Essay of the Month: The First Act

This is going to be a long one. There is a lot to go over concerning most of the shape of the First Act, which consists of the opening moments of the story; the inciting incident, or incidents as there can be more than one; and the last bit, the first act turn.

This is going to be based on a three-act structure, which most writers use and most people prefer to watch. The first act is basically where you set everything up, as was stated in the previous Essay of the Month: The Elements of a Story. Here's a recap if you have trouble remembering:

"Also called 'exposition', the 'beginning' is where everything is set up: you have a place, a time or time period, characters that will meet and conflict ensues. The characters are usually the source of the conflict. Maybe they don't like each other for whatever reason - it has to be a pretty strong reason or the story will fall flat. Although other characters don't have to be the conflict in the story. Maybe the main character decides to embark on a journey of self-discovery and there is no one to blame but themselves."

"Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist 

in creating out of a void, but out of chaos; 

the materials must in the first place be afforded; 

it can give form to dark, shapeless substances,
but cannot bring into being the substance itself."

~ Mary Shelley

The First Thing That They See:

"Begin with an image. [...] The eye picks up details much more quickly than the ear, and nothing's more disconcerting than staring at talking heads. In a way, you haven't earned the right to open verbally. Your audience doesn't yet know the people speaking; they haven't decided whether the characters are interesting enough to pursue. Let your audience watch your characters for a bit, assess their actions, and make some initial assumptions. Doing so keeps your audience actively involved in guessing what your story will be.

"Also, everything that happens in the first moments of a film is important. If you provide vital information verbally, your audience is likely to miss it in their quest to appraise the environment visually. People come to the movies to see pictures in motion. Why begin with anything else?" (Source #1)

Ultimately it is the director's decision on what to shoot. But if you can hook somebody in with a concise description of something visual from the first moment, you're a lot more likely to get read and considered. It also depends on the genre. For a horror movie, you could open with a plain, brick wall with drops of red paint dripping down its side; and then pan slowly backwards to reveal that there are severed heads on the wall.

Picture found here.

The Opening Moments:

Within the first ten pages or so, much of the back story must be explained here: what time period it is, who the main characters are, and what their 'problems' may be. Tip: Once you set that up most of the audience is going to expect that these 'problems' of theirs will be 'fixed' in some way at the end of the story.

For an example, in a romantic comedy, or rom-com, the main character is lonely and searching for love for a variety of reasons. Or just one *cough* sex *cough*. Those reasons must be stated somehow or their 'problems' won't get 'fixed'. In an action-adventure picture, the main hero, or heroine, must defeat the bad guy, usually by taking a very long trip and kicking ass the whole way. The bad guy may not be bad at first (usually it is very obvious who the protagonist's opponent is), that may come later and be explained by actions or decisions he/she makes that causes the inciting incident.

But, no matter what the genre, try to make your characters worth a damn (or at least the cost of a theatre ticket). Also, you're writing what will (hopefully) be turned into something visual, so keep that in mind.

"The first ten pages provide an initial criterion on which to judge the ensuing story. They should provide just enough information to establish a clear world without giving too much of the eventual plot away, and they should create enough mystery to keep the audience wondering what's in store. Your first ten pages should accomplish the following tasks:

• Introduce the main characters
• Establish the primary environments
• Convey a distinct mood or atmosphere
• Establish the time period
• Illustrate a routine or way of life
• Provide any relevant backstory (events that transpired before the story began)
• Introduce the antagonist

"If you haven't already settled on an ending to your script, now is the time to do it. If you don't know where the script is going, how will you determine which pieces of information to highlight at the beginning?

"Everything that happens now is a setup for what comes next. So you have to know what comes next.

"Some films reveal the antagonist as the villain right away. The opening text of The Untouchables delineates Al Capone as the film's key scoundrel. The shark in Jaws consumes its first victim in the first five minutes. By contrast, the true murderer in Ghost seems to be a nice guy until well after the protagonist is killed. When you reveal the villain is up to you; you certainly don't have to do so in the first ten pages. However, make the conflict clear shortly thereafter. If you wait much longer, you risk having a restless audience that's impatient for the action to begin." (Source #1)

Picture found here.

What is the "Inciting Incident"?

"In contemporary screenplay theory, every story must have an 'inciting incident'. The inciting incident is an event near the beginning of the story that initiates the protagonist on his or her journey. It represents a change in the equilibrium of the character. It has been described as an external event which creates a desire on the part of the protagonist, the 'primary cause for all that follows'." (Source #2)

" 'Inciting' comes from the Latin word incitare which means 'to put into rapid motion, urge, encourage, and stimulate.' And that’s exactly what your inciting incident is: it’s an event that catalyzes your hero to 'go into motion' and take action." (Source #3)

"The 'inciting incident', also known as the 'catalyst', marks the film's first turning point. It tilts the story from order to chaos, from complacency to combat. It's the point of no return. In this moment, you answer two questions:

1. What do your characters want?
2. What might prevent them from getting it?

"Together, these queries make up the film's premise, or what it's ultimately about. [...] A strong premise clearly defines a need and an impediment. As soon as an audience senses these details, you can pose the central question:

• Will your protagonist(s) succeed?

