Screenplays are divided into setup, conflict and resolution phases. The three sections are proportioned in a 1:2:1 ratio. In a two-hour movie, the setup will last a half hour, the conflict will last an hour and the resolution will last about a half hour. Movies that seem to drag often do so because one of the three sections is disproportionately long. Scattered within these three acts are five critical plot points: the inciting incident, the turning point, the midpoint, the black moment and the climax. Of those five, the first is considered the ¨call to adventure¨, the second refers to when the hero accepts the call to adventure, these plot points occur in the middle and end of the setup phase. The third and fourth plot points occur in the middle and end of the conflict phase. Finally, the last point is placed about halfway, or two-thirds of the way through the resolution phase.
The first act of a screenplay introduces "normal" life. The character Neo in the 1999 movie, "The Matrix" is an office worker in a standard white cubicle. George Bailey is living an ordinary life with extraordinary problems in the 1946 movie, "It's A Wonderful Life." The ¨call to adventure¨ a trigger event introducing something new that throws the "normal" life into chaos. In "The Matrix," it was the phone call from Morpheus in the real world. In "It's A Wonderful Life," the trigger was when George, intent on suicide, rescues the angel Clarence instead. The turning point in each occurs when the hero accepts his call: Neo by taking the red pill, and George by wishing he'd never been born.
A screenplay's second act has two distinct parts, separated by the midpoint. In the first part, the hero reacts to the situation he has found himself in; he is trying to grasp what is going on and may be having trouble processing his new reality. In the second part, the hero has come to terms with the new reality and is beginning to take charge. Usually, his attempts to take charge result in renewed disaster. At the end of the second act, the hero seems to be winning --- only to be plunged deeper than ever into trouble, often called the black moment.
Within the second act, there should be at least four to five additional small plot turns in this act, each one building tension and moving the story forward. In action movie screenplays, these plot turns often occur with the death of a minor character or tough bad guy; in a mystery screenplay, clues mark plot turns. These points should be distributed more or less evenly throughout the second act.
The third act of most screenplays begins with the hero's reaction to his black moment, often with either despair or renewed defiance. According to Joseph Campbell, this is the moment of transformation of the hero, when he transcends his ordinary existence to become heroic. In "The Matrix," this moment occurs when it seemed Morpheus, the leader of the rebellion, must die to save everyone, but Neo chooses to sacrifice himself instead. The climax occurs when the hero defeats his opponent.