Rule of 3-Act Structure: AI Slop (woman with giant rock breaking glass bridge meme)

I've given feedback on thousands of scripts, films, and novels in my 9 years as a story analyst.

One of the most common issues I come across is a poorly structured story.

I've heard every excuse in the world for why someone's story simply cannot adhere to traditional 3-act structure.

And when I hear those excuses, I always have something to say back!

"Structure is a cage built with the sole purpose of confining my creativity" -- If you use structure correctly, it can actually give you more creative freedom! 🤗

"No one's thinking about structure while watching a movie" -- I am! 💅

But while most people aren't actively noticing the structure of a story, 3-act structure makes up the bones of every story ever told, and people will feel it when something strays from that mold.

"My story is built different" -- it certainly is! 🤠

But ladies, ladies... Let's not fight.

You just have to accept that 3-act structure can be found in almost anything.

Even places you would never think to look. 👀

To prove this, I decided to start a series called "Rule of 3-Act Structure" where I'll analyze the 3-act structure I find in unexpected places!

This first one is the most recent meme video that's taken over my Twitter feed........

ai woman cracks glass bridge with giant rock

Yes, I'm serious.

In the last few days, I've discovered this is actually an entire genre of AI-generated videos.

Most of the ones I've seen are pure set-up -> pay-off.

Woman with giant rock smashes rock onto bridge -> bridge breaks.

But the main one that's been going around actually tells a complete story. And I firmly believe that's why this specific video is more popular than the others.

Here's the video (AI slop warning ⚠️):

Yes, 3-act structure is actually present in this video.

And we're gonna break it down beat-by-beat.

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ACT I

Opening Image + Hook

A woman holds a boulder over her head while standing on a crowded glass bridge suspended high above a forest.

Tension is immediately established.

Will she drop the boulder?

If she does, will the glass break?

If the glass breaks, will the bridge collapse?

We can't look away until these questions are answered.

Like truly we can't.

Our natural sense of curiosity won't let us.

We are now hooked to the story.

Inciting Incident

The woman launches herself backwards in what can only be described as an act of terrorism, shattering the glass bridge with her giant rock.

This is, quite literally, the first moment that shakes up our protagonist's world.

Now, who is our protagonist? You may be asking.

It's certainly not rock lady -- she's solidified her position as the antagonist. Also, pretty sure she dies moments after this.

We actually haven't met our protagonist yet.

And among other critiques I have of this video, this is one:

The inciting incident would be more effective had we been introduced to the protagonist beforehand.

This would have given us a stronger sense of what's at stake, and why this inciting incident is such a big moment in the protagonist's life.

However -- it was established that we're on a bridge full of people, so the stakes were already pretty clear.

Also, this is a 15-second video; there isn't much time to properly establish everything. Starting off with a bang honestly works for the purposes of this story.

First Act Break

(Point of No Return / Entering a New World)

Right as the inciting incident happens, we end act 1 when our central characters fall from the broken bridge to the ground below

Almost quite literally entering a new world

And 100% literally entering a point of no return.

Typically, the "point of no return" is a decision the protagonist makes themselves.

However, in the context of a disaster / nightmare scenario story, having the protagonist be forced into a "new world" is fine.

Anyway, it's at this point we meet our protagonist: a young girl, who was on the bridge with her mom and unleashed golden retriever.

Of all people on the bridge, this character in particular is narratively ideal to focus on.

Why is that?

She has the most at stake, and the most working against her in this scenario.

A child this young has barely lived life.

Not only does she have her whole life ahead of her, she has very little life experience to help her in this new world.

She's a true underdog in this situation.

And there's an actual dog there!

Protagonist's Goal

As soon as we see these people falling, we know what their goal is: SURVIVE.

There's nothing else our protagonist could want in this situation, and she's going to spend the rest of this story working towards that goal.

Which also leads us to our:

Dramatic Question

As the girl and her mother fall, we ask: Will they survive?

This question, this narrative tension, drives the story from this point on.

We know that when this question is answered, the story is effectively over.

ACT II

First Turning Point

The protagonist is separated from the group, left to find her way out of the raging waters (antagonistic force) alone.

If she even had a slight chance of survival after that deadly fall, it would have been with the help of her mother.

Now there's even more at stake, and even more working against our protagonist.

Midpoint

Our story takes a turn when the unleashed golden retriever sets out to rescue our protagonist.

Typically at the midpoint we'll see the protagonist shift their mindset or otherwise be forced to work towards their goal in a new way.

In this instance, we're still seeing the goal being worked towards in a new way (the dog will help her get out vs her doing it alone) -- it's just not the protagonist doing it herself.

That's because she's about to hit:

Low Point ("All is Lost")

Our protagonist is now drowning in the body of water -- that is simultaneously shallow enough for the dog to run in, but deep enough for her to be completely submerged in (with a good amount of water above her head too)

But we're not here to analyze the filmmaking, or really any logic of this video beyond the basics of story structure, okay?

The point is: this appears to be the end of the journey for her.

She's literally at rock bottom.

Like her feet are actually touching the rocks.

This is when the answer to the dramatic question seems the most bleak.

Will she survive?

Well...

High Point

The situation drastically improves for our protagonist when the dog finally reaches her.

she also appears to have aged down quite a bit.

is this body of water.... the fountain of youth?!

Just when the outlook seemed grim, things are now better than ever for our protagonist!

She's reunited with her dog, which gives her a huge advantage in achieving her goal (surviving).

And she can head into the climax -- where the dramatic question will be answered -- with a chance of winning.

ACT III

Climax

The protagonist has been fighting for survival this whole time.

She's closer than ever to achieving her goal, and this is the final moment that will determine her fate.

How she handles this will answer the dramatic question: will she survive?

Let's see...

The protagonist successfully uses all the strength she can muster to climb on top of the dog, freeing herself from the water, and finally answering the dramatic question.

She did, in fact, survive. She achieved her goal.

Pretty solid climax.

But what good is a climax without a:

Resolution

Our protagonist is reunited with her mother.

No one is in danger anymore.

The tension is gone.

The journey is over.

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And there you have it.

It's not perfect, but it's a clear-cut 3-act structure -- all in 15 seconds!

So what's your excuse for not having those beats in your story?

Have any recommendations for my next "Rule of 3 Act Structure" breakdown?

Let me know in the comments!