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As all of us screenwriters know, act 1 of your screenplay is the most important one in terms of grabbing the attention. In fact, most readers at a company won’t even read past page 5, let alone page 25 to see if your script is up to standard.
So, how do you make sure they keep reading? Past page 1, page 5 and all the way to page 25 and beyond? In short, how do you bullet proof act 1 of your screenplay?
You Do It By Making Sure Act 1 Of Your Screenplay Contains 12 Key Scenes
These 12 scenes reveal to the audience in a step by step nature the nature of your protagonist, antagonist and the conflict between them. They reveal the emotional beats your protagonist goes through in becoming aware of the conflict, and finally reacting to it at the end of Act 1.
In his book, Jeffrey Alan Schecter reveals his 12 Plot Points in Act 1.
I will start by describing them here, before breaking down Act 1 of Identity Thief into these 12 scenes. These plot points can be, in most cases, thought of as scenes, and are a great way of focusing your story and making sure the audience is clear on its conflict.
PP 1
We meet either the protagonist / antagonist / victim or stakes character.
PP 2
We see the protagonist’s flaw in relation to the stakes character.
PP 3
We meet the antagonist, or amplify what we already know about them.
PP 4
A deflector slows down the protagonist. His / her problem is amplified.
PP 5
The Call to Action. The protagonist is hit by a major blow by the antagonist. Their world is tipped upside-down and they are now aware they have a big problem.
PP 6
The statement of the protagonist as it relates to the stakes character. Problem is made clear to the audience.
PP 7
An Ally helps propel the protagonist out of his / her comfort zone.
PP 8
The protagonist seems ready to move forward in their goal and / or towards the stakes character but just can’t do it.
PP 9
The antagonist / deflector attacks / shocks the protagonist -- the dramatic question is raised as the protagonist realizes what the movie’s about.
PP 10
The depth of feeling between the protagonist and the stakes character becomes evident.
PP 11
The antagonist or deflector threatens to take the stakes character away from the hero.
PP 12
The protagonist decides he / she must act to save the stakes character.
Now, these are just basic outlines of the scenes / beats, but if you want to get a more in-depth analysis of them, I suggest you get on Amazon and order yourself a copy of the book.
As an example we have broken down Act 1 from Identity Thief into an outline, along with its 12 key plot points.
12 Plot Points in Identity Thief
PP 1 / 2
At work, Sandy Patterson answers his cell — it’s a woman from the fraud protection department who says they’ve just stopped his identity being stolen. She asks if he wants to take out their protection plan. We see that she’s an overweight woman, Diana, making the call from a mall in Florida. Sandy gives her his financial details and she silently celebrates.
We meet either the protagonist / antagonist / victim or stakes character: In the first scene of the movie, we meet Sandy and Diana — protagonist and antagonist — in direct conflict with one another. This is the inciting incident that kicks everything off -- Diana stealing Sandy's identity.
We see the protagonist’s flaw in relation to the stakes character: This scene melds Plot Points 1 and 2 together as we also see how easily Sandy is duped by Diana, showing his flaw. Note that Diana may not be a stakes character at this moment in time, but she becomes one as the story progresses.
PP 3
At home, Diana makes another fake credit card. Her whole house is a forgery den.
That night, Diana enters a club. At the bar, she calls herself “Sandy” and starts a tab with his fake credit card. She starts chatting to a couple of guys. Later, she’s incredibly drunk and buying rounds for everyone as they chant her name. She falls down, but is okay. The barman tells her these people are only her friend because she’s buying them drinks.
Outside the club, Diana is arrested by two cops. She throws up on one while doing a breathalyzer test. At the precinct, she has a mug shot taken.
We meet the antagonist, or amplify what we already know about them: This scene amplifies what we already know about Diana — not only is she a con artist, but she’s elevated forgery to an art-form.
PP 4
At home, Sandy blows out his birthday cake with his wife, Trish, and two little girls. Later, Sandy tells Trish how he worries about money — the new baby etc. She tells him he’s going to get promoted and everything’s going to be fine.
A deflector slows down the protagonist. His / her problem is amplified: We see that Sandy is a guy with a family to support, but is not doing too great financially.
PP 5
Next day, Sandy sits in traffic. He arrives at work. His immediate boss, Daniel, talks to him. Another colleague tells Sandy he’s wanted in Harold’s office. Harold tells Sandy to cut some bonus checks, but they’re only for partners, not Sandy. Sandy complains — they haven’t had a bonus for three years. Harold is a real jerk and brushes him off with “the economy is changing”, etc.
The screenplay’s Call to Action. The protagonist is hit by a major blow by the antagonist. Their world is tipped upside-down and they are now aware they have a big problem: Sandy realizes he’s not getting that bonus. Ever. Is he going to be able to survive with another kid on the way?