"If the answer is yes, you may have a happy ending; if it's no, a tragedy is in the works. Your inciting incident isn't complete until you pose this question.

"An inciting incident generally occurs in one of the following ways:

• An action plunges the characters into conflict.
• A piece of critical information arrives.
• A sequence of small events prepares an audience for the story.

(Source #1)

Examples of inciting incidents are:

• In The Line Of Fire - Frank goes to an apartment to check on a routine call and discovers a serious threat to the life of the president that he must investigate.
• Stars Wars IV - R2D2 ends up in the hands of Luke Skywalker.
• Casablanca - Ilsa returns to Rick's bar.

(Source #2)

Picture found here.

When Should the "Inciting Incident" Happen?

When it needs to. Seriously.

If you would like to get technical about it, you could put it at around ten pages into the story. That should leave enough time for the audience to find out and embrace the characters and their lives, but not enough time for them to become bored before the events unfold in front of them.

"As the above examples [in the "What Is the Inciting Incident?" section] show, deciding which event is the "inciting incident" is somewhat arbitrary. In Star Wars, the inciting incident could have been Princess Leia putting the plans in R2D2 in the first place. Or, it could have been the Empire boarding her ship. Similarly, in Casablanca, Ilsa does not appear until almost thirty minutes into the story. Many important events have occurred before we even meet her. Are any of these events the "inciting incident"? If not, what are they? Many thoughtful screenwriting theorists and teachers do not place significant emphasis on a single event which begins the story." (Source #2)

In Hamlet, there are two inciting incidents, one that happened before the story even begins and another one that is a sort of series of events. Hamlet's father is dead, supposedly by natural causes. It leaves Hamlet feeling rather suspicious about it, since his uncle starts acting weird: he marries his newly single sister-in-law for one thing, overreacts to a play that Hamlet wrote for him, and sends Hamlet off to another land with the intention of having him killed there. Which brings us to the 'First Act Turn'....

Picture found here.

The First Act Turn or Plot Point One:

"'Plot point one' is the first big turning point in your script. It occurs at the end of the first act, approximately 30 pages into the action (with a script length of about 120 pages), and propels an audience into Act II. It must do the following things:

• Push the action in a new direction
• Force the protagonist to make a choice and take a risk
• Raise the central question for the first or second time
• Raise the stakes

"Pivotal events, like 'plot point one', are usually surprises. Audiences know that something grand will happen eventually. They might even know what the result of that event will be. But don't allow them to guess the details of the event itself or you'll spoil the surprise. [...] Stories that hint too thoroughly at upcoming events become overly predictable and less exciting to watch. [....] The first plot point may be as shocking as the death of a loved one or as gentle as the touch of a hand. Both actions have the power to launch a great story." (Source #1)

The 'First Act Turn' for Hamlet is when he sees his father's ghost, who pretty much says he was murdered and by whom. Hamlet stages a play for his uncle's enjoyment that depicts a murder that is oddly similar to the murder he actually committed. Fearing for his life, his uncle sends Hamlet to be executed in another land. After finding out that his uncle means to have him assassinated using his so-called friends, Hamlet has his 'friends' killed and goes back to his homeland to kick some ass, all the while spouting off the most depressive and emo lines ever. 

"Act turns exist to re-energize the potential of a story’s problem, not to satisfy page-counting readers or paradigm-happy script gurus. Connecting the two first plot points to this problem, and making sure that they aren’t simply the same event, will give an audience something to engage in and something to become invested in. The fact of the matter is that no audience member can resist the draw of the problem solving process as it unfolds on the big screen; it’s human nature to see what greater meaning can be gained from how the resolution plays out." (Source #4)

Picture found here.

I hope this has been helpful. The next Essay of the Month will feature the second act or at least feature in some way how to keep people engaged in the story after the first act. 

"Determining the events or decisions that escalate a story’s problem should be Job One for the working dramatist. It is one thing to create an opening scene that wrecks havoc on the characters in the film and forces them to deal with this new problem, quite another to ensure that the inequity persists until the closing curtain." (Source #4)

Until next time! If there is something you would like to see in the future on this blog, please let me know in the comments section below!

Sources:

- #1 - http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/writing-act-i-of-your-screenplay.html

- #2 - http://screenwriting.wikia.com/wiki/Inciting_Incident

- #3 - http://scribemeetsworld.com/2011/screenplay-writing/inciting-incident-definition-examples/

- #4 - http://storyfanatic.com/articles/story-structure/plot-points-and-the-inciting-incident

I wanted to leave a video detailing the first act and there are quite a few of them on the web, but I chose the one starring a puppet. Although Alan Denman does a good job explaining things as well.

Here is the "Inciting Incident" as explained by BitterScriptReader:

And another one describing the "First Act":