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Build Story Structure

Goal: Use the AI Wizard to lay out your story's act structure, define beats, and create a narrative framework before writing a single scene.

The Story Arc panel is the backbone of your project. Before any scenes or shots exist, it gives you a bird's-eye view of your narrative: the acts, the turning points, and the emotional beats that connect them. Building this structure first means the AI has a clear map when it later helps you write dialogue, design shots, and suggest pacing.

If you already know film structure well, you can skip the wizard and build the arc manually in the Story Arc panel — jump to step 11.

Steps​

  1. Open your project dashboard. From the ACT3 AI home screen, click an existing project or click + New Project. You will land on the project dashboard.

  2. Launch the AI Wizard. In the center of the dashboard (or in the top-right toolbar), click AI Wizard. A multi-step dialog opens.

  3. Choose your project type. On the first wizard screen, select Feature Film, Short Film, TV Episode, or TV Series. This sets the default act structure — three acts for film, two acts for a half-hour episode, and so on.

  4. Enter your logline or concept. In the field labeled What is your story about?, type one to three sentences. For example: A retired detective is pulled back to her hometown when her childhood friend is accused of a crime she knows he didn't commit. Specific input produces more targeted suggestions.

  5. Review the AI-proposed act structure. The wizard generates act cards with working titles and a description of each act's narrative function. Read through each card. Click Edit on any act to revise its title or description. Click Remove to discard an act you don't need.

  6. Add or adjust acts. If you want more granularity — some stories use five acts — click + Add Act at the bottom of the act list and enter a title and short description.

  7. Review the proposed beats. Within each act, the wizard lists suggested beats: the key turning points and emotional shifts. Each beat card shows a title and one-sentence description. Click any card to expand it and edit the text.

  8. Add your own beats. Inside any act, click + Add Beat to insert a beat at the end of that act. Drag beats up or down to reorder them within the act.

  9. Set the emotional tone of each beat. In the expanded beat detail panel, use the Tone dropdown to tag the beat: Rising tension, Comic relief, Revelation, Climax, Resolution, or Custom. This tag guides AI cinematography and music suggestions downstream.

  10. Approve the story arc. Once satisfied, click Approve Story Arc at the bottom of the wizard. ACT3 AI saves the structure, closes the wizard, and populates the Story Arc panel.

  11. Navigate with the Story Arc panel. In the left sidebar, click Story Arc. The panel shows your full act-and-beat hierarchy. Click any beat to jump directly to it. You can continue editing here at any time — no need to reopen the wizard.

  12. Iterate freely. The story arc is never locked. Return to the Story Arc panel to add beats, split acts, or restructure scenes at any point. Changes cascade automatically through dependent elements.

Tips​

  • Start with the broadest strokes: get your acts defined before filling in beats. Trying to nail every beat before the act structure is solid usually leads to re-work.
  • The AI Wizard produces better results with a specific logline. Vague input like a hero goes on an adventure yields generic structure; the more detail you give, the more tailored the output.
  • Use the Primary vs. AI Recommended toggle in the Story Arc panel to compare your approved structure against a fresh AI suggestion at any time without losing your work.

Next steps​