Beginning, Middle, End

Beginning, Middle and End

In a screenplay, just like your plot, a well-structured scene will have a beginning, middle and end.

Beginning

You must establish who the protagonist of the scene is and what they want. Except for the first time we meet a character, this is done BEFORE the scene starts. This is what we know about the character from the previous scenes, and specifically the very last scene that character was in.

Middle

There needs to be a complication. Otherwise, there is no scene. The protagonist wants something. And there is someone or something that won’t let them obtain it. That’s the complication, which is the scene equivalent of the end of Act I.

The protagonist then begins to execute different approaches to getting what they want. They will try to appeal to their antagonist with logic, emotion, seduction, threats — whatever is available to them.

In a good scene, the antagonist will have an equally strong reason for not wanting the protagonist to obtain their goal. The antagonist will reject, deny, avoid, manipulate — do whatever is possible — to deny the protagonist.

When the protagonist of the scene has run out of options, they will be desperate. This is the equivalent of the lowest moment.