Screenplay Structure: Subject, Predicate, and Rising Action

Subject, Predicate, and Three-Act Structure

The three-act model shows the transition of the subject character from the first act to their final outcome in the third act, with the middle act of change keeping the outcome uncertain. The first section establishes the starting subject, with the dominant position at the top of the subject circle. The second act is about revision, where the subject undergoes a redefinition of themselves. Their flaw is addressed sometime in Act Two, allowing for a resolution either through overcoming that flaw or succumbing to it. The subject changes because of their predicate — the driving force that causes them to reexamine their position and represents their main goal throughout the screenplay.

In the example screenplay discussed here, Alicia is the subject of the film, and her growing sense of responsibility for her brothers and family is her predicate. This is demonstrated concretely first by showing her initial dislike and disapproval of them, and then by her increasingly protective acts as the family confronts the danger in the house. The central question of the film is whether Alicia and the family will be able to understand and escape that danger. Her actions with the boys are the key points of conflict that show — and ultimately answer — this question.

The subject must encounter obstacles in achieving or even recognizing their predicate, and may not be able to see, recognize, or understand certain choices and solutions until a major character shift or epiphany makes them psychologically ready. At that point, a revision is performed on the meaning and understanding of past events. In a screenplay, the climax and resolution offer a revisionary understanding of Act Two's action, restoring balance as the subject's relationship to the predicate is made clear and concretely resolved.

Act One is typically called "the setup," but it can also be called "character." This is because characters are the essential elements of a screenplay — good characters will create their own plots, to paraphrase Egri. Therefore, the setup necessarily involves a description and understanding of the characters and their relationships to each other, to themselves, and to their environment. This foundation is the basis for the entire story.

Concrete Action, Beats, and Balanced Conflict

Without concrete action, there is no story — just people thinking and talking, at best. Concrete action provides compelling reasons for further action and is the driving force behind the story. Internal action can be an important decision made by a character, or actions that occurred before the screenplay's timeframe but that influence decisions and actions within it. Internal action almost always leads to external action: physical interaction with the environment or other characters that moves the plot forward.

"Beats" are units of action in a screenplay. One useful system for tracking beats uses plusses and minuses. A plus is a gain the character makes in achieving their goal, and a minus is a setback or complication. Using this system allows the screenwriter to ensure that rising action is occurring throughout the screenplay. If there are too many of either in a row, the balance of the conflict is diminished or destroyed, and the audience loses interest.

Act Two is all about conflict, yet the importance of keeping that conflict balanced cannot be overemphasized. If the protagonist or the antagonist becomes too powerful or powerless, the audience will lose hope and disengage. The same will happen if the audience feels confident in the film's ultimate resolution because of an unchallenged opportunity for resolution. In the example screenplay, this balance is maintained through a carefully constructed paradox:

Egri's Three Types of Conflict and Rising Action

Something strange might be going on in the house — yet strange things keep happening without explanation, and nothing overtly threatening or truly unexplainable has yet occurred. The kitchen goes haywire while the mother is cooking breakfast, raising the possibility that she might be going crazy given her family history. This layered uncertainty keeps the audience off balance and sustains tension throughout Act Two.

It is almost universally accepted that drama — and thus a compelling story — is created by conflict. There must be someone or something struggling to accomplish, or perhaps avoid, another entity or event, with something or someone attempting to prevent them from their goal. Someone wants to buy a cheeseburger but has no money: that is conflict, and it could be the basis for a story. Egri defines three kinds of conflict, however, and only one is truly desirable in an effective screenplay.

If the cheeseburger scenario stopped at that basic description, Egri would call it "static action." There is certainly a conflict — the goal of getting a cheeseburger is interrupted by a lack of money — but there is nowhere for the conflict to go unless more action or another choice is taken. In other words, the conflict stands still: the man wants a cheeseburger, but the burger stand will not give one up without payment.

One direction the story could go from there is into what Egri calls "jumping action," which is something like the polar opposite of static action. Instead of not moving at all, jumping action involves decisions and actions that are far more extreme than the situation calls for. If the man were to steal a machine gun from a nearby armory and take everyone at the burger stand hostage until he had his cheeseburger, that would be jumping action — the response is completely out of proportion with the conflict itself.

The middle ground — taking appropriate steps such as trying to earn money or trying to persuade the person at the counter to give a free cheeseburger — is what should be aimed for in a good screenplay, and is what Egri terms "rising action." In order to achieve rising action, action that is proportionate to the conflict but increases in extremity and urgency until reaching the climax, a screenwriter needs to fully understand the characters, conflict, and premise of the story. Certain characters will react in certain ways, and not in others, to given situations. Understanding this is an important step in achieving rising action. In addition, the emotional progression of the character — the different states they travel through — will help ensure consistent rising action. The situation must grow more urgent as the film progresses, and the character must face the conflict from different perspectives. This is the essence of rising action.