PP 6
Later, Sandy processes the bonuses, and sees one to Harold for over $1,000,000. He answers his cell — it’s a hairdresser in Florida calling about his appointment. Daniel interrupts and asks Sandy to meet him in the parking lot later.
The statement of the protagonist as it relates to the stakes character. Problem is made clear to the audience: Now we know just how slow on the uptake Sandy is. He gets a call from a hairdresser in Florida and yet is still oblivious to the fraud.
PP 7
In the parking lot, Sandy meets Daniel and a group of other colleagues. They tell him they’re starting their own firm and taking all Harold’s clients. Sandy will be a VP on 250,000. Sandy smiles.
At their kid’s soccer game, Trish is overjoyed when Sandy tells her the news.
An Ally helps propel the protagonist out of his / her comfort zone: Sandy gets a lifeline from Daniel who offers him a great opportunity to be part of his new company. It’s a risk, but one Sandy can’t resist.
Montage — Diana goes shopping: In a mall, Diana tries on a new ring. She shows her ID — “Sandy Patterson”. She sees a couple of women giggling about her as she has her make up done. She flirts with a check out guy. Another guy says her card was declined, so she gives him another one.
PP 8
Next morning, Sandy brushes his teeth with his kids. He drives, but runs out of gas. At the gas station, his credit card is declined. Inside the station, he gives it to the attendant who says he has to cut it. They argue, but the card gets cut.
Sandy drives. He receives a call and a woman from the bank tells him he’s in debt since spending all his money in Florida. He’s pulled over by the cops and arrested.
At the police station, the officer tells Sandy he’s being booked for assault in Florida, and that he missed his court date. Sandy tries to explain it’s not him.
The protagonist seems ready to move forward in their goal and / or towards the stakes character but just can’t do it: Sandy is repeatedly told he’s got a problem with his credit, but refuses to believe it and eventually gets arrested. Note how his actions relate directly to his flaw established back in Plot Point 2.
PP 9
Later, Sandy’s un-cuffed. The officer explains how he’s had his identity stolen by Diana, but they can’t arrest her because they’re Denver PD, but she’s being handled by Florida PD. Not only that but only 5 to 10 per cent are solved. Sandy can’t believe it.
The antagonist / deflector attacks / shocks the protagonist -- the dramatic question is raised as the protagonist realizes what the movie’s about: Finally, Sandy realizes what’s going on — his identity’s been stolen by a woman named Diana in Florida.
PP 10
Sandy arrives at work. Daniel knows about Sandy’s finances being screwed. Sandy tries to explain, but the officer arrives and says his name and credit cards have turned up in a narcotics bust. They have a warrant to search his workplace for drugs and guns.
The depth of feeling between the protagonist and the stakes character becomes evident: In this scene we learn that not only has Sandy had his identity stolen but, thanks to Diana, he’s now a suspect in a narcotics ring. The “depth of feeling” between protagonist and antagonist becomes more evident as the stakes are raised for Sandy even further.
PP 11
Later, the officer says Sandy is in the clear, but Daniel says he has to let him go.
The antagonist or deflector threatens to take the stakes character away from the hero: Daniel is the deflector character who threatens to take away Sandy’s job, which would take Sandy further away from his real stakes character(s) — his family. Unless…
PP 12
Later, Sandy is looking at his call register on his cell and realizes he knows Diana. The officer says he needs her to be here, not in Florida. Sandy says he can get her. He will bring her back and convince her to get him his job back. Daniel is reluctant to let him go, but gives in and gives him one week. Sandy rushes out — that’s all he needs.
At home. Sandy calls the hairdresser in Florida for their address. He packs and argues with Trish who’s afraid he’ll get hurt. He shows her the mug shot of Diana again, saying she’s not dangerous. He says goodbye to the kids.
The protagonist decides he / she must act to save the stakes character: Sandy makes the big decision at the end of Act 1 — he must go to Florida to bring Diana back within one week. He thinks he’s just saving himself and his family, but he will in fact end up saving the movie’s other stakes character as well — Diana.
***
And that’s the 12 key plot points... Now it's time for you to go through your first act and see if you can tighten it up by applying these scenes and emotional beats.
Please remember, these kind of tools are best employed when you've already written your own outline or draft of Act 1, and want to tighten them up, rather than using these plot points as a starting point of your creativity.
It's never a good idea to stick too rigidly to a set formula, so if your Act 1 dictates a different direction in certain places, just go with it, and then use these beats to focus your ideas, your character intros and conflict if needs be.
