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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Just like in modern songs, there are trends in the structure of movies. For example, a common structure for a song is often something along the lines of verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus (a lot of songs may also start off with a chorus and then lead into the first verse as well). Most movies work in a similar way where the structure of the movie generally starts with an intro, rising action, and then falling action. These 3 terms are effectively synonymous with Act I, Act II, and Act III in a 3 Act movie, but there are of course other movie structures. In the first act of a film, the characters, setting, etc. are introduced. In the second act, some level of tension is created with those characters responding to it in kind. In the third act, that tension builds up and is then resolved.
If you want to give an example of a popular movie (hopefully I’ve seen it), I can generally identify when each act starts and ends if you’d like.
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