The rainbow was pretty, the boy played. Born and dead. The end. Did these words make sense to you? Sure they have a meaning but, do you think when well-structured they would sound better? That’s exactly what we will be talking about today! How to write a screenplay? It is always significant for your screenplay to have a composition, now you may ask, how do I structure it? Well, here are 10 structures for your screenplay. 

The three-act structure: Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution

Every story on the planet, when segregated, has a beginning, middle, and end. From tales about early mankind depicted on the walls to the fantasy stories of Cinderella and snow white. Original or fiction, the beginning, middle, and end is a fixed ingredient for scripts. Why? Because they add essence to the story. It makes a story worth retaining. It adds structure to the story. 

In cinema, the 3 act structure is the most fundamental and essential factor that most films reflect on! Do not listen otherwise! 

The 3 act structure is classified into three segments the setup, confrontation, and resolution. The setup phase is an introduction of the characters and their world. Followed by the Setup is the confrontation stage. It is where a conflict appears. The resolution is the final stage where a solution renders for the dispute. It is important to note that these 3 structures accompany each other in a course!

Real-time structure: Unprocessed designing!

Real-time scripts are the antithesis of the 3 act structure. In a real-time script, the stories are exhibited in one uninterrupted stream. The dispute flares at the character in real-time. What happened to the beginning, the suspense, flashbacks, and breaks? Well, there are none in a real-time script. 

It follows an unfiltered and uninterrupted storyline. Wait! Here is the interesting point about the real-time structure! In a real-time script, EVERY MOMENT COUNTS!! Not one aspect of your character’s life can be eliminated. It is necessary to uncover approaches to keep the character motivated at all times! The 12 angry men is a classic example of a real-time screenplay.

The impressive part about this structure is that it provides a very honest storyline and heightens the tension ten times!

Multiple timeline structure: many in one!

Uff ! This is one intricate structure to put in play! In a multiple timeline script, you combine a few linear stories and mix them to create a single screenplay. This could seem like a lot of work but the time is worth the results!! The stories are all blended but most of the time they are detached. One story causality does not influence the other. 

Scripts with multiple timeline structures frequently consist of meaningful stories. The Sweet Hereafter, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and The Godfather are some movies that embrace multiple timeline structure. This structure offers writers a way to go beyond conventional storytelling.

Hyperlink structure: associating your stories for a story

No matter what road you take, the destination is the same. This is a fitting phrase to define the hyperlink screenplays. In a hyperlink screenplay, multiple stories wave in and out in the script and the end provides a correlated resolution! The stories are interlinked. The cause and effect of each narration guide everything to evolve together. 

A hyperlink script balances them all and gives the movie a shared stage! A hyperlinked film conceals a more inward meaning and proffers insight to the audience that every human life is interconnected. Oh! Here is the chief element for devising a flourishing hyperlinked screenplay! Make sure that at the end of the film, all the characters impact each other’s stories 

Syuzhet structure: The Fabula edifice

The term seems like a word from outside the world! But did you know that this is one of the most traditional structures observed in cinema today? Wow! New information! 

A script opening with an end and narrating how it approached this end is appropriately what a syuzhet script is all about! It converges on the how element more than the what component! 

The best example of this kind of script is the movie, Forrest Gump! The film commences with Gump waiting for a bus, and as the story proceeds, he narrates to us how and what directs him to the bus stand. The stories that intertwine the scenes of him sitting in the bus stand are referred to as the syuzhet.

Reverse chronological structure: start from the finish!

As simple as the title suggests, these scripts portray films in reverse chronological order. Ahhh! Does this sound familiar? Yes! The movie Memento! This movie shrewdly comprehends the reverse chronological structure! The screenplay makes its viewers wonder who the character is and why he is doing whatever he is doing. This screenplay formulates a kind of tension in the movie. A reverse chronological film depicts what a conventional film would otherwise do, regression instead of progression! With every stage of the movie, the film takes us one step backward. With every phase, we get more answers along with new questions.

A reverse chronological script demands a lot of energy to be designed. Along with the storyline, the writer has to uncover techniques to keep the audience occupied with the story.

Rashomon Structure: Assort perspectives.

Remember the Syuzhet structure for the screenplay? Well, those structure elements can be applied to design a Rashomon screenplay. This kind of script involves narrating one story from various points of view! It is the same story but from different perspectives! 

Rashomon’s screenplay provides insight for the audience that there can be different sides to the same story! Creativity is key to compose this type of screenplay. Well, what is so different about this type of script? A Rashomon screenplay focuses on why a story is being told, then what is being told. You will see this structure in movies like Hero (2002) and Predestination (2014). The well-structured screenplay is one major factor in the popularity of these movies.

Circular structure: A never-ending circle.

Picture a large circle in your mind! That is accurately how a circular screenplay is structured! The circular narrative story usually ends where it started and starts where it ends. 

A suitable example of this sort of movie is any time travel movie! Time travel movies develop a loop where characters travel back and forth in the future, which results in the ending and beginning of the script to take place in the same scenes, locations, and moments! 

Non-linear structure: Your classic twist and turn

Non-linear stories can be complicated sometimes. They demand lots of concentration to be understood. A non-linear movie narrates a story by jumping forward and backward in time to exhibit a screenplay! It does not lead the script in one continuous pattern but fills the scenario with unexpected twists and turns that engages your brain entirely to understand it! 

In simple words, instead of going from point A to z, we are going through point A, D, C, L X only to arrive at point K.

Some popular non-linear movies include Gone Girl, Arrival, The social network, and The Fountain. Even though these movies might seem complicated, it is well appreciated and loved by the audience.

Oneiric Structure: Planting your dreams in flicks!

Oneiric scrips are very distinctive from the other types of screenplays. Oneiric screenplays portray a story that explores the composition of dreams, memories, and human consciousness. Such scripts attempt to merge the dream worlds with the real world. Movies of this sort might begin with a clear distinction between the real and the fantasy world, but as the movie proceeds, we are not clear of what is real and what is not! One good example of the oneiric screenplay is the movie inception by Christopher Nolan. 

Structuring your screenplay is fun and interesting! Do you want to learn more about structuring your screenplay? Subscribe to our newsletter and get monthly updates on film making tutorials and news