The reading refers to a ‘Three Act Structure, and suggests it may be prevalent in any form of media (Stadler and McWilliam, 2009). For example a standard three act structure film involves a beginning, middle and an end. The reading references Snakes on a Plane (2006) as an example, perhaps a more relevant example would be the 2010 film 127 hours. The beginning is the set up for the story; Aron Ralston is seen hiking and rock climbing and all is well. However for a compelling dramatic narrative a catalyst must then change the direction of the story, in this instance that catalyst is Aron’s arm being jammed by a fallen rock. The middle see’s the Aron struggling with this catalyst by trying to escape. The end of a three act structure answers the narrative question (Stadler and McWilliam, 2009) and in this case Aron makes the decision to amputate his own arm to free himself answering the question “Will Aron survive/escape this situation?”.
More complex narrative structures that distort the audience’s perception of liner time and cohesion also exist in order to question the cause and effect structure traditionally utilized in three act structure films and classical narration (Stadler and McWilliam, 2009). Time in a film narrative can be presented in numerous ways, whether it is retrospective, using flashbacks like American Beauty (1999) or in reverse order like Memento (2000). Time may also be distorted by fragmenting it into episodes such as in a television series. The effect of the three act structure of an entire story must be altered if it is to become a television series, instead of pacing the plot point along a single 90 – 120 minute screening, the creators must now pace significant events across episodes leaving hints along the way.
References
Stadler, J. & McWilliam, K., 2009, ‘Screen Narratives: Traditions and Trends’ in Screen Media: Analysing Film and Television, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, pp. 155-182
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