THREE-ACT STRUCTURE

The Set Up

ACT 1

ACT 1: SETUP• The First Act is the start, the opening, the part of the story

where everything is established and the board is set. Generally, you want to introduce all your main characters (good and bad), as well as any story-critical props, locations, and relationships. Think of it like a painter setting up their wooden palette: all the colors you’ll need by the end, gather them together now.

ACT 1: SETUP

• In The Avengers, this phase is barely touched upon: the Other speaks of the unsuspecting Earth in the opening monologue, and then we are immediately whisked off to a SHIELD facility where the Tessaract has kicked on, all by itself.

• Characters

• S.H.I.E.L.D Agents (Fury, Hill, Selvig, Hawkeye, Coulson, Black Widow)

• The Bad Guy (Loki)

• Avengers (Rogers, Banner, Stark)

• Dramatic premise--what the story's about

• Dramatic situation--the circumstances

surrounding the action

ACT 1: INCITING INCIDENT

• This is an event that sets the plot of the film in motion. It occurs approximately halfway through the first act.

ACT 1: INCITING INCIDENT

• In The Avengers, the inciting incident is the arrival of Loki: “a powerful and cunning villain has come to Earth with a plan to conquer the world.” Everything else in the film is the direct result of this event.

ACT 1: PLOT POINT #1

• A plot point, often called a reversal, is an event that thrusts the plot in a new direction, leading into a new act of the screenplay.

ACT 1: PLOT POINT #1

• In The Avengers, the first Turning Point can be centered at the launch of the Helicarrier: the Avengers have assembled, everyone begins working to stop Loki, and the adventure is officially underway.

Mounting Tension

ACT 2

ACT 2: MOUNTING TENSION

• The Second Act contains the body of your story, in which the hero and villain begin to struggle against each other in earnest. To build tension, the villain often wins consistently: this makes the enemy seem powerful, and the stakes seem higher. The Second Act often features multiple attempts by the heroes to defeat the villain, each one being rebuffed.

ACT 2: MOUNTING TENSION

• In The Avengers, the Second Act takes place largely on the Helicarrier.

ACT 2: FIRST CULMINATION

• A point just before the halfway point of the film where the main character seems close to achieving his or her goal/objective. Then, everything falls apart, leading to the midpoint.

ACT 2: FIRST CULMINATION

• The heroes begin multiple efforts to stop Loki’s plans.

• Banner searches for the Tessaract

• Captain America confronts Loki in Germany

• Thor tries to bring Loki back to Asgard

• Black Widow manipulates Loki into revealing his plan

ACT 2: MIDPOINT

• Midpoint--a point approximately halfway through the film where the main character reaches his/her lowest point and seems farthest from fulfilling the dramatic need or objective.

ACT 2: MIDPOINT

• In The Avengers, the Midpoint is the attack on the Helicarrier and the release of the Hulk: the stakes are raised, Loki’s power is reinforced in the audience’s mind, the chance of victory seems to be shrinking, and the tension continues to build.

ACT 2: OBSTACLES

• They are unable to defeat Loki. They also begin to confront other obstacles to their success, such as:

• the hostility between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers

• Nick Fury’s deception about the use of the Tessaract

• Bruce Banner’s control of the Hulk

• Hawkeye attacking the Helicarrier.

• By the end, the heroes have begun to fully appreciate how much of a threat Loki is, and they are forced to come together and redouble their efforts to stop him.

Race to the End

ACT 3

ACT 3: RACE TO THE END

• The Third Act contains the climax and the ending, where the problem of the story is resolved and the loose ends are tied up. It’s usually the most exciting part of the film, and will often contain many of the most memorable moments. Emotionally, it usually features things getting ever more dire and hopeless, until the hero wins at the last moment.

ACT 3: RACE TO THE END

• In The Avengers, the Third Act (here, it is also Plot Point #2) begins when the Avengers leave the Helicarrier, having figured out Loki’s plan.

ACT 3: FINAL COMMITMENT

• At the beginning of the Third Act, the hero commits to the final showdown with the villain. There is no longer any turning back, and usually there can be no fall-back plan either: it’s now or never, with everything on the line.

ACT 3: FINAL COMMITMENT

• In The Avengers, this is the Battle of New York, the final showdown with Loki and his army.

ACT 3: CRISIS

• Despite the hero’s best efforts, the villain continues to win. Things get worse and worse and worse, adding tension to the narrative and making the situation ever more dire. Then, just before the climax, events take a sudden turn for the even-worse, ratcheting everything up just a little more.

ACT 3: CRISIS

• In The Avengers, this is the decision by the Council to launch a nuke at Manhattan: all of a sudden the battle to save the city, which hadn’t been going well anyway, gets much more hopeless.

ACT 3: CLIMAX

• The climax isn’t actually the most exciting part of the story, necessarily; rather, it’s the moment when the hero finally succeeds. The problem set up back in the First Act is resolved, and the crisis is overcome.

ACT 3: CLIMAX

• In The Avengers, this is Tony Stark’s delivery of the nuke through the portal just before it closes: the invasion is over, the threat of Loki has been overcome.

ACT 3: DENOUEMENT

• This is the “happily ever after” sequence that rounds out the film. It ties up any loose ends, gives the audience closure, and hints at what happened after the events of the film. In a major franchise, it also often sets up the sequel or teases a future villain.

ACT 3: DENOUEMENT

• In The Avengers, the denouement establishes that Loki has been returned to Asgard, the Avengers have become international heroes, Steve Rogers has found peace in the modern world, SHIELD remains vigilant, and Tony Stark begins work on the future headquarters of the team within Stark Tower. The credits scene also establishes the larger threat looming in the future: Thanos.