A hero's journey story has three acts. Three distinct feelings. The first act is 30 minutes, the second act is 60 minutes, and the final act is 30 minutes. If the movie is longer or shorter than two hours, adjust accordingly. But regardless, the second act is about twice the length of each of the other two. This is shown in Figure 2-4.
The first act takes place in the "normal world," the world the protagonist (hero) normally lives in. During this first act, we meet the hero, find out his (or her) problem, and see his call to action. This is him being called to act heroically, in a way that would lead to the rest of the story. The hero always refuses the call the first time. Then something changes, it becomes personal, and he has no choice but to answer the call to greatness and risk it all to become a hero. The hero is usually played by Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, or Wesley Snipes.
The hero meets a mentor, an older person who used to be at the top of the same game the hero wants to operate in, but the mentor is now retired or crippled in some way, so all he has to pass on is knowledge and wisdom. He also usually passes on some sort of talisman—an actual physical object—to the hero. The talisman seems useless at this point but will help the hero in some way in the third act. The mentor is usually played by a handsome, older black guy with a deep voice, and it's usually Morgan Freeman.
The mentor helps the hero assemble a ragtag crew of misfits as his team to help him in his hero's journey quest. There's always one guