Why Screenplays Go Bad In The Second Act by William C. Martell

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[@ScribblebytesWorldwide]

Totally agree. You have to go in there. The best thing I ever heard was from the X FILES show runner and he said: "Write yourself into a corner and then write yourself out". Which makes sense because if you don't know how the character is gonna get out of this mess, the audience won't either and it makes it fun imo.

[@divittokelly5603]

What I love about Film Courage is the interviewer always asks great questions. And the responses are honest and clear.

[@MrPokemon248]

When writing a story your characters have to go through hell. AND than things need to get worse.

[@isTheNightfly]

He is the Neil DeGrasse Tyson of cinema!

[@YEDxYED]

Looks and mannerisms and all

[@isaacbarlow8247]

I have to write the second act first..I know it doesn't make sense but that's how I approach a story. I think of a theme then I think of the second act because its the most difficult for me. I always have a second act in mind before I start to build a story.

[@YEDxYED]

You are to do whatever works for you.

[@funkytaco1358]

Godzilla (2014) had the "golfing goat" problem. You don't see Godzilla until you're ready to fall asleep.

[@Brothertung]

+Luis Gonzalez - . . . Well said Big Brother , one of the best Godzilla movies, i thought, was ; " Godzilla vs Destroyer" . From the first frame, and the first sequence, that movie hit the ground running, on all fours .... * .

[@abjames3098]

The director took inspiration from Spielberg in both Jaws & Jurassic Park... In those films we don't see a full reveal of both the shark or the T-Rex until a solid hour into those films! But yeah... for Godzilla... it kind of sucked.

[@UltimateKyuubiFox]

The Artisan It didn’t work in Godzilla because Jaws and Jurassic Park had actual human characters.

[@abjames3098]

Yes!

[@MiguelCruz-oz7km]

Godzilla leads with a subplot that could have been engaging had they carried forward with it -- Bryan Cranston trying to find his missing wife and the conflict with his son. Once its revealed that she's in fact dead and then when he himself is killed all the emotional heft is taken right out. All we're left with is a movie about monsters fighting where we don't see the monsters.

[@SuperTompo]

the interviewer is certainly admirable for the types and intricacy of her questions

[@TrophyJourney]

Gotta freaking love this channel.

[@esaualfaro3447]

+Boris Gucovski Yeah, is awesome and it helped me a lot to white stories.

[@filmcourage]

+Boris Gucovski Boris, thank you. We appreciate you.

[@filmcourage]

+Esau Alfaro Thank you Esau, keep writing!

[@JackDecker63]

Okay, this settles it. Film Courage, you need to produce a show centered around Mr. Martell. Consider it your first spin-off. Sorry, but only your forensics professor is on Mr. Martell's same level. Both are camera conscious, funny, and informative. But as far as films go, the forensics professor is a niche and Mr. Martell is the whole deal. Here's a suggestion for a new show featuring Mr. Martell. Do a movie review show with him. Let he dissect movies from the screenwriter's perspective. Freely use fast forward and fast rewind so he can jump around within the film so he can show how his plot critiques are connected in the film. Yes, do the classics and masterpiece movies, but I think it would be the most entertaining for him to do wildly popular but horrible plot movies, such as any of the Transformers movies. Don't ask anything of Mr. Martell but that he simply watches and comments on movies presented to him. You do all the editing, promotion, etc.

[@filmcourage]

+Jack Decker Ha! Good stuff. Aren't you looking to produce reality tv shows Jack? Take your idea and run with it.

[@JackDecker63]

+Film Courage Nope, game show.

[@filmcourage]

+Jack Decker Was it always game show(s) or is this a newer development?

[@JackDecker63]

+Film Courage I have, off and on, looked into reality TV shows but I've been working on a KZbin game show concept for over three years. As the game show takes at least 33 people to do a single filming session, it isn't an easy thing to get off the ground. That and delays of one kind or another. I'm in one of those delays again.

[@filmcourage]

+Jack Decker Fascinating to hear about your passion for a KZbin game show. Are there currently any huge game shows made specifically for KZbin?

[@KajsaBernhardina]

I find that when there are problems in the second act, it’s almost always to do with a kind of ”reset” that writers do when they can’t think of more ways to milk the climax of the mid-point. Instead of escalating the already existing conflict, they just ”start over” and go back to the normal world of the characters, and introduce completely new conflict that looks like a completely new story. They are not delivering on the promises of that mid-point climax.

[@AnyDayNow360]

Mr. Martel is quite animated in his explanations and breaks down how to correct the problem in digestible steps--quite entertaining and informative!

[@matthewakian2]

This Film Courage channel is insightful and inspiring.

[@filmcourage]

Thank you!

