This week we discussed the 7 Plot Points and screened Thelma & Louise to apply the concepts.
Lecture: 7 Plot Points
As with most things in Hollywood, they like everything done a certain way: the 7 Plot Points being no exception. They fit perfectly with the 3 Act Structure:
Act 1
1. Normal World
2. Inciting Incident
3. Point of No Return
Normal World
The Normal World sets up the “status-quo, what the protagonist does day to day and where we have found them in the story.
Inciting Incident
The Inciting Incident gives the protagonist their goal for the rest of the film. Whatever it is, it makes their ordinary world suddenly extraordinary.
Point of no Return
The Point of No Return takes place when the main character makes an active choice as a reaction to the Inciting Incident, one where they cannot go back.
Act 2
4. Midpoint
5. The Big Gloom
Midpoint
The Midpoint is a turning point that reinvigorates the story. There are 4 types of Midpoints:
- Reversal
- Revelation
- Decision
- Conflict
The Big Gloom
The Big Gloom is when the character is at their absolute lowest, seeming to have failed. Here they are brought back with something set up earlier in the story that gives them the strength to continue.
Act 3
6. The Climax
7. New Normal
The Climax
The Climax is the “grand finale” of the story: its highest point of action and emotion.
The New Normal
The New Normal shows what has changed since the story began, whether that is literally or emotionally for the main character. Any loose ends should be tied up and answered here.
Screening
To apply the 7 Plot Points, we watched Ridley Scott and Callie Khouri’s 1991 film, Thelma & Louise.
When Louise shoots Thelma’s assailant out of protection, the girls must go on the run before they are caught and sent to jail, or worse: their old lives.
I absolutely loved this film. Everything about it was so well done, from the characters, to the constant twists and action.
As practice, we assigned the plot to each point (spoiler warning):
- The Normal World sets up Louise as a waitress in a diner, and Thelma as a housewife who never gets to do much of anything because of her controlling husband.
- The Inciting Incident occurs when Harlan attempts to rape Thelma in the parking lot.
- The Point of No Return is seen when Louise shoots and kills Harlan.
- The Midpoint occurs whenever the girls discover that J.D. stole Louise’s getaway money. Here, Thelma starts taking charge.
- The Big Gloom happens when the girls are pulled over by a state trooper and Louise is taken to the car. They are seemingly caught for good, but the story kicks into Act 3 when the girls rob the officer and escape.
- The Climax occurs when the girls are surrounded by police with guns drawn, asked to put hands up. They decide to not get caught and drive off the cliff.
- Though not directly shown necessarily, the New Normal is that the girls must die to “continue” their adventure and not go back to their old lives.
Conclusion
After this lesson, I feel like everything is coming together and I am very excited to be learning all of these important foundational skills like the 7 Plot Points. I am also very happy to now have a new top 10 movie!
Don’t forget to catch up on Week 1 and 2, and to keep an eye out for future posts!
5 responses to “Intro to Screenwriting Week 3: Seven Plot Points”
[…] forget to check out last week’s blog, and stay tuned for […]
[…] our analysis of the 7 Plot Points of True Grit, we were tasked with taking everything covered so far and writing a 2 page script to […]
[…] midterm covered everything we’ve been discussing the last few weeks, from plot points, to types of conflict, to archetypes and […]
[…] For a more brief outline, or as a starting point, put your ideas into the 7 plot points: […]
[…] assignment focused on the 7 Plot Points, want and need, and all of those ideas we have been […]