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By Michael Schilf · January 24, 2010
Generally speaking there are two (sometimes three) sequences in ACT I, four (sometimes five) in ACT II and two sequences in ACT III.
ACT ONE
Sequence 1 – Introduce Main Character/Status Quo
Plot Point #1: Inciting Incident/Point of Attack
Sequence 2 – Set Predicament/Establish Main Tension
Plot Point #2: The Lock In
ACT TWO
Sequence 3 – First Obstacle/Raise the Stakes
Sequence 4 – Higher Obstacle
Plot Point #3: First Culmination
Sequence 5 – Subplot/Rising Action
Sequence 6 – Highest obstacle
Plot Point #4: Main Culmination
ACT THREE
Sequence 7 – New Tension
Plot Point #5: 5. Twist
Sequence 8 – Resolution
But as always, there are exceptions and ways to mix the batch of dough in a different way. They might not be in chronological order, two separate sequences might be in parallel action, the first act of the story might be delivered in flashback during the second act of the film. This is why each story is a prototype, that it must be invented anew each time.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that your story can only be unique if you mix the sequences into a bizarre order. Many (most) of the best, most compelling stories are also the simplest, the ones which find their uniqueness not in structural or plot machinations but in the uniqueness of their central characters and special insights of their approach to storytelling – the observations of the film makers, the humanity that they portray.