eli5: What are “acts” in a movie/film and how are people able to figure out where they start/end? Are there always three acts? More? Less? Please explain.
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Screenwriter here:
Acts are important by 1, organizing the story, and 2, help the story creator.
1:
The acts help the director and screenwriter break up a long story into three parts. Sometimes there are four, but the traditional format is three. Do you need acts? No. The story is usually able to still work, but it’s a bit of a pain when you don’t. Think of it like chapters in a book: would you rather read one, huge chapter where you can get easily lost and confused? Or would you rather it be chopped up into concise, easy to understand chunks?
2:
Writing a movie is really hard. There’s a lot of things to consider like character development, tone, and overall fluidity of the story. Writing a story without an outline is like writing an essay without one: it may sound easier and quicker, but soon you’re going to be asking yourself “what the fuck was I trying to say?” or “where should I put that part?”
Ultimately, acts are there to help with the structure. They may sound annoying and maybe a touch cliche, but they’re important if you want to make a good story.
Hope this helped!
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