Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Using the Three Act Structure

Today, we applied what we learned about the three act structure to the short film Feast. Before re-watching the film, we went over the definitions of placements of major terms such as:

Point of Attack: introduces the main protagonist and environment the world of the film is set in

Inciting Incident: something that happens to the protagonist that causes them to make a decision; starts their journey

Lock-In: character accepts quest

Milestone: first significant accomplishment of character

After reviewing these terms we went right into watching the short. During and after the watching, the class divided the short into the eight sequences of the Three Act Structure. Although we didn't have time to get through all the film, we were able to get a definite point of attack and discussed possible inciting incidents. Keep in mind, the inciting incidents must have a direct relationship with the lock-in.

Next week there will be an in-class writing assignment on Ready Player One. This writing will involve praising or criticizing the book by choosing to write in the perspective of a critical teacher or in the perspective of the author, Ernest Cline. No matter which is chosen, you must justify your argument using specific passages from the entire novel and utilize the three act structure of the book (Hint: The book is divided into three levels, possible acts???). 

The Three Act Structure is a great tool to utilize when analyzing any story, whether from a film or a book. As children, we are a taught a type of structure that restricts us to simply building tension for the sake of a climax and resolution. Now, with this new way of thinking, we can use tension and resolution to do so much more. For example, resolving tension with this structure doesn't stop the story, but instead pushed it onto a different path. This is why movies aren't just ten minutes long but two hours, because there isn't just one type of tension in the entire film but instead a multitude of different tensions to create an even bigger, more compelling climax.

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