Plot Structure

Robert McKee

Introduction:
Structure- A selection of events from the characters’ life stories that is
composed into a strategic sequence to arouse specific emotions and to
express a specific view of life.
- The function of structure is to provide progressively building pressures
that force characters into more and more difficult dilemmas where they
must make more and more difficult risk taking choices and actions,
gradually revealing their true natures, even down to the unconscious
self.
Beats scenes sequence act plot

story is fractal: Just as beats build on one another to form a scene, McKee explains that scenes build
on one another to form a sequence, which ends with a more significant change in your protagonist’s
life than any single scene. Likewise, a series of sequences that leads to an extreme change is what
McKee calls an act, and a very small handful of acts make up your whole story.
Beat
• Smallest element of structure
• An exchange of behavior in action/reaction
• Beat by beat these changing behaviors shape the turning of a scene
• Used to make an intentional shift in tone
Scene
• Scene is an event, action or series of events.
(A story event creates meaningful changes in the life situation of a
character that is expressed and experienced in terms of value and
achieved through conflict. For example: +ve to –ve or vise versa)
• A scene is an action through conflict in more or less continuous time
and space that turns the value charged condition of a character’s life
on at least one value with a degree of perceptible significance.

Note: If value-charged condition of the character’s life stays unchanged from one end of a scene to
the other, nothing meaningful happens. It is a non event.
Sequence
• Series of scenes (generally 2 to 5 that culminates with greater impact
than any previous scene)
• Tells its own story (beginning, middle, end)
Act
• Series of sequence that peaks in a climatic scene which cause a major
reversal of values, more powerful in its impact than any previous
sequence.
Plot
• Series of acts combine to form the largest structure, one huge master
event which is the plot.
• A great plot needs to be structured correctly.
Act I
Opening Movement

• Introduces the protagonist, establishes the normal world of the

main characters, and an Inciting Incident happens that forces the
protagonist to take action and begin sets the story in motion.
• Inciting Incident
• First major event of the telling
• Is the primary cause for all that follows, putting into motion the other four elements
• Moment, event or decision that thrusts the main character into the action of a story
• Upsets the balance of protagonist’s life
• Creates conflict, establishes a goal and provides the trajectory for character growth
• Act I Climax:
• Launches the protagonist on their Quest for their Object of Desire
against forces of antagonism (inner, personal, extra-personal).

• The Quest for the Conscious and /or Subconscious Object of Desire:
• The protagonist embarks on their Quest which forms the Spine of the
story, also known as the Super-Objective which is the energy of a
protagonist’s desires.
Act II
Mid-Movement
• Characters experience Progressive Complications which make life
difficult for the protagonist in pursuit of the Quest for the Object of
Desire. McKee says rising action occurs through the protagonist by
“arousing forces of antagonism from his inner, personal, or
social/environmental Levels of Conflict that block his object of desire.”
• Act II Climax:
• The turning point that is absolute and irreversible with the greatest
tension in the story, where the protagonist reaches a crisis point and
must make a crucial decision that will determine the outcome of the
story. This is often referred to a “point of no return” where the
protagonist’s actions will have unstoppable consequences.
Act III
Acceleration

• A movement of scenes with a swift rising action gives the audience a sense
of acceleration toward the Crisis.
• Crisis:
• The Crisis is the story’s obligatory scene with a Crisis Decision where the
willpower of the protagonist is severely tested.
• Rising action is reversed to falling action
• Decisive moment or turning point
• Do or die situation
• One last chance for the protagonist to achieve the goal
• The protagonist is compelled to act
• Climax:
this action serves as a major reversal in the story and produces meaningful emotions in people’s hearts.
• Story Climax:
• The last act climax which brings about total and irreversible change, answers all or most questions related
to the Central Plot, and satisfies all emotions of the audience.
• Moment the main conflict gets resolved and protagonist either achieves the goal or fails

• Resolution:
any scene or sequence of scenes remaining to tell the aftermath or tie up any loose ends following the
Story Climax.
• Addresses any leftover pieces of subplot to close the final loop for audience members, but their meaning
is never decreasing in magnitude.
• What happens to the character after the conflict is resolved.
The Shawshank Redemption
Act I –
The story starts with the trial of Andy who is accused of killing his wife and her lover.
The film is set in motion when there is the flashback of Andy drinking in his car, who
looks like he is about to kill his wife. He ended up with two lifetime prison sentences.
There is also the presentation of how life is like in Shawshank prison, which Andy
finds out that it is a very strict prison.
Inciting Incident: Andy found guilty and sent to prison.
Act I climax: Andy is trapped in a strict prison, and proof that he is innocent is hard to
find. So, his life is stuck in Shawshank. There is no turning back.
Conscious/subconscious desire: To be free.
Andy planned his escape from the beginning when he asked Red for a rock hammer.
Act 2- Mid movement
Progressive complications:
• Andy is beaten and raped by the sisters many times.
• played a song over the mic, for everybody to listen. Warden was not happy
with his act and put down in a hole for 2 weeks as a punishment. After that
when he came Red and Andy were talking about hope.
Forces of antagonism that block his object of desire:
Tommy, a new guy mentions a former cellmate who told him explicit details
about” murdering a golf pro and his mistress. This is proof that Andy is
innocent. Andy directly goes to the Warden and said all the things but
Warden is not ready to believe that the story they put Andy in a hole, for this
time he is in there for a month. The warden even orders to kill tommy which
is why Andy loses all hope.
• Act 3-
Climax: he escapes the prison.
Warden finds out that he dug a tunnel through his wall.
Resolution:
Red is finally released
He finds old oak tree where Andy leaves a letter and money for him.
After receiving the letter he goes to the village they were talking about
earlier and meets Andy there.