These pages have been designed to teach you all about film structure. You can read about narrative structure and complete interactive arcs for the films 'what's eating gilbert grape' and 'hairspray'; once you've got the hang of creating arcs for these two films you can go on to make your own interactive arc for any film.

What is a narrative arc?

A narrative arc is a broad sketch of the high and low points of the dramatic developments, including key turning points and moments of tension within the film.

example: suspense - the shoot out at the end of a thriller
turning point - hero faces a major set back

Classic narrative structure

The classic structure of a Hollywood film follows Todorovian principles: equilibrium - disruption - identification of obstacle - pursuit of goal - struggle - resolution of narrative as a positive outcome, to equilibrium.

Formula
In script writing terms there is a formula you can learn. For example, one page of script equals one minute of screen time, and for purely economic reasons, most features run at 90 to 110 minutes. You can break down the basic structure of the vast majority of films into three acts. The acts are further reduced to scenes, each of which needs to be prefaced with information indicating time and place.

Scenes
Scenes are set up with the minimum of description, placed on the page flush-left. Dialogue sits centre-page. Words used to describe camera placement amount to code phrases such as Angle On (favouring one actor) And Wider Angle. First comes the Set-Up (pages 1 to 30), then the Confrontation (pages 31 to 90), then the Confrontation (pages (31 to 90), and finally the Resolution (pages 91 to 120). Between pages 10 and 15, you need some ?inciting event? that upsets the opening sequence?s order - an event that irrevocably sets the protagonist on his/her quest.

 

 

  1. Notice the scene descriptions at the bottom of the graph. For each scene rate it on a 'dramatic' scale of 1-4 (1 being the lowest - 4 the highest).
  2. Above each scene number pull the circles up or down so they are opposite the relevant rating. This should create an 'arc'.
  3. Type in your reasoning for each rating next to the scene descriptions.
  4. Print out your finished narrative arc.