[@elinannestad5320]

gift from the gods

[@JorgePrietoNYC]

Great points he brings up. This is why I don't like to do outlines. I have a story idea and I brew in my head for a while, then I must know my first scene, the world my protagonists lives in, s/he conflict and MOST importantly, I need to know my ending. What happens in between is a surprise to me. Each scene must have it's own conflict and revelation. Act two is the hardest one to write, if the writer is not willing to let the shit hit the fan.

[@nortonwedge]

Problems in act two are generally due to improper outlining. ;)

[@landofthesilverpath5823]

Great advice! This guy is really good at identifying and explaining these common issues.

[@lorebinderentertainment1804]

Mr.Martell is my favorite person you interview.

[@filmcourage]

Love Bill, hope we get a chance to talk with him again.

[@picturesofyoufilmcompany]

This dude´s blue books at amazon are super Rad!

[@LeVosgienLVHLS]

The golfing goat... Now that's an example easily engraved in our memories.

[@laquintasecuencia]

There's no doubt that to write screenplays you have to be a bit of a goat and play chess. The element: Give the audience what they expect to see; it is your ally element. Sometimes it is advisable to delay and others to arise as soon as possible. Each script is a world, and this is characterized by a rhythm that the writer should never abandon, it is the heartbeat of your story you must keep it constant so that the patient in a seat, does notcome down.

[@ThePlaceForThings]

hahhhh the farmer, goat, golfing analogy really just changed my life 🙌

[@meg-k-waldren]

I like action movies with slow burn 1st and part 2nd Acts though, that then go hyperdrive the rest of the way until the end. I love the long calm before the storm, that build up of tension and anticipation.

[@franciscorendon2783]

Inception is a great example. It's first half is character introductions mind-blowing world building, and the movie's second half is fucking ridiculous. Edit: I guess Matrix 1 does this too.

[@BudsCartoon]

Simple... The "problem" in the second act escalates or changes to a bigger, previously inconceivable, goal that is now within reach. Instant inner conflict of if they are willing to take the bigger risk that comes with the bigger reward. *** I swear I posted this comment about 1 minute in, then at the end he pretty much said the same thing with the goat or gopher or whatever. If the original goal was to have him play golf professionally, I guess like Happy Gilmore, the higher, escalated goal was no longer to golf to get the house back, but to get even with Shooter McGavin.

[@catcameron2495]

Ha, it made me think of "Hamlet", where the Goat, sorry Ghost, hits us with the problem right up front.

[@alonjoseph478]

Haha freeking TOTALLY! THIS IS A GREAT CHANNEL THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH FOR ALL THESE❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@TwistVisuals]

Have conflicts just take place and have misunderatandings take place. Theres no need to have three acts for a screenplay. Just start writing and tell the story without following rules set by Hollywood in 1950s. You could also introduce the characters while theyre in the conflict to keep the excitement high

[@swerve361]

finally!!!

[@Nintensonsoft]

But the argument is that almost all, if not all, conflicts operate within a 3 act structure whether or not the writer is overtly or structurally acknowledging it. There's always a beginning, middle, and end. The end isn't always conclusive, but it's still the end (and so on). I think your response isn't exactly relevant to what this guy's discussing here. The title's misleading, but he's really just talking about conflict introduction, pacing, etc.

[@Nintensonsoft]

+Nintensonsoft And I meant people argue that all screenplays take place within a 3 act structure, not conflicts.

[@Mister_Peppers]

+RDPublicfeatures Not sure what you are saying it may need clarification. You may want to break the mold but there are a lot of ways to misstep. The process is generally refined not by some antiquated rule book but by every failure and flop. Bad movies not b movies but terrible movies teach us a lot about the process. Hollywood has done extensive research into this because it is a financial investment for them not a creative process. We can still use what they have discovered to improve our scripts. Telling people to go out and make the same mistakes many others have made seems like bad advice.

[@TwistVisuals]

awkwardvlog Yeah but some really good movie don't really seem to follow the three act structure. Like Zodiac, Once Upon a Time in America etc. But anyway, I think it's about keeping the audience's interest till the end. If the audience lose interest, they will get bored. If you want to write a slow paced film, there should be a lot of mystery and suspense. If you want to write a fast paced film, there should be a lot of conflicts to move the story forward.

[@sebastianmcgrogan5908]

I love this guy

[@dgrhm08]

I want to see the golfing goat movie now.

[@thomaskubrak1576]

Bam!!!! COnflict! .... .... ..... .... ..... ..... .BIGGER CONFLICT ... dwindle dwindle- Make out scene- Crazy ass ending

[@franciscorendon2783]

It's been scientifically proven that every good movie has a make out scene as a huge plot point. The power of script structure is on my side.

[@fanpandatastic]

This is why Captain America Civil War was so good

[@franciscorendon2783]

I think that a writer with this problem would stretch the whole Zemo-Bucky mind control plot and then make the airport battle the finale. Sure, they would change the scene to make it more conclusive (Maybe give us a bigger Cap vs Tony duel and then have Zemo bring some Siberian winter soldiers or whatever), but they wouldn't let the conflict escalate as much as it does in the movie. I wish other Marvel Studios movies did this: when I saw Captain Marvel's finale I thought "That's it? That's all the conflict there is in this movie?".

