Three or Four Act Structure. What the hell is that? Shoot them both, bury them in a shallow grave and let the crows and maggots pick on their rotten bones.
I feel sorry for all the screenwriters or writers out there that have had to sit through the waffle of Three or Four Act Structure and then spent endless hours wondering what to write.
Three Act structure is like saying that a meal consists of a starter, main course and dessert. Four Act structure is like saying there is a break in between the main course for a sip of wine.
These analyses do not tell the writer what to write. For that you need the cookbook. And the best cookbook there is, is the Hero's Journey.
The Hero's Journey is the template upon which the cast majority of successful screenplays are built upon. Films as diverse as Gladiator (2000), Million Dollar Baby (2004), Raging Bull (1980) and Scarface (1983) were all constructed around the Hero's Journey Template.
Three and Four Act Structures were formulated as a broad outline by some dudes that didn't even make it into fifth grade (Aristotle, Socrates, Homer et al). Old School.
Four Act Structure is popular in places where they remain proud of a civilisation that died nearly two thousand years ago. Italy. It's the sun.
The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and FREE 17 stage sample and other story structure templates can be found at
http://managing-creativity.com/.
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Kal Bishop, MBA
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Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. His specialities include Knowledge Management and Creativity and Innovation Management. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached at
http://managing-creativity.com/.
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