Act and Scene breaks.

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  • Act and Scene breaks.

    Sorry for this question, but I've heard this before but I can't find any info floating around on this topic to justify it. Can you use Act and Scene breaks in a spec script? I've heard both versions. It seems to me that the 3 act structure would basically be out the window because no one would know when you actually intended for the act changes if there were no specified act breaks. Please clarify this for me!

    Thanks.

  • #2
    Read scripts, they contain all the answers.

    A spec feature script does not have act breaks.

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    • #3
      I have. Some do, some don't. Depends on the draft, ect...

      But thanks for your answer.

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      • #4
        Dude. A spec script does not have act breaks.

        Production scripts do. That's where drafts come in. You could do forty drafts of a spec script and its still referred to as the first one.

        No Act Breaks.

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        • #5
          No a spec script has no act breaks.

          Iâ€TMve never seen script, spec or otherwise, that had act breaks.

          …and believe you me Iâ€TMve seen a lot of them.

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          • #6
            Only TV Scripts have specific act breaks written into the script. Feature-length specs do not. If you've seen it then it's a production script, not a spec.

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            • #7
              Your story should have act breaks in them. If not then you do not have a plot.

              I would like to know one thing. Why would you throw away your third act? I am sorry but that doesn't make any sence to me.

              Remeber that you're trying to sell yourself as a good writer who can tell a story. Why the hell would you produce a story that is not complete in form?

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              • #8
                I have about a hundred scripts on my shelf, and not a single one of them has act breaks *written* in the script. What scripts did you read that had them?

                - Bill

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                • #9
                  Butte:

                  You're probably thinking of acts in terms of a play, where the curtain goes down and there's an intermission and you overpay for wine and make sure everyone know you're sophisticated enough to be at the theatah. Or maybe that's just me.

                  I would suggest reading Story by Robert McKee, or a structure book by Syd Field, or any of the other books that discuss filmic 3 act structure ad nauseum.

                  Then go to simplyscripts.com and read movie screenplays. I would really recommend reading a book first, so you can have a solid idea of three act structure before you start reading the 100-200 screenplays you should read (they only take a couple of hours), because if you don't know what an act break looks like, it's easy to gloss over the transition in a finished work.

                  Three act structure is a lot like Texas Hold'em, in that it takes a few minutes to learn and a long time to master. But there are a lot of resources out there, so you'll be able to feel really cool when you say how that movie totally blew because of the way it screwed up the second act climax.

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                  • #10
                    Can you use Act and Scene breaks in a spec script?
                    I think everyone has answered you very well already.

                    Just one or two picky points here:

                    Television drama (as opposed to sitcoms) is written in screenplay format, but they contain Act breaks. At least, I think I have seen this, and I am pretty sure that the Acts are designated as such. So there islegitimacy for Act breaks in some scripts that look like screenplays.

                    And, of course, scenes are the basic building block of a script (movie, TV), so you always have scene breaks by virtue of the fact that one ends when another begins.

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                    • #11
                      The act breaks and multiple fade outs in a television script serve a special purpose that does not apply to feature films. Commercials.

                      If you look at a "Deadwood" or "Carnivale" script you'll notice that unlike network shows like Law and Order or Cold Case, there are no act breaks. No Cold Opens, Teasers, or Tags. The difference? Commercials.

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                      • #12
                        You're probably thinking of acts in terms of a play
                        Actually I am a playwright to begin with, and in plays you make sure there's act's and scenes, otherwise the performer/director would be lost. Now I understand why there wouldn't be scene breaks in a feature film, but for the life of me I don't see the reasoning of why no act breaks? I know they're technically in the script, but why not just go ahead and mark them? I mean what's the big deal if that's how you write a movie script to begin with (i.e. the three act structure...)? I don't know, I don't see the reasoning behind it... a little odd from a playwright's standpoint who would be chewed up for leaving them out in a play.

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                        • #13
                          I don't think you are quite picking up the concept of the three act structure. The act break is not a hard and fast curtain down. It can be a fairly ethereal moment, a change of thought or resolution more than an almost physical 'bow' by the actors.

                          Secondly - any professional reader of your script on seeing act breaks written in is going to think either you believe he doesn't know his job, or worse - that you don't know yours.

                          The act structure is the writer's internal mechanism for ensuring the story unfolds at the correct pace for the requisite beats. It is not a theatrical opportunity for a scenery or location change or a chance for the punters to go to the toilet or buy ice-cream.

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                          • #14
                            Don't confuse format with structure. It's inappropriate to indicate act breaks in a feature screenplay. It is imperative that there be act breaks in the story structure.

                            Act breaks are significant points in the story where the status of the plot and character are significantly changed by the protagonist's actions, which sends the story in a new unexpected direction, raises the dramatic tension and stakes for the hero while evoking the Major Dramatic question, expectations and anticipation in the audience.

                            Indicating an act break on the page will NOT accomplish the dramatic function of the act break.

                            I have to bring this back to my original advice, read screenplays, not plays, not TV scripts, read SCREENPLAYS and lots of them. I have yet to read ONE screenplay that contains act breaks.

                            And one more thing, a scene break in a screen play is called a new slugline. A new slugline indicates the location and time of a scene. Every time you use a new slugline you are indicating the end of one scene and the beginning of a new one. Again, reading SCREENPLAYS will make this abundantly clear.

                            There are many sites with archives of screenplays you can download for free and study. Here are a few good ones to get you started:

                            www.script-fix.com/pages/5/index.htm

                            www.weeklyscript.com/

                            www.screentalk.biz/

                            simplyscripts.com/

                            www.moviescriptsandscreenplays.com/

                            www.script-o-rama.com/table.shtml

                            HTH

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                            • #15
                              Actually I am a playwright to begin with, and in plays you make sure there's act's and scenes, otherwise the performer/director would be lost. Now I understand why there wouldn't be scene breaks in a feature film, but for the life of me I don't see the reasoning of why no act breaks? I know they're technically in the script, but why not just go ahead and mark them? I mean what's the big deal if that's how you write a movie script to begin with (i.e. the three act structure...)? I don't know, I don't see the reasoning behind it... a little odd from a playwright's standpoint who would be chewed up for leaving them out in a play.
                              In most plays a scene or act change requires a change of sets, props, and actors. Curtains are drawn, lights dim, etc. The act breaks serve a very important function in a play. It signifies, like with commercials in TV, that there will be a break in the action.

                              That doesn't occur in a feature film. I suppose you can say that act breaks are viewed as a waste of ink. We know they are there in the story, but we're not going to see a break in action on the screen, so why have one in the script. I have yet to see a film where the lights come on at the end of the first act and everyone goes out to smoke something before coming back to launch into act two.

                              That said, I can't see anyting wrong with writing your script with act breaks if that helps. Just remove them before submitting. While I doubt most readers would give a pass simply for including act breaks, it's HIGHLY unlikely that they will give you any kind of an edge. Just take them out and say fuggit.

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