[@slim..reaper]

The golfing goat is interesting but I have a problem with it. To me, writing a good second and third act is all about making sure you have a good set up in act one, or else you won’t care about anything else. So in Batman Begins, you wouldn’t want Batman at the very beginning would you? The script takes its time to develop Bruce Wayne and when we get Batman in Act two for the first time it feels rewarding.

[@Yusuf1187]

But going off what he said in the video, in that film the conflict was already there in act 1 and development toward becoming Batman had already begun. I see what you're saying in that his analogy could be misunderstood by some people though. Maybe the better thing would be to say that in act 1 the goat should be already struggling with the issues and skill sets that will lead them doing actual golf in act 2.

[@StepbyStepPhotographyandVideo]

@@Yusuf1187 wait, is there a backstory to the goats skills or are they random unexplained or magical? These are important questions the interviewee is afraid to tackle and it weakens the interview...

[@firstlast-oo1he]

Well I mean the clue is in the title "Batman Begins"; it's about Bruce Wayne becoming batman, more or less.

[@JamesSmith-vk2ky]

Really like this guy. 👏👏👏

[@frankbooth8003]

This effect can also be caused be movie trailers containing too many spoilers. If I was a producer, I would make the trailers myself.

[@IamColt13]

I was only microdosing on acid until the golfing goat showed up and then it was a full blown heroic dose

[@Bubbles99718]

The idiot plot plot was every episode of Three's Company. Remember saying that to my parents at the time, was 8 or 10 years old. That kind of crap always bothered me

[@minimontrealmoments]

agree with goat analogy......especially if the movie is titled "The Golfing Goat" :-)

[@film_magician]

They don't go after the shark in Jaws until the half-way point. The post crash stuff in Castaway wasn't great and fell apart - that happens in the second half, same thing with full metal jacket. Sometimes it's better to delay the big conflicts until the climax. The lead up to it pays off if you're patient.

[@heavyhands1383]

But aren't most stories all about escalating conflict? There are conflicts in Jaws before they go hunting the shark, and of course the expedition at the midpoint isn't the climax of the movie, either. It seems like William is talking about writers coming up with contrived reasons to avoid all conflict even after the set-up of the first act is over with. The big conflict should be the climax, but there should be tons of smaller conflicts everywhere else, too.

[@Yusuf1187]

In Jaws the shark is already eating and scaring people very early on iirc. Them going out after the shark isn't the only element of conflict in the movie nor the main promised one. After all, the movie posters made it out to be a shark killing swimmers, not necessarily captain Ahab after his whale.

[@freddyrodriguez1968]

LOL...the goat golfing!! Made me laugh.

[@jacobdominguez7808]

Very interesting

[@Centrocal]

But how does the goat hold the club? with his arms or with his teeth?

[@dwaynep4390]

That would be in Act I. You can't give everything away in the trailer.

[@nortonwedge]

@@dwaynep4390 Have you seen trailers lately? Often not much sense to go and see the full movie.

[@C.Church]

Goat To The Chief... Hm... lol. Well there were Snakes On A Plane.

[@2367J]

cough cough... frozen...

[@meharqamar3586]

Z

[@jennamurphy9614]

I hate film courage videos because the titles never describe what the video is about. This video is not about a problem with second acts, it's about a problem with contrived conflict in a very specific senario. And i just wasted 3 minutes of my time.

[@filmcourage]

Hey Jenna, Sorry to hear this. Not our intention to waste anyone's time. We appreciate you giving our videos a try and understand if they don't live up to their promise. Hope all is well and keep making movies. :) FC

[@Bubbles99718]

​@@filmcourageGuys not wrong though

[@victorallencook7107]

777

[@writeforanimation]

That doesn't make any sense, how can a goat golf? and with the President? Come on!

[@franciscorendon2783]

Fix your movie, Nintendo.

[@dwaynep4390]

If Sharknado can have umpteen sequels, getting a goat to golf wouldn't be a problem.

[@writeforanimation]

Dwayne P I had to rewatch e video to remember why I made that comment. I had completely forgotten about it :D

[@pikiwiki]

Martell reveals truth. So many movies are precious about their secrets. Arrival, for instance. Fell asleep fifteen minutes in. It takes a lot more courage and ingenuity to reveal a secret, if there is one and work with it through the script than to say, "hey guys! Got a secret here! Wait 'til page 56 to see what it is!" which is to me, a really boring and scammy way to write a movie

[@franciscorendon2783]

Alien 1 though. This movie is praised for taking a long-ass time to reveal its secret.

[@nortonwedge]

When done properly, it's called build up. And Arrival was amazing.