Film Structures

Throughout the short films I have seen, many different approaches to structure and narrative have been used, form viewing the events in reverse, to a single act with no clear development, or even a completely unconventional approach with no clear distinct acts involved.
In film there are many well accepted and commonly used structural archetypes put forward by different practitioners being Propp, Todorov and Levi-Strauss. However the earliest and most widely accepted is that of the Three Act Structure. As the name suggests this theory suggest a story must contain three acts:-
Set-up- Essentially exposition. Establishes the main players and their relationships as well as their world. Within the first act, the inciting incident often occurs which begins the quest and transitions into Act 2.
Confrontation- Also known as 'rising action', the protagonist attempts to put right the inciting incident, but finds the situation only gets worse. Just as things are looking down, a way to stop the incident arises and the protagonist must learn new skills in order to stop the antagonist.
Resolution- Finally all the tensions of the story arise to their highest point as the story draws t a dramatic conclusion where the primary dramatic questions are answered. The protagonist ends with a better sense of who they truly are.


This is a fairly famous theory and is widely accepted and seen in much of media (look at any children's film and this structure is very evident). However some practitioners put forward alternate suggestions for archetypal stories. Vladimir Propp suggested seven basic character functions commonly seen in media.
The villain, the dispatcher (send the hero on their quest), the helper (a magical entity who helps the hero), the princess or prize (the reward for completion of the quest), the donor (prepares the hero, often a master figure), the hero, the false hero (someone who tries to take the hero's prize and claim credit for their achievements).
Through these seven characters we can again relate them to many stories (primarily those of children's fairy tales). This theory is not accurate anymore however as more story structures are being explored so this ceases to work as well as film increases in complexity as a medium.


Another famous theorist is Todorov, who suggested an alternate five act structure going against the pre-established structure.
Equilibrium- The world is at peace, the heroes are content.
A disruption- The pre-existing peace is disrupted and the equilibrium is knocked out of balance.
Realisation- People catch on to the disruption and chaos ensues, the world is changed. Often here is where the hero first sets out.
Restored Order- The hero completes their quest, conquering the forces of antagonism. Often this is the largest act, taking up most of the story.
Equilibrium Restored- Once again, the world is at peace and the heroes are content, but are forever changed by their experiences.
Todorov suggest a less specific theory here, and one that is perhaps applicable to far more stories and mediums. I think it is far better than three act structure but is still limited as many stories arise now where the heroes do not succeed and we see more and more alternative structures beginning to arise.


Finally, Claude Levi-Strauss suggested a third theory. Binary opposites. By analysing many myths he concluded there to be two forces, thesis and antithesis, which by the stories conclusion form into synthesis. He believes the human mind functions only in these polar opposites and that their unification (or synthesis) is what makes existence possible. He also considered the job of a myth to be to associate two binary oppositions, one that cannot be resolved and one that can, in order to create the illusion of change or resolve of the irresolvable.
I believe most of these theories are applicable to short film, especially Levi-Strauss' binary opposites as they are quickly recognisable by any viewer. Commonly, the three act structure is vastly shortened and compacted in short film, retaining similar proportions just in a much smaller time frame, with very short first and third acts. Propp's theory is the hardest to apply, with most of the seven characters being difficult to set up in a single short film, however, many of the character archetypes can be repurposed and combined to lessen the amount of character introductions, but all the same functions can be achieved.
The most likely of these theories to have an effect on my work is probably that of the Three Act structure, which my second script, Blue ties into well but in a slightly unconventional way. The Set-up essentially extends from the very beginning until his monologue about the meaning of life. Then, the confrontation comes in the form of the girl, and the shoulder touch, up until finding her again at the party but seeing she is with others. The resolution only presents itself when she exits out on to the roof with him, and is incredibly short, and not really a true resolution as we do not know if his loneliness is ever truly resolved.