What is narrative structure?
Narrative structure is how a story unfolds on screen and the effect that this has on the audience.
It is the framework that shows:
- what happens
- how it happens
- why it happens
Narrative structure combines the ‘what’ (the plot) with the ‘how’ (the way the story is told).
Video - narrative structure
Watch this video to understand narrative structure.
Narrative structure is how you tell your story.
It’s the order you organise events in, to take your audience and their feelings on a journey.
A lot of stories follow a simple structure of three acts: setup… conflict… resolution.
You set up a situation, a conflict or challenge makes things difficult, and how this problem is dealt with is the resolution and ending.
Here, the setup is the character’s goal: they want the cake.
The conflict is what gets in the way: the cake is taken!
The resolution is how the story ends. There’s an even better cake to enjoy!
To create simple narrative structure - give your character a goal… then put an obstacle in the way. How the character faces this problem is the climax of your film that leads to the resolution, how the situation ends.
How you organise events can make a big difference to the same basic story.
Some films tell their story out of order, using flashbacks, multiple perspectives or showing events in a non-chronological order.
Key points
Narrative structure is the shape of the story
The three-act structure is a technique that divides a story into a beginning, middle and end:
- Act 1 - setup
- Act 2 - conflict
- Act 3 - resolution
Stories can be told in different orders:
- Linear - Events happen in a straightforward, The logical order of events in time, from beginning to middle to end. order.
- Non-linear - Events are shown out of order, for example using A scene in a film that shows an event that happened in the past. or A scene in a film that shows what happens or might happen in the future..
On screen examples - narrative structure
- Image source, Columbia Pictures / Marvel Studios / Pascal Pictures / Sony Pictures / Album / Alamy
Image caption, Three-act structure
'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' follows a classic three-act structure. In the set up, Peter Parker lives a solitary life fighting crime, when he meets his old friends and faces a new threat. In the conflict, he battles his new enemy while trying to reconnect with his past. In the resolution, he must deal with his feelings if he is to save the city and his friends.
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Try this - narrative structure
Watch this video and give this narrative structure exercise a go!
Narrative structure is the way a film’s story is organised and presented to the audience. It shapes how events unfold, how characters change, and how meaning is created.
Can you think of a scene with a simple story? Try to work out how to structure it into three separate acts - setup, conflict and resolution.
Roles/Departments
Screenwriter - Comes up with the initial idea for a story and uses narrative structure to write a screenplay. This stage is called ‘development’.
Producer/Exec producer - Helps shape the story and give the screenwriter feedback during the writing process.
Director - Leads on the creative vision which brings the script to life and works with a crew to film the story.
Editor - Works with the director at the editing stage to make sure the order of scenes works to tell the story.
Think about
- Is there a clear setup, conflict and resolution in your story?
- What happens if you change the order of events?
- Who is the main character and how do they change throughout the story?
Things to look for
- Think about how the structure of the story guides the audience’s emotions.
- Consider how each scene helps moves the story forward.
- Think about how you want your audience to feel at the start and the end - take them on an emotional journey!
Things to consider
- Think about the length of your story.
- Can you get your story across in the time you have?
- Is it simple enough to tell in this time?
- Is there enough happening to hold the audience's interest?
More on Elements of film and screen
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