The Importance of the Midpoint in Screenwriting

Earlier this month, I produced a video essay for The Script Department, in which I discuss the importance of the midpoint in screenwriting, using Alfonso Cuaron’s space thriller Gravity (2013), a beautifully structured film with a clearly defined emotional arc, to examine how the midpoint affects the protagonist’s emotional journey.

One of the most fundamental elements within the structure of a screenplay, the midpoint is a moment halfway through the film, that moves the protagonist closer to or further away from their goal. It’s the point in the screenplay when the plot shifts, raising the stakes and sending the story’s action off in a new direction.