Three Act Story Structure - What Every Editor Should Know

In this article, I’m going to explain three act story structure, using the 3D-animated short film Pigeon: Impossible. It was released in 2009 and has amassed over 14 million views on YouTube (and it inspired the feature film Spies in Disguise starring Tom Holland and Will Smith).

I believe that a deep understanding of narrative story structure is one of the most important tools in an editor’s tool belt. Even if you’re not actively editing a narrative, I think these concepts can be applied to almost any project. 

And for those who want to rebel against Hollywood story structure, I say, "do so at your own risk" and only after you learn the rules that you’re interested in breaking.

 I think one of the reasons why Pigeon: Impossible was so successful is because writer/director Lucas Martell and the story team (myself, Scott Rice, and Gopal Bidari) went to great lengths to adhere to classic three act story structure. Let’s take a look and see what we can learn from the structure of this six-minute short.

When dividing your story into three acts, the first act should take up about 25% (or 90 seconds in this case), the second act should take up about 50%, and the third act should take up the final 25%.

First things first, the opening of a narrative film should reveal the protagonist and show them in their normal environment. Here we have Walter. He is clearly not the most suave of all the agents.

The main plot point of Act 1 is the inciting incident. This is where the main character’s normal world is interrupted. In this case, a seemingly harmless pigeon shows up.

And then, we hit the first plot point, which should send the story in a whole different direction. Here it’s when the pigeon gets trapped in the briefcase.

This happens at the 1.5 minute mark, which is 25% of the way in—right on time!

This leads us into Act 2, where our protagonist tries to solve the problem, but things continue to escalate and get worse for them. 

At the midpoint of Act 2, the character thinks they have it solved, but it only gets worse. In Pigeon: Impossible this is where the tables are turned, Walter is in control and threatens to destroy the bagel. Let’s check the time—3 minute mark—exactly halfway through the film.

As the stakes continue to rise, we get to the character’s lowest point, sometimes referred to as “The Big Gloom”. For Walter, his lowest moment is when it appears he might be responsible for starting World War III. Walter decides he must change and have the courage to save the day which takes us into Act 3.

And let’s check our time here. The end of Act 2 hits at 75%. Again, right on time!

In Act 3, the rising action comes to a climax, which happens here, when Walter saves the day by outsmarting the pigeon and blowing up the nuke.

Also in Act 3 is the resolution or denouement. This is when Walter comes back down to earth (literally) and things are back to normal, but he’s a changed man. He is no longer a bumbling agent, he has swagger. And our pigeon? Well, he gets what he deserves.

There you have it. And while it’s simple, it’s not easy. We refined this story over several years before Lucas and his animation team brought it to life.

If you’d like to read more about three act structure, I recommend Syd Field’s classic book: Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting (affiliate).

Austen is an ADDY award-winning film & commercial editor with over 20 years of experience. He has worked with global brands like Meta, KPMG, SAP, and Christianity Today. His PSA work has championed causes like school safety (with Matthew McConaughey), driving safety, and anti-tobacco. A thought leader in the editing field, his online lessons quickly amassed over 100K views after launch.