Joseph DeMartino wrote:   
   > On Jan 8, 12:06 am, "David E. Powell"    
   > wrote:   
   >    
   >> I was thinking air time. It is tricky as some Network TV movies run 3   
   >> hours with ads.   
   >    
   > Not sure what networks you watch, but the major US TV networks almost   
   > never go beyond 2 hours for a TV movie.  *Sometimes* they'll go over   
   > for a hard-to-cut theatrical film.   
   >    
   >> OK. I was sort of used to thinking in terms of four act or five act   
   >> play formats. I see that one could split the act breaks for commercial   
   >> within the "acts" thematically.   
   >    
   > ?  Most plays I've done have been three acts, and even things that   
   > have other structures (or forms, like novels) tend to have what   
   > amounts to three act structures:  Introductions, rising action, climax   
   > and denoument.   
   >    
   > All dramatic TV acts tend to run about 12 minutes of action or 15   
   > minutes of screen time, broadly speaking, because that's how   
   > frequently the networks want to have commercial breaks.  In an   
   > episodic series the structure tends to be this:   
   >    
   > Teaster (Short scene to establish the initials situation.  Think of   
   > the discovery of the body through the arrival of the cops and evidence   
   > techs on shows like "Law and Order" or "CSI")   
   >    
   > Opening Credits   
   >    
   > Act I   
   > Act II   
   > Act III   
   > Act IV   
   >    
      
   Remember when hour-long shows actually had title cards at the beginning    
   of each act--sometime just as simple as Act I, etc?   
      
   Blair   
   --- SBBSecho 2.12-Win32   
    * Origin: Time Warp of the Future BBS - Home of League 10 (1:14/400)