3-Shot Movie structural starting point example by Jeremy Moorshead https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl This is an example of how you can organise your story idea into a structure by copying what you need from this onto your Padlet. en-us 2023-03-15 13:33:05 UTC 2025-04-24 07:19:30 UTC hello@padlet.com Act I - set-up jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517777184 In here you can write ideas for setting, characters (who are they? what do they want?) and ideas for what they're doing. Write out all the ideas that come into your head, don't settle for idea No.1]]> 2023-03-15 13:35:37 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517777184 Inciting Incident jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517780403 What change occurs that shakes up the world of Act I. For character-based ideas, what obstruction stops the character getting what they want? Another character? Their environment? Themselves?]]> 2023-03-15 13:37:36 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517780403 Story question jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517781338 Your story question gets asked here?]]> 2023-03-15 13:38:10 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517781338 Act II jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517788360 What does the character start to do to overcome these obstacles? This is the story's conflict. The 'rule of threes' works well in short-form filmmaking:
1. character tries something = a phenomenon
2. character tries same thing again = pattern to the phenomenon
3. character learns from previous and tries something different = breaks the pattern which leads to the climax]]> 2023-03-15 13:41:55 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517788360 Climax jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517791179 Act II conflict is dramatically resolved]]> 2023-03-15 13:43:43 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517791179 Notes jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517794753 Write out all possible plot ideas for what this might look like. The reason is to run as many ideas by yourself as possible, so you select the most appropriate and not just settle for idea No.1.]]> 2023-03-15 13:46:00 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517794753 Act III - resolution jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517797781 Everything 'back to normal' or moved on to a 'new normal' in a positive way.]]> 2023-03-15 13:47:48 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517797781 What is your story question that the film will answer? jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517799700 Make sure your story question has a binary answer, yes or no. Decide how you answer it, that's how your film resolves the question prompted by the story.]]> 2023-03-15 13:48:56 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517799700 Story question jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517805553 in the set-up, the story question has the potential to be answered the same as your Act III resolution answer. Either yes or no.]]> 2023-03-15 13:51:53 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517805553 Story question jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517810204 Story question gets answer the opposite of the Act III resolution answer. Either yes or no.]]> 2023-03-15 13:54:43 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517810204 Below are different examples of how shots might cross the acts depending on how you cluster your story beats in the adaptation of your story... jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517819501 2023-03-15 14:00:13 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2517819501 Shot 1 jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519615827 In this example, Shot 1 conforms to length of Act I action including Inciting Incident]]> 2023-03-16 15:38:40 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519615827 Shot 2 jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519619645 In this example, Shot 2 conforms to length of Act II action and includes climax]]> 2023-03-16 15:41:08 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519619645 Shot 3 jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519624258 In this example, Shot 3 conforms to length of the Act III resolution]]> 2023-03-16 15:43:53 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519624258 Shot 1 jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519625940 In this example, Shot 1 includes Act I action, Inciting Incident and first part of Act II action]]> 2023-03-16 15:45:05 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519625940 Shot 2 jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519627470 In this example, Shot 2 includes further Act II incidents]]> 2023-03-16 15:46:12 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519627470 Shot 3 jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519629042 In this example, Shot 3 includes climax and Act III resolution action]]> 2023-03-16 15:47:15 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519629042 Shot 1 jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519633085 In this example, Shot 1 conforms to length of Act I action setting up character and scene.]]> 2023-03-16 15:49:39 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519633085 Shot 2 jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519635637 In this example, Shot 2 includes the inciting incident action, all of the Act II conflict and the Climax of the conflict.]]> 2023-03-16 15:51:23 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519635637 Shot 3 jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519637501 In this example, Shot 3 conforms to length of the Act III resolution]]> 2023-03-16 15:52:40 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519637501 What you can see from the above examples is that your shot lengths and the story beat action these reveal, will evolve depending on how you cluster those beats jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519640550 2023-03-16 15:54:38 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519640550 4-point character framework jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519645454 the padlets in blue show how the 4-point character framework conforms to the 3-Act Structure]]> 2023-03-16 15:57:43 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519645454 Who is your character and what do they want jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519647988 2023-03-16 15:59:29 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519647988 What obstructions are in their way jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519648304 2023-03-16 15:59:43 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519648304 What's at stake if they don't get it? jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519649317 2023-03-16 16:00:26 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519649317 What change do they need to make to overcome the obstruction? jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519651995 2023-03-16 16:01:48 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519651995 Act IV - best known as a twist jeremymoorshead1 https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519660605 After everything goes back to normal or a 'new normal' in the Act III resolution, where the story question is answered to yours and the viewers' satisfaction, something happens that flips the story question's answer the other way.

An example of this would be in the short film Switch when audio after the credits suggests that the boy was slapped by the purple tentacle.]]> 2023-03-16 16:07:24 UTC https://padlet.com/jeremymoorshead1/cdws6zwwbmjfm8wl/wish/2519660605