Act 1: The Beginning

Starting the direction of your film

The beginning of the story (act 1) includes the set up. This section will introduce the style of the film, the theme and the main characters. The set up is the section of the script which develops the spine or direction of the film. The beginning tells us the most important information about what the film is going to be about. It will immediately let us know if the film will be a drama or comedy, where it will be located, and who the characters are going to be.

The beginning or "set up" can consist of different scenes as it works its way towards the second act. Often, starting the 1st act with an image is the best way to set the stage for the rest of your film. Films that start with character dialog can often be hard to follow as it lacks the rapid editing or montage ability that images can provide to establish some important facts quickly.

For instance, in the example of the mother and daughter script mentioned above, the story starts out with visual images of an old dilapidated city. The camera then moves in and explores the streets of this impoverished neighborhood. We see the clothes the people are wearing and the things they are doing and we immediately form judgments. Secondly, there is usually music playing underneath this initial set of images which help set the mood. At this point you can almost immediately get a feel for the type of cinematography of the film. Are cranes involved in sweeping the camera around for a dramatic visual effect or is the camera static and focusing more on human behavior or colors? Alternatively maybe the camera is more interested in capturing a certain type of behavior. The first part of your film will be responsible for setting the "tone" the film will take on. The viewers will get accustomed to the music, the look of the moving images, the style of cinematography, the setting and so on.

Regardless of what's happening these initial images help us form almost immediate judgments about the film and what it's going to be about. Setting the stage so quickly would be hard through dialog which is why an image sequence is often used at the beginning of a screenplay.

The set up is usually about 15 pages (for feature films) and takes up the first half of act 1. Remember that 1 page of screenplay equals approximately 1 minute of screen time. This means your script will need to be no less than 90 pages in order to be a feature film. Most feature length scripts are between 90 pages and 120 pages in length.

Within the set up of act 1, the theme of the film will be introduced. It may take some time to fully develop the theme, but it should be introduced early on and you should be as clear about the main theme as possible.

The first act is really an introductory act. It's an opportunity for you to educate your audience about the film and introduce them to your main characters. The first section of your screenplay is usually fairly fast paced as you try to introduce many people and ideas into the story in a fairly short period of time. You must be careful however not to seem rushed or glance over important ideas or themes. During your first act you are also attempting to establish a close relationship between your characters and your audience. If you have a likable character in your film, you should try to get your audience to start liking him or her in your first act.

The first 10 pages

It is worth mentioning that the first 10 pages of your 1st act are extremely important. If you've submitted your script to an agent or a producer, they often don't get passed the first ten pages. They expect to learn a lot about your story in this time. They will want your script to have established the characters, genre, setting and circumstances and they will judge it very closely to see if the script is going to "work".

These expectations are why you should insert an inciting incident or catalyst into your first 10 pages. This incident will propel your story forward. This incident pushes your characters down the main path of your story (plot). It could be two adventurers setting off on a road trip that will become their story. Alternatively it could be a bombing of a city. Whatever you choose your catalyst to be, it should take place within these first 10 pages.



The catalyst is the event that causes the story to gain momentum. The catalyst is the first point which moves the plot forward in some way. A catalyst of a script could be an action, a situation or an event. For example, catalysts for the story of the mother and daughter could be the mother receiving a knock on the door from social services as they explain to her how they will be taking her daughter away due to child neglect. At this point, the audience will assume that this catalyst will now set the story in motion. Will the mother go after her daughter over the upcoming months to bring her home? Will it take many years to happen? Will the story be about the daughter's new life in a foster home? It could go any direction, but the bottom line is that it needs to go in some forward moving direction.

At this point Act 1 is almost complete. However, there are still a few missing ingredients needed to complete a successful first act. An important objective of the first act is to expose the main question of the film. Although the answer to this question will remain a mystery for some time, it must be posed in the first act. The question will be answered (usually in a positive way) near the end of the film during the climax.

In continuing with the story of the mother and daughter, any of the following questions could be raised:

1. Will the mother get her daughter back?
2. Will the daughter be able to fend for herself in her new (possibly bad) home environment?
3. Will the daughter be able to reunite her mother once she grows up?

Obviously Act 1 needs to set the stage with all the necessary information to allow us to wonder which question is being asked. For example, maybe the main thrust of the story doesn't have to do with the mother / daughter relationship at all. Maybe the screenwriter conveyed the Mother as a really bad parent so we as the audience don't want to see the mother and daughter reunited. Maybe the focus of the introductory sequence is on the innocence of the daughter. In the first act the screenwriter could have introduced the social workers who will be taking care of this young innocent girl. The social workers could be cruel or very stern which is in contrast to the young girl's innocent yet bubbly attitude. The question raised would then be "how will this young, innocent and bubbly girl make out with all of this negativity around her?"

Once you have posed the question, you need to continue showing your characters in action. Acquaint the audience with their mannerisms, voice, back-story or any other information you need to help orient the audience to the story. Don't wait until your second act to start.

First plot point

Your first plot point will take place after your "catalyst" or "inciting incident" which set the story in motion. However, now that your story has been set in motion you need to keep that momentum. This is the main role of your first plot point. This plot point often moves your story in a slightly new direction but ensure that your story stays on track. The role of the first plot point is to provide a catalyst to help move your story into the second act, therefore your first plot point should occur at the end of your first act.

Continuing with the example above, following the loss of her child to social services, the 1st plot point could be the mother cleaning up her life and then going to Child Services only to find that there are no records of her daughter ever being taken from her. This throws a twist into the story and propels the action into the second act. Now the mother must figure out if this is a government conspiracy or if the people who showed up at her door to take her daughter were not government workers at all and the action begins.

Once this is all done, you can start your second act.

In summary of Act 1.

1. Start with images
2. Introduce your theme & characters
3. Introduce your catalyst around page 10
4. Pose your central question
5. Insert your 1st plot point to give your story momentum into act 2
6. Ensure Act 1 is about 15- 30 minutes.