different
2. change in method
3. change in character actions/attitude
ACT II B
1. hero changes tactics
2. success in his grasp
3. surprise - it's all fucked up
HERO MAKES A NEW CHOICE OUT OF NEW INSIGHT
1. new goal (old is futile or not enough)
2. protagonist demonstrates character arc by how they resolve the third act conflict
3. TWIST saves the day (set up before midpoint)
SURPRISING, POSITIVE, MEANINGFUL
Wrap up the lose ends, answer audience questions, resolve character relationships.
Post from LEEKS3030 on Reddit:
I did UCLA's professional program, and here are the "guidelines" I learned there. As everyone else is saying: Don't worry about hitting these exactly. And don't worry if you leave some out. Basically, DON'T WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT THIS STUFF. But if you've already got your story figured out, draping it over this skeleton can help you figure out pacing:
5 - Hook. An intro that introduces the main characters and makes us not want to put it down.
10 - Inciting incident. You should know what this is :)
17 - Central Question/Plot engine. What's the main problem your hero is going to try to solve in Act 2? Does your story revolve around some high concept conceit, like time travel? Introduce that around here.
30 - End of Act I. Where you enter the "world of the movie." The hero crosses the threshold and all that jazz.
45 - A big escalation or setback causes the hero to reconsider their initial goal. Maybe they get a new strategy for pursuing it? Maybe it changes? Who knows? Write something good!
60 - Midpoint. The character goes from passive to active in terms of their internal conflict. In a cop movie, this is where the partner dies and "now it's personal."
75 - The false ending. Joe Camps calls this the "reconciliation with the father." Basically, it's where the hero seems to succeed in some big way, but...
90 - The low point's comin', yo. This is the end of the second act. The lowest emotional point of the character's journey. The way they used to look at the world is shattered, and now they need a new worldview to defeat their nemesis. Sometimes there's a sacrifice here (usually a blood sacrifice). Agent smith guns Neo down in the hallway.
90-95 - Preparation for the final battle. The hero picks themselves up an decides what to do.
95ish - The "final battle." This can be a literal battle, or it can be a conversation in a boardroom. But it's the last, biggest obstacle the character will face.
100ish - A bridge scene, sometimes, that gets us to the..
Whateverish - Resolution. Everything gets wrapped up in a neat little packa-guh.
So there you have it. A pretty simple, flexible guideline, if you figure that kind of thing will help you. But, again, hitting the right moment on the right page isn't going to make your story good. You can't calculate your way toward writing something good. But I think as long as you're not approaching it as a formula, but just as a heuristic for keeping all of the various plot points in your head at the same time so you can see the thing as a whole, this doesn't have to be hacky or damaging to the Artfulness of it or whatever.
ACT 1
The screenplay establishes empathy, a connection between the Protagonist and the audience, during his or her initial introduction no more than 10 pages into the script. (specscout)
INCITING INCIDENT
Something happens that turns the Protagonist's world upside-down. Offers a challenge, a call to adventure.
Within the first 20 pages, the Protagonist has an easily established dramatic want or goal and the audience wants the Protagonist to succeed in accomplishing it. (specscout)
ACT 2a
FIRST ATTEMPTS: The character makes first attempts to solve the problem. Usually the simplest, easiest route. These attempts usually fail and result in an increase in complications. Every move the character makes leads to more entrapment.
SUB-PLOT: Intertwines with the main tension in both plot and theme. A channel in which to relate the character’s emotions (in regards to the main tension).
PAGE 60 - MIDPOINT
FIRST CULMINATION: This is the midpoint of the film. If our hero is to win in the end, this then is the first time the character finds a solution that seems to work. Or finds a new or added goal.
In Act 2b, the protag should be working toward the goal in a new way. Possibly with new people.
ACT 2B
NEW ATTEMPTS: By the Midpoint, our hero has failed in his/her first attempts but in failure, becomes aware of the correct method in which to resolve the main tension. He/she then can begin new attempts, faced with new obstacles.
CHARACTER CHANGE: Throughout the second act, the main character starts changing, learning, and developing, or at least intense pressure is put on the character to change, and that change will manifest in the third act.
