Blog Post 9: Three Act Structure

The three act structure has three components that define the beginning, middle and end of a film.  The first portion, the beginning, serves as the introduction that sets the precedence for the film and establishes characters, setting and the initial conflict.  Once it reaches the first plot point, at the end of the introduction, the act comes to a close as the stakes escalate and there is an implication of complications to be resolved in the second act.  The first act is usually around thirty minutes long.  The second act, the complications lasting between thirty and sixty minutes, brings forth the main conflict of the film.  The second plot point marks the end of the second act; much like the first plot point propels action into the next act and asks a question that the next act will answer.  The final act, the resolution, resolves the conflicts of the film.  This act structure is usually used for quest stories, triumphant tales and films with happy endings.  The films generally focus on a single protagonist, end with a clear resolution, are goal oriented, and flow in a chronological order.

The film Avatar is a great example of a three act structure.  The introduction, act one, of the film establishes the setting of Pandora and the main characters: Jake Sully, Dr. Grace Augustine, Colonel Miles Quaritch, Trudy Chacon, etc.  As the first act develops, Jake Sully is being slowly immersed into a strange new world.  The stage is set for the plot to unfold when Jake finally enters Pandora’s environment.  The first plot point comes when Jake is left stranded in Pandora’s harsh environment and forced to survive on his own.  This is the point at which the characters and the setting have been well established and now the action transitions toward the main conflict of the story, Jake and his interactions with the natives and Pandora itself.  The defining scene toward this transition to a new complication is personified in Neytiri’s attempt to kill Jake Sully only to recall her arrow at the sight of the strange floating seed from the tree of souls. 

The second act goes deeper into the relationship between Jake Sully and Neytiri and shows him slowly learning their ways to one day be accepted to forewarn them of an impending fate.  Near the end of the act Jake is given an ultimatum to get the Na’vi to leave Home Tree within the hour by Colonel Miles Quaritch and Parker Selfridge.  At this point Jake addresses his reasons for learning the Na’vi’s culture and Neytiri rejects him saying he will “never be one of the people”.  This escalates the stakes for Jake has not only failed to help the people but has also ruined his statues in the community.  The act ends with the destruction of Home Tree that was symbolic of the last form of mediation between the humans and the Na’vi. 

The final act centers on the conflict between the humans and the Na’vi as the film begins the resolve the underlying issue that has always been present.  With their home destroyed and the humans aiming to attack, the Na’vi, and their non-Na’vi assistance, rally together in one final retaliation.  This scene lasts for about forty minutes to an hour and ends with the dramatic battle between Jake Sully and Colonel Miles Quaritch.  The climax of the act is the final resolution between the battle of these two who epitomize the polarities of integration and destruction.  After the death the Quaritch, the climax of the movie is resolved and the rest is merely the falling action.