Notes on Michael Arndt's Endings video

Michael Arndt made a great video called "Endings: The Good, the Bad, and the Insanely Great", online here. The video is long - about an hour and a half. Below are brief notes, omitting all his examples and detailed explanations, that I wrote as I watched it.

He strongly emphasizes that he is not encouraging you to use any formula to write a story. Rather, in the examples of films he reviewed (eg, Little Miss Sunshine and The Graduate), they all followed this structure.

There are 3 kinds of stakes:

1. external (Life / Survival, Money, Contest, Position / Status, Any Achievable Goal)
   
2. internal (Romantic Love, Parent / Child Love, Friendship, Self Respect)
   
3. philosophical (individual values vs community values, Community over Individual, Ideal vs. Self).
   

A screenshot from the video:

(Click to enlarge.)

The six tentpole moments of the story:

Stage of story	Name	Page
Once upon a time	opening	1
And then one day	inciting incident	10
And the quest began	first act break	25
Suddenly without warning	midpoint	50
No going back	2nd act break	75
All or nothing	climax	90

These approximate page numbers assume a 100 page script.

1. On pages 1-10, the opening introduces the equilibrium of the protagonist’s world, shows the flawed protag’s world, shows a possible future for the protag that the protag wants to see his/her stable self in. The flaw relates to the “global problem” of the protag and the possible future relates to how the protag will be once his/her problem is solved.
   
2. The inciting incident delivers the “bolt from the blue” changes the protags view of themself and their future. However, it can also be a worst possible event for the protag, adding an “insult to injury” moment to heighten the emotion. This event creates the global problem that the protag must solve by the end of the story.
   
3. First act break marks the beginning of the protags “journey” to solve his/her global problem. This, in turn, creates a local problem that must be solved before the global problem is resolved.
   
4. The midpoint provides a setback to the protag - a change in direction to his/her path. This stage of the story can also deepen the stacks. It can also provide a place where the protage discovers an inner flaw that he/she was blind to previously.
   
5. The second act break is a place where the local problem is resolved. Also it can be a place where the external stakes have a setback and the internal stakes have a setback. The closest ally of the protag has “Judas moment” where they choose the “dominant” values (in opposition to the protag’s “underdog” values), thus the philosophical stakes also have a setback.
   
   There is a point late in the 2nd act or in the 3rd act where the protag “hears” his/her mentor’s advice (possible as a VO or insert or flashback). As a result, the protag chooses the underdog values, against his/her own self-interest.
   
   
6. The “2 minute” climax contains the moment of despair when
   
   • the protag “hears” his/her mentor’s advice,
     
   • the protag chooses the underdog values,
     
   • there is a setback to the external stakes,
     
   • there is a setback to the internal stakes,
     
   • there is a setback to the philosophical stakes,
     
   • no possible positive outcome is possible.
     
   Then the ally comes to the rescue (regretting the Judas moment), leading to the decisive act, arising from the protag embracing the underdog values, where (i) the external stakes are successful, (ii) the internal stakes are successful, (iii) the philosophical stakes are successful.