The other day I was in a discussion with the crew, (my idea of a discussion is, I talk and they listennot really but I must admitit does seem like that at times). SuddenlyI was rudely interrupted by a resounding, yeayeawe know! Telling a good story means telling it in athree-act structure. If it was good enough for Shakespeare,Francis Ford Coppola, South Park and every successful storyteller from cave carvings to Broadway itshould be good enough for us.
Their complainingat leastconfirmedthatour discussions actually had been of someenlighteningvalue!
Later that day one of Ferro's seniorstorytellers& DP, FrankS,confronted me with a fantasticobservationregarding mynever-endingpoundingofthe value of thethree-act structure. He commented, Did you ever consider thata perfect illustration of a 3-act story lays out in our normal production day?For those needing a quick and simple refresher of the 3 components necessary to tell a good story, here you go. (Remember, I said quick and simple. NOTE: theater purist standing at the ready to lynch me for the bastardization of your art,I apologize. All I am trying to do is illustrate the basics of great story telling.)
Act1
To establish the main character(s), their relationships to each other and the world around them;to introduce the challenge or conflict that the main character (the protagonist) will inevitably have to face. This call to action and attempt to solve the problem sets up Act 2. This moment is often identified as the initial turning point.
Act2
Here the conflict is exploredand developed.The protagonist attempts to resolve the problem usually with limited or no success.In part, because they havenot yet developed the skills needed to overcome said obstacles. This conflictusuallycomes by way of theantagonist. The antagonist can be presentedin the form of a person, life circumstances or aphysical obstacle.It is here you find the protagonistbegins tocome of age and seek the tools / skills necessary to triumph over the conflict. Thiscoming of age andself-recognitionis thesecondturning point, settingup Act 3.
Act 3
Three can be summed in a single word. Resolution. It is wheretheprotagonistbegins their conquestand believing they will succeed. It is usually where the conflict climaxes,whereeveryone's truecharacter is revealed, lessons are learned and resolution has taken hold.
Nowback to our story.Frank'sobservation.Itwas not takenfromwithin the workings of a project or concept being developed. Itwastaken from our daily lives and a perfect illustration of the Shakespearian line,Life is like a play we merelygo through the stages of our life acting it out.Heobserved that ineach and every production day, Ferro's crew lives and therebycreates a new3 actplay simply by the default act of being.
Act 1
The morning production meeting;eachteam member is called upon to interact with the executive producer, therebybeingintroducedas acharacter. Interaction between crew-members ensuesduring the meetingandcharacter development is exposed. The days assignments and mission is announced and discussed,the turning point is established
Act 2
As we all know, each day and each assignment comes with an array of problems and unexpected challenges, the conflict / antagonist arrives.There are usually several attempts to over come these conflicts.
Act 3
With no option other thantosucceed the Ferro team writes the final act,resolution and lessons learned.
Theresolution of this story is:we all know how to write and construct a successful story. It is the essence of our dailylives. Each of usisconstructinga new and exciting storyeveryday. All you need to do is write them into the simple,flawless,can't miss structure of THE THREE ACT PLAY.
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The other day I was in a discussion with the crew, (my idea of a discussion is, I talk and they listennot really but I must admitit does seem like that at times). SuddenlyI was rudely interrupted by a resounding, yeayeawe know! Telling a good story means telling it in athree-act structure. If it was good enough for Shakespeare,Francis Ford Coppola, South Park and every successful storyteller from cave carvings to Broadway itshould be good enough for us.