Let us know what you think about this method to bullet proof your Act 1 in the comments section on the post! :http://www.scriptreaderpro.com/act-1-of-your-screenplay/
So, how do you make sure they keep reading? Past page 1, page 5 and all the way to page 25 and beyond? In short, how do you bullet proof act 1 of your screenplay?
You Do It By Making Sure Act 1 Of Your Screenplay Contains 12 Key Scenes
These 12 scenes reveal to the audience in a step by step nature the nature of your protagonist, antagonist and the conflict between them. They reveal the emotional beats your protagonist goes through in becoming aware of the conflict, and finally reacting to it at the end of Act 1.
In his book, Jeffrey Alan Schecter reveals his 12 Plot Points in Act 1.
I will start by describing them here, before breaking down Act 1 of Identity Thief into these 12 scenes. These plot points can be, in most cases, thought of as scenes, and are a great way of focusing your story and making sure the audience is clear on its conflict.
PP 1
We meet either the protagonist / antagonist / victim or stakes character.
PP 2
We see the protagonist’s flaw in relation to the stakes character.
PP 3
We meet the antagonist, or amplify what we already know about them.
PP 4
A deflector slows down the protagonist. His / her problem is amplified.
PP 5
The Call to Action. The protagonist is hit by a major blow by the antagonist. Their world is tipped upside-down and they are now aware they have a big problem.
PP 6
The statement of the protagonist as it relates to the stakes character. Problem is made clear to the audience.
PP 7
An Ally helps propel the protagonist out of his / her comfort zone.
PP 8
The protagonist seems ready to move forward in their goal and / or towards the stakes character but just can’t do it.
PP 9
The antagonist / deflector attacks / shocks the protagonist -- the dramatic question is raised as the protagonist realizes what the movie’s about.
PP 10
The depth of feeling between the protagonist and the stakes character becomes evident.
PP 11
The antagonist or deflector threatens to take the stakes character away from the hero.
PP 12
The protagonist decides he / she must act to save the stakes character.
Now, these are just basic outlines of the scenes / beats, but if you want to get a more in-depth analysis of them, I suggest you get on Amazon and order yourself a copy of the book.
As an example we have broken down Act 1 from Identity Thief into an outline, along with its 12 key plot points.
12 Plot Points in Identity Thief
PP 1 / 2
At work, Sandy Patterson answers his cell — it’s a woman from the fraud protection department who says they’ve just stopped his identity being stolen. She asks if he wants to take out their protection plan. We see that she’s an overweight woman, Diana, making the call from a mall in Florida. Sandy gives her his financial details and she silently celebrates.
We meet either the protagonist / antagonist / victim or stakes character: In the first scene of the movie, we meet Sandy and Diana — protagonist and antagonist — in direct conflict with one another. This is the inciting incident that kicks everything off -- Diana stealing Sandy's identity.
We see the protagonist’s flaw in relation to the stakes character: This scene melds Plot Points 1 and 2 together as we also see how easily Sandy is duped by Diana, showing his flaw. Note that Diana may not be a stakes character at this moment in time, but she becomes one as the story progresses.
PP 3
At home, Diana makes another fake credit card. Her whole house is a forgery den.
That night, Diana enters a club. At the bar, she calls herself “Sandy” and starts a tab with his fake credit card. She starts chatting to a couple of guys. Later, she’s incredibly drunk and buying rounds for everyone as they chant her name. She falls down, but is okay. The barman tells her these people are only her friend because she’s buying them drinks.
Outside the club, Diana is arrested by two cops. She throws up on one while doing a breathalyzer test. At the precinct, she has a mug shot taken.
We meet the antagonist, or amplify what we already know about them: This scene amplifies what we already know about Diana — not only is she a con artist, but she’s elevated forgery to an art-form.
PP 4
At home, Sandy blows out his birthday cake with his wife, Trish, and two little girls. Later, Sandy tells Trish how he worries about money — the new baby etc. She tells him he’s going to get promoted and everything’s going to be fine.
A deflector slows down the protagonist. His / her problem is amplified: We see that Sandy is a guy with a family to support, but is not doing too great financially.
PP 5
Next day, Sandy sits in traffic. He arrives at work. His immediate boss, Daniel, talks to him. Another colleague tells Sandy he’s wanted in Harold’s office. Harold tells Sandy to cut some bonus checks, but they’re only for partners, not Sandy. Sandy complains — they haven’t had a bonus for three years. Harold is a real jerk and brushes him off with “the economy is changing”, etc.
The screenplay’s Call to Action. The protagonist is hit by a major blow by the antagonist. Their world is tipped upside-down and they are now aware they have a big problem: Sandy realizes he’s not getting that bonus. Ever. Is he going to be able to survive with another kid on the way?
