A rewrite of Michael Bay's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, released in 2014 by Paramount and Nickelodeon movies which was panned by critics and turtle fans alike. this rewrite will be my first attempt to make a lackluster film more coherent whil...
First and foremost before we move onto our characters, we must establish the three-act structure. "what is a three-act structure?" you may ask, well here's a Wikipedia excerpt that describes it in a short and digestible manner:
The three-act structure is a model used in fiction that divides a story into three parts (acts), often called the Setup, the Confrontation and the Resolution. It has been described in different ways by in the fourth century A.D. and by in his 1979 book .
here's a visual representation of the three-act structure:
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Here's the purpose of each of the three acts:
The first act is usually used for , to establish the main characters, their relationships, and the world they live in. Later in the first act, a dynamic, on-screen incident occurs, known as the , or catalyst, that confronts the main character (the ), and whose attempts to deal with this incident lead to a second and more dramatic situation, known as the first plot point, which (a) signals the end of the first act, (b) ensures life will never be the same again for the protagonist and (c) raises a dramatic question that will be answered in the climax of the film. The dramatic question should be framed in terms of the protagonist's call to action, (Will X recover the diamond? Will Y get the girl? Will Z capture the killer?).
The second act, also referred to as "rising action", typically depicts the protagonist's attempt to resolve the problem initiated by the first turning point, only to find themselves in ever worsening situations. Part of the reason protagonists seem unable to resolve their problems is because they do not yet have the skills to deal with the forces of that confront them. They must not only learn new skills but arrive at a higher sense of awareness of who they are and what they are capable of, in order to deal with their predicament, which in turn changes who they are. This is referred to as character development or a . This cannot be achieved alone and they are usually aided and abetted by mentors and co-protagonists.
The third act features the resolution of the story and its subplots. The is the or sequence in which the main tensions of the story are brought to their most intense point and the dramatic question answered, leaving the protagonist and other characters with a new sense of who they really are.
