Editing an Inciting Sequence
One of the key dramatic devices of the Three Act Structure is the “inciting incident”, an event in Act One that kicks off the protagonist’s quest.
For example, a medical diagnosis can kick off a desire to be cured (“My Crazy Sexy Cancer”).
But with many quests in real life, there often is no sole motivating factor, or incident, but rather a culmination of circumstances. So how do you anchor Act One with an inciting event?
One tact is to construct what I call an “inciting sequence“. Rather than relying on one specific event to catapult the protagonist on a quest, many films require a series of tightly woven events and scenes to launch the hero’s journey.
To learn more about how to construct an inciting sequence, I recommend renting the outstanding documentary “Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern“, as well as registering for my new course beginning August 19th.
Drawing on many more examples from commercially-successful docs, Structuring the Three Act Documentary helps you think like a screenwriter. Even if you’re directing an essay-style film without strong character arcs, you’ll learn how to craft dramatic devices (mood reversals or backstories that up the ante) showcased in such Academy-nominated hits as “Man on Wire” and “An Inconvenient Truth”.
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