Let's learn about the Three-act structure model in screenwriting

Screenwriting is the most important step in the filmmaking process. The cinematic story is like a puzzle: various stories and different events are written together within a context that makes them meaningful. Just as a sailor needs a map to know the path of his journey, the screenwriter needs his own map in order to keep the events of the film connected to each other in a logical manner. This map is called the three-act structure. So what is this map? How is this structure used in writing films? What is the Three-act structure model? It is a narrative model that divides the film’s story into three sections or phases. These sections represent the movement of the story’s development and the escalation and decline of its events as well. The three sections are usually referred to as follows: 1- Preparation phase 2- The phase of confrontation and conflict 3- Develop the solution and the result. Why do we use the Three-act structure model? As I mentioned previously, this model is a map for the writer, helping him tell his story in a logical and coherent way instead of losing the plot by presenting it randomly and scattered. Also, using this model helps the writer keep the viewer interacting and connected to the events of the story without feeling bored or fed up.

The three phases of the Three-act structure model: - The first phase: The preparation phase. In this phase, the writer introduces the viewer to the world of the story and its characters. Who are the characters? What is the nature of their relationship?

Where do they live?

Where and when? In today's article, we will discuss the movie The Lord of the Rings, and we will try to project this model onto the film scenario. Middle-earth and its history that led to the events of the film are introduced, as we will see later, in addition to introducing the main characters (Bilbo, Frodo, Baggins, and Gandalf) and other secondary characters who have a role in the course of the story. We are also introduced to the village in which the Hobbits live or the main heroes and characters of the story.

The end of the first phase is called (the first turning point or the first plot), and it is the event that ends the definition and preparation phase and pushes the hero of the story out of his world by presenting him with a challenge that forces him to confront it, and here the second phase (confrontation or conflict) begins. Returning to the example from the movie The Lord of the Rings, this turning point is Bilbo’s disappearance and his abandonment of the Ring. The following is a list of the most important points included in the first phase (the preparation phase): - The second phase: the confrontation and conflict phase. In this phase, the hero confronts the challenge presented to him at the end of the preparation phase, and the conflict phase is divided into two basic parts separated by (the midpoint), where in the first part of this phase the hero refuses to accept the challenge, despite the presence of demands for him to accept the challenge and return to the homeland, the kingdom, or work..

etc. New characters are introduced in the story, based on our example from the movie The Lord of the Rings. This stage begins when Gandalf commissions Frodo to take the ring and deliver it to Rivendell, where Frodo leaves his home and his world that he has known since he was young to go on a journey of unknown fate. In the second part of the conflict phase, the hero accepts the challenge and returns to recover what he lost at the beginning of the story. It may be a throne or an invention that was stolen from him, or he wants revenge on his enemies. In the movie The Lord of the Rings, this phase begins when Frodo accepts to deliver the ring to Mount Doom in Mordor to destroy it.

The events of the story escalate and Frodo and his friends face many obstacles, ending with the death of Gandalf in the catacombs of Moria, the kingdom of the dwarves. This event announces the end of the second phase, the conflict phase, and the entry into the final phase of the film, which is the resolution or outcome phase. The following is a list of the most important points included in the second phase (the confrontation and conflict phase): - The third phase: the solution and outcome phase. At the beginning of this phase, the hero faces the main challenge, and answers the questions that were posed in the first and second phases of the story.

Will the ring reach Mordor?

What will the road be like after Gandalf's death? This phase ends either with the hero winning, the threatening danger removed, and living in peace forever, or everyone dies and the villain escapes. Frodo and his friends face the army of the Orcs sent by Sauron the White Magician, and one of the heroes dies at their hands (Bormir, the son of the ruler of Gondor). This loss is a great loss for the heroes of the story, which prompts them to disperse and distract the enemy, and Frodo and Sam go on their way towards Mordor to destroy the Ring.

Below is a list of the most important points included in the third phase (the solution and outcome phase): Now, after this lengthy explanation, you will fully understand the importance of this model in writing the correct screenplay, and the importance of this compass that the screenwriter takes in determining the direction of the film and the path through which it passes. Remember in the future and when you write the script for the movie you are working on, remember to use this model and apply it to your story, until we meet in a new article. I would like to remind you that if you find any questions, you can send your inquiries through our accounts on the social networking sites - Facebook.

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