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Screenplay Structure Outline
The structure of a script is the outline of the major milestones that occur in the
protagonist’s pursuit of his external goal, and in his efforts to overcome his
internal problem. For each of the items listed below, write a structural element for
your own script. Note that many structural points should have both an internal
element and an external one.
Statement of Theme (around page 3-5)
In the first few pages of a script, the protagonist (or possibly another main
character) should state the story’s theme out loud. This is the universal question
that embodies what the protagonist will learn (or fail to learn) by the end of the
script.
Statement of Theme:
Setup – First 10%
The opening 10% of your script should establish who the protagonist is, as well
as the other major characters, and what kind of environment the protagonist lives
in. You should reveal the protagonist’s internal problem in this part of your script
and show how it negatively affects his life in order to create sympathy for him
within the audience.
Setup:
First Catalyst – About 10%
This catalyst should shake up the protagonist’s comfortable world and start to
push him toward the pursuit of his external goal. Note that the catalyst should
happen to the protagonist, and not be an action that the protagonist takes.
External Catalyst 1:
Internal Catalyst 1:
Second Catalyst – About 17%
Along with the first catalyst, this second event should lead the protagonist
inevitably toward the pursuit of his external goal, which will begin at Plot Point
One.
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External Catalyst 2:
Internal Catalyst 2:
Plot Point 1 – About 25%
At the 25% point of the script, the protagonist should begin to pursue his external
goal. Often, the location will change at this point to visually represent the
protagonist leaving the comfort of his ordinary world for the dangers of this new
extraordinary world. Plot Point One marks the beginning of Act Two.
External Plot Point 1:
Internal Plot Point 1:
Pinch One – About 37% (also called a “twist” or “complication”)
In between the first plot point and the mid-point, a major event or some new
piece of information should push the story in a different and unexpected
direction. This is often the first serious obstacle that the protagonist faces after he
starts pursuing his goal.
External Pinch 1:
Internal Pinch 1:
Mid-point – About 50%
The mid-point of a screenplay is called the point of no return (or sometimes the
false point of no return). Something should raise the stakes so much for the
protagonist here that it forces him to commit 100% to accomplishing his external
goal. The protagonist often begins focusing more on his internal problem here as
well and the antagonist really starts to turn up the heat.
External MIdpoint:
Internal Midpoint:
Pinch Two – About 62%
Halfway between the mid-point and the second plot point, another major event or
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some new piece of information should push the story in a different and
unexpected direction. Often, the antagonist makes significant progress toward
defeating the protagonist here. It’s common to kill or remove the mentor
character sometime between here and the end of Act Two.
External Pinch 2:
Internal Pinch 2:
Plot Point 2 – About 75%
At this point, the antagonist should defeat the protagonist, making his external
goal seem impossible to accomplish. The antagonist often does this by revealing
the protagonist’s internal problem. This point marks the end of Act Two.
External Plot Point 2:
Internal Plot Point 2:
Crisis
The protagonist returns to his ordinary world at the beginning of Act Three, but
he should now be so changed by everything that he has gone through that he
can no longer be satisfied with the life he led before. This will cause him to make
one final push to accomplish his external goal. This is the true point of no return.
Crisis:
Climax
The protagonist’s final push to accomplish his external goal and to overcome his
internal problem will result in a showdown between him and the antagonist here.
The protagonist usually faces the antagonist alone here, using all of the strength
and knowledge he has acquired throughout the story.
Climax:
Resolution:
There are four possible ways that a screenplay can end:
1. Protagonist overcomes internal problem, but doesn’t accomplish external goal.
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This is an emotionally satisfying ending because the protagonist has realized that
fixing his internal problem, rather than achieving his external goal, is the thing
that will make him truly happy. (Gladiator, Avatar, Casablanca, Rain Man)
2. Protagonist accomplishes external goal, but doesn’t overcome internal
problem.
This is a cautionary tale because the hero never does realize that overcoming his
internal problem is the only thing that will make him truly happy. He goes on
blindly pursuing his external goal, mistakenly believing that it is the one thing that
will make him happy. At the end of this kind of script, it should be obvious that the
protagonist is still unhappy. (Black Swan, The Hurt Locker, Memento, Social
Network)
3. Protagonist fails at external goal and at overcoming internal problem.
This is a tragedy. (Brokeback Mountain, Fargo, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance
Kid, A Serious Man)
4. Protagonist succeeds at external goal and at overcoming internal problem.
This is a typical Hollywood feel-good movie.
(Slumdog Millionaire, Precious, Juno, Star Wars, Django Unchained)
Resolution:
The Aftermath
It’s usually a good idea to include a scene at the end of a script to show how
much the protagonist has grown since the beginning of your story. A possible
way to do this is to repeat a scene from the beginning of the story that the
protagonist didn’t handle well, but now he does handle it well because of the
things he has learned since that point.
Aftermath:
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