Syd Field's three act plot structure

As our ideas continue to develop and our storyboard is getting closer and closer to being complete, it is important to look into narrative, genre and audience theory so that we can relate each theory to us.

Syd Field's Three Act Plot Structure

According to Field, the typical Hollywood film can be separated into three seperate dramatic sections or acts:
-The set up
-The confrontation
-The resolution
To move the action on from one act to another there are what he calls 'plot points'- particularly important pieces of the plot, which turn around the lives of the characters, change their relationships with others and alter the tone of the film.

The first act- setup:
Field claims that within the first TEN MINUTES in particular, the audience will decide whether they like the film and will normally be unwilling to change their minds later. It is therefore VITAL for the film-maker to give the audience a sense in those 10 minutes of what the film is going to be about, who the main character is and why they should care about him/her and what they can expect in terms of style.

The second act- Confrontation:
In this longest act of the film we see the main character in a number of more and more extreme problem situations where they confront theur enemies normally quite helplessly.

Act three- resolution:
The hero will finally take control in the struggles with their problems (often by going to confront the enemy on their own home territory) and will achieve a final, decisive victory.

How the theory relates to us:
The theory talks about films in whole, which are usually around two hours of length, and obviously we only have one minute to demonstrate our skills and hook the audience. However, the three stages still relate to us, we just need to shorten/change them slightly.
Act one- Instead of the first ten minutes, we could say it is important to pull the viewer in in the first ten to fifteen seconds, as an emphatic opening will give them a good first impression of the trailer.
Act two- Although again we do not have much time, as the trailer develops it is important to show the main character in scary situations with the werewolf as this is what the film is about. This is where the action happens!
Act three- Probably the least relevant to us as ideally, we do not really want to give away whether or not the herp/main character survives/kills the beast etc etc.. it is more likely that we will end on a cliffhanger, therefore attempting to entice the viewer to want to see the whole film to understand what happens in the end.