The beginning of Act I poses an initial question. Then the end of Act III answers that question. In “Die Hard,” the beginning of Act poses the question of whether the hero will get back with his wife again. By the end of Act III (and the entire movie), that question gets answered. The hero does get back with his wife again.
Try this simple technique with any good movie. In “La La Land” the initial question at the start of Act I is whether the hero will ever achieve her dream to become an actress. By the end of Act III, that question gets answered. The hero finally becomes an actress.
Also notice how the beginning of Act I mirror the end of Act III. In the beginning of Act I in “Alien,” astronauts are waking up from hibernation. By the end of Act III, the sole survivor is putting herself back into hibernation.
In the beginning of Act I in “Die Hard,” the hero is on his way to a Christmas party in a skyscraper. By the end of Act III, he’s leaving the Christmas party.
The beginning of Act I mirrors the end of Act III. This similarity also works for the beginning of Act IIa (30 – 60 minutes) to the end of Act IIb (60 – 90 minutes). In “WALL-E,” the beginning of Act IIa occurs when WALL-E tries to revive Eve after Eve has mysteriously shut down. By the end of Act IIb, WALL-E is heavily damaged and in danger of shutting down so Eve needs to find a way to revive him.
In “Star Wars,” the beginning of Act IIa occurs when Luke decides to leave his planet with Obi-wan. The end of Act IIb occurs when Luke decides to leave the Death Star without Obi-wan.
In “Die Hard,” the beginning of Act IIa occurs when the hero just escaped from the terrorists and is trying to find out what’s going on. By the end of Act IIb, the hero has barely escaped from the terrorists but finally understands what’s going on (the terrorists plan to use the dynamite to blow up the hostages on the roof).
In “Harold and Maude,” the beginning of Act IIa occurs when Harold first gets to know Maude. By the end of Act IIb, Harold has fallen in love with Maude.
Think of Act II (combining Act II and IIb) as telling a single, unified story with its mid point in between like this:
- Hero pursues a goal (beginning of Act IIa)
- Hero achieves a goal (False Victory)
- Hero nearly loses goal (end of Act IIb)
In “WALL-E,” this is how this three-part structure looks:
- WALL-E tries to revive Eve (beginning of Act IIa)
- Hero finally reunites with Eve after she’s no longer dormant (False Victory)
- WALL-E is nearly crushed and Eve tries to revive WALL-E using spare parts (end of Act IIb)
In “Star Wars,” this is how this three-part structure looks:
- Luke agrees to leave with Obi-wan (beginning of Act IIa)
- Luke finally reaches Princess Leia’s planet (False Victory)
- Luke escapes the Death Star after Obi-wan dies (end of Act IIb)
In “Up,” this is how this three-part structure looks:
- The hero (the old man) escapes with his house using balloons (beginning of Act IIa)
- The hero lands his house in a jungle (False Victory)
- The hero leaves his house to help rescue a rare bird (end of Act IIb)
In “Terminator 2,” this is how this three-part structure looks:
- The hero (the good Terminator) goes to rescue Sarah Connor (beginning of Act IIa)
- The hero rescues Sarah Connor (False Victory)
- The hero goes to stop Sarah Connor from killing the inventor of SkyNet (end of Act IIb)
The beginning of Act IIa must be related to the end of Act IIb in showing the hero pursuing a goal and then nearly losing it. Act I and Act III tell the overall story. Act II and Act IIb tell a mini-story related to the hero pursuing a specific goal and coming to a conclusion of some kind.
First, define your overall question in Act I that gets answered in Act III.
Second, define a mini-goal your hero can pursue at the beginning of Act IIa. Then the end of Act IIb is related to this beginning. Act IIa is about the hero entering a strange new world and Act IIb is about the hero dealing with the consequences of entering this strange new world.
The beginning of Act IIa is linked somehow to the end of Act IIb. This helps create a unified story within your overall story defined by Act I and Act III.
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Another great article!