PP 6
Later, Sandy processes the bonuses, and sees one to Harold for over $1,000,000. He answers his cell — it’s a hairdresser in Florida calling about his appointment. Daniel interrupts and asks Sandy to meet him in the parking lot later.
The statement of the protagonist as it relates to the stakes character. Problem is made clear to the audience: Now we know just how slow on the uptake Sandy is. He gets a call from a hairdresser in Florida and yet is still oblivious to the fraud.
PP 7
In the parking lot, Sandy meets Daniel and a group of other colleagues. They tell him they’re starting their own firm and taking all Harold’s clients. Sandy will be a VP on 250,000. Sandy smiles.
At their kid’s soccer game, Trish is overjoyed when Sandy tells her the news.
An Ally helps propel the protagonist out of his / her comfort zone: Sandy gets a lifeline from Daniel who offers him a great opportunity to be part of his new company. It’s a risk, but one Sandy can’t resist.
Montage — Diana goes shopping: In a mall, Diana tries on a new ring. She shows her ID — “Sandy Patterson”. She sees a couple of women giggling about her as she has her make up done. She flirts with a check out guy. Another guy says her card was declined, so she gives him another one.
PP 8
Next morning, Sandy brushes his teeth with his kids. He drives, but runs out of gas. At the gas station, his credit card is declined. Inside the station, he gives it to the attendant who says he has to cut it. They argue, but the card gets cut.
Sandy drives. He receives a call and a woman from the bank tells him he’s in debt since spending all his money in Florida. He’s pulled over by the cops and arrested.
At the police station, the officer tells Sandy he’s being booked for assault in Florida, and that he missed his court date. Sandy tries to explain it’s not him.
The protagonist seems ready to move forward in their goal and / or towards the stakes character but just can’t do it: Sandy is repeatedly told he’s got a problem with his credit, but refuses to believe it and eventually gets arrested. Note how his actions relate directly to his flaw established back in Plot Point 2.
PP 9
Later, Sandy’s un-cuffed. The officer explains how he’s had his identity stolen by Diana, but they can’t arrest her because they’re Denver PD, but she’s being handled by Florida PD. Not only that but only 5 to 10 per cent are solved. Sandy can’t believe it.
The antagonist / deflector attacks / shocks the protagonist -- the dramatic question is raised as the protagonist realizes what the movie’s about: Finally, Sandy realizes what’s going on — his identity’s been stolen by a woman named Diana in Florida.
PP 10
Sandy arrives at work. Daniel knows about Sandy’s finances being screwed. Sandy tries to explain, but the officer arrives and says his name and credit cards have turned up in a narcotics bust. They have a warrant to search his workplace for drugs and guns.
The depth of feeling between the protagonist and the stakes character becomes evident: In this scene we learn that not only has Sandy had his identity stolen but, thanks to Diana, he’s now a suspect in a narcotics ring. The “depth of feeling” between protagonist and antagonist becomes more evident as the stakes are raised for Sandy even further.
PP 11
Later, the officer says Sandy is in the clear, but Daniel says he has to let him go.
The antagonist or deflector threatens to take the stakes character away from the hero: Daniel is the deflector character who threatens to take away Sandy’s job, which would take Sandy further away from his real stakes character(s) — his family. Unless…
PP 12
Later, Sandy is looking at his call register on his cell and realizes he knows Diana. The officer says he needs her to be here, not in Florida. Sandy says he can get her. He will bring her back and convince her to get him his job back. Daniel is reluctant to let him go, but gives in and gives him one week. Sandy rushes out — that’s all he needs.
At home. Sandy calls the hairdresser in Florida for their address. He packs and argues with Trish who’s afraid he’ll get hurt. He shows her the mug shot of Diana again, saying she’s not dangerous. He says goodbye to the kids.
The protagonist decides he / she must act to save the stakes character: Sandy makes the big decision at the end of Act 1 — he must go to Florida to bring Diana back within one week. He thinks he’s just saving himself and his family, but he will in fact end up saving the movie’s other stakes character as well — Diana.
***
And that’s the 12 key plot points... Now it's time for you to go through your first act and see if you can tighten it up by applying these scenes and emotional beats.
Please remember, these kind of tools are best employed when you've already written your own outline or draft of Act 1, and want to tighten them up, rather than using these plot points as a starting point of your creativity.
It's never a good idea to stick too rigidly to a set formula, so if your Act 1 dictates a different direction in certain places, just go with it, and then use these beats to focus your ideas, your character intros and conflict if needs be.
Let us know what you think about this method to bullet proof your Act 1 in the comments section on the post! :http://www.scriptreaderpro.com/act-1-of-your-screenplay/
