RTF 305- Eighth Blog Post

The structure that is most prevalent in today's films is the three act structure. The first act is the introduction, the second act is the complication, and the third act is the resolution. The three act structure is mainly defined not only by its three acts, but also by the climax which occurs late within the third act. A film that follows this general structure is Finding Nemo.

Within the first act, or introduction, the setting and main characters are introduced. In Finding Nemo, you are introduced to Nemo, Marlin, and a few other characters that live in their neighborhood. The introduction continues until the point where Nemo is picked up by a diver, which is when the complication is introduced. In all, the introduction only takes about 30 minutes or so to develop. By the end of it, you are well aware of the setting, characters, and the general path that the movie should take.

The second act, or complication, builds on the complication that has been introduced at the end of the introduction. It also takes up the majority of the time of the movie, taking about an hour or so to develop. Within this second act, Marlin, Nemo's father runs into Dori, a fellow fish with short-term memory loss. As the story continues, you follow Marlin and Dori through their multiple obstacles through the ocean as they try to find Nemo. While all of this is occuring, the story also follows Nemo in his journey to an aquarium in an Australian man's dentist office. Within this complication, Marlin, Dori, and Nemo must face multiple small conflicts while facing the main complication of them being separated and trying to find each other.  Marlin and Dori face conflicts with sharks, jellyfish, a school of fish, and are even swallowed by a large whale. Nemo, on the other hand, faces the conflict of being given to the Australian man's niece, who is known for killing fish. The complication builds on these conflicts and heightens tensions.

The final act, or resolution, still builds on these tensions, but then soon follows by resolving the conflicts after the climax. The climax, or turning point of the story, happens in Finding Nemo when Nemo escapes from the dentist's aquarium. After this, he runs into Dori and finally finds his father again. The climax and resolution in the third act only take about 20 minutes to occur.

In whole, the three act structure, as mentioned in Dr. Ramirez-Berg's lecture, is a very common structure that is well suited for stories of triumph and happy endings. Finding Nemo almost perfectly fulfills each aspect of this structure.

http://cynicritics.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/marlin-and-dory-finding-nemo-1003067_1152_864.jpg