PAGE 90
MAIN CULMINATION: this is the end of the second act and the point where the protag finds what she thinks she has been doing is not what she has actually been doing or what she needs to do. The tension is at the highest point, and this is the decisive turning point. You must convince the audience that their worst fears are going to come true. This moment will change the main character in some way.
FIRST RESOLUTION: This resolution of the second act tension often spins the character(s) into the third act. (Luke Skywalker and Han Solo rescue Princess Leia from the clutches of evil Vader... but they still have to destroy the Death Star.)
ACT 3
CONDENSED: Fast. Organized. No new characters. No new locations. The story is unraveling.
TWIST: The final twist is a surprising, explainable.
FINAL CULMINATION: Up to this point, our hero tried everything he could, and there is only one way left. In comes the final culmination the main plot and sub-pot merge, propelling hero into a new confrontation with the inevitable.
CHARACTER ARC: The main character is now in a new situation with a new tension, and new choices.
OBLIGATORY SCENE: Then the obligatory scene is one that the viewer expects. In a way, it has been promised to the audience. Pay-off trope.
RESOLUTION: This is the end. The third act conflict is complete, character arc complete, all issues resolved, and the audience sees the new status quo - or what the future holds for the characters.
THE BLAKE SNYDER BEAT SHEET (aka BS2)
Opening Image – A visual that represents the struggle & tone of the story. A snapshot of the main character’s problem, before the adventure begins.
Set-up – Expand on the “before” snapshot. Present the main character’s world as it is, and what is missing in their life.
Theme Stated (happens during the Set-up) – What your story is about; the message, the truth. Usually, it is spoken to the main character or in their presence, but they don’t understand the truth…not until they have some personal experience and context to support it.
Catalyst – The moment where life as it is changes. It is the telegram, the act of catching your loved-one cheating, allowing a monster onboard the ship, meeting the true love of your life, etc. The “before” world is no more, change is underway.
Debate – But change is scary and for a moment, or a brief number of moments, the main character doubts the journey they must take. Can I face this challenge? Do I have what it takes? Should I go at all? It is the last chance for the hero to chicken out.
Break Into Two (Choosing Act Two) – The main character makes a choice and the journey begins. We leave the “Thesis” world and enter the upside-down, opposite world of Act Two.
B Story – This is when there’s a discussion about the Theme – the nugget of truth. Usually, this discussion is between the main character and the love interest. So, the B Story is usually called the “love story”.
The Promise of the Premise – This is the fun part of the story. This is when Craig Thompson’s relationship with Raina blooms, when Indiana Jones tries to beat the Nazis to the Lost Ark, when the detective finds the most clues and dodges the most bullets. This is when the main character explores the new world and the audience is entertained by the premise they have been promised.
Midpoint – Dependent upon the story, this moment is when everything is “great” or everything is “awful”. The main character either gets everything they think they want (“great”) or doesn’t get what they think they want at all (“awful”). But not everything we think we want is what we actually need in the end.
Bad Guys Close In – Doubt, jealousy, fear, foes both physical and emotional regroup to defeat the main character’s goal, and the main character’s “great”/“awful” situation disintegrates.
All is Lost – The opposite moment from the Midpoint: “awful”/“great”. The moment that the main character realizes they’ve lost everything they gained, or everything they now have has no meaning. The initial goal now looks even more impossible than before. And here, something or someone dies. It can be physical or emotional, but the death of something old makes way for something new to be born.
Dark Night of the Soul – The main character hits bottom, and wallows in hopelessness. The Why hast thou forsaken me, Lord? moment. Mourning the loss of what has “died” – the dream, the goal, the mentor character, the love of your life, etc. But, you must fall completely before you can pick yourself back up and try again.
Break Into Three (Choosing Act Three) – Thanks to a fresh idea, new inspiration, or last-minute Thematic advice from the B Story (usually the love interest), the main character chooses to try again.
Finale – This time around, the main character incorporates the Theme – the nugget of truth that now makes sense to them – into their fight for the goal because they have experience from the A Story and context from the B Story. Act Three is about Synthesis!
Final Image – opposite of Opening Image, proving, visually, that a change has occurred within the character.