When editing a movie or organizing the story structure of a screenplay, do filmmakers follow a structural plan involving 5 moments? What if they did? Would you want to know about the 5 moments?
The next time you watch a good movie, notice what happens at 25 minutes into the film, 45 minutes into the film, 60 minutes into the film, 45 minutes before the film ends, and 25 minutes before the film ends: 25 45 60 -45 -25. Calculate -45 and -25 when the story ends, not when the final credits end.
Notice how movie professionals seem to place their most important moments at 25 45 60 -45 -25:
25 minutes into The Bourne Ultimatum the CIA finds Bourne and issues an order to kill him. 45 minutes into Straight Time Dustin Hoffman steals a car and handcuffs his parole officer to a fence on the freeway. 60 minutes into
In the above films, 25 45 60 -45 -25 are pivotal moments, inspirational, entertaining, emotionally turbulent moments that helped the screenwriter and filmmaker persuade the audience to care about their characters and what happens to them.
The 5 moments in
25: Tony Stark is in the cave, he examines a metal ring used to create the mini arc reactor that will fit in his chest. Soon, the light of the arc reactor turns on, his new power source is born. The birth of something new.
45: An emotionally intense Tony Stark tells the press he never said good-bye to his father. He declares that because his weapons have fallen into the wrong hands he's shutting down his company's weapons production. Now that I'm aware.
60: He's flying around the room, struggling to control his power, and he succeeds: "Yeah, I can fly." He's making real progress, there's no going back to the drawing board. There's no going back now.
-45 (1:57 - 45 = 1:12 into the film) Tony receives new information about a besieged village from a reporter, learns more about the situation and escalates his action: he flies to the village and starts rescuing people. Discovery.
-25 (1:57 - 25 = 1:32 into the film) Pepper discovers the video that proves Obadiah Stane wants Tony dead. Final turning point.
In every good film and screenplay you'll find these 5 moments:
25: The birth of something new.
45: Now that I'm aware.
60: There's no going back now.
-45: Discovery.
-25: The final turning point.
The symmetry of 25 45 60 -45 -25 obeys a dynamic truth of nature: What goes up, must come down. So it is in the beginning, so it is in the end: 25 45 60 -45 -25.
You'll find the 5 moments in all your old favorites. Examine the following 5 moments in Romancing the Stone, and notice that -45 comes before 60 because Romancing the Stone lasts an hour and forty-three minutes: 1:43 subtracted by 45 means 58 comes before 60.
25: Joan is alone on a mountainous road, the antagonist walks into frame, pulls out a gun and aims it at her. Jack Colton arrives and discharges a barrage of gunfire to chase away the antagonist. 25 is where the heroine is confronted by the antagonist and where the love affair begins. The birth of something new.
45: Joan and Jack sit in a torn up cargo plane. Jack offers Joan a bottle of tequila and wants to become aware of why Joan left NYC for Columbia. Joan lies about why she's in Columbia. Within two minutes Jack finds the treasure map, a discovery that ignites future turbulence between Jack and Joan. Now that I'm aware.
-45: (1:43 - 45 minutes = 58 minutes into the film) The ally with the monster truck opens the door and asks, "You are Joan Wilder, the novelist?" An almost unbelievable coincidence but since we love Joan and Jack we don't care. Because Juan (Alfonso Arau) learns Joan writes the books he loves he lets them in. Discovery.
60: Joan and Jack tour Juan's home and within minutes they're in a monster truck that jumps over a stream to escape the antagonists. There's no going back now.
-25: (1:43 - 25 minutes = 1:18) Joan and Jack reach Mother's Milk, a small pool where they find the green diamond. The final turning point.
Knowing where the 5 pivotal moments belong in a screenplay will fundamentally change how you look at movies and how you read and write screenplays. The 5 moments will beef up your confidence because they offer an objective formula pinpointing exactly when key moments happen. It's a precise structural tool to improve your ability to analyze and organize story structure so you can tell a better story.
If you've read a lot of books on screenwriting then you're aware of certain approximations when it comes to story structure (p. 10-20, p. 50-60, p. 80-90). If you're looking for precise guidance when it comes to story structure, the 5 moments offer a reliable, objective, naturally strong structural dynamic.
When the subject matter means the world to you, you owe it to yourself to know exactly where everything goes. Look at what the professionals are doing. They know exactly where everything goes. Shouldn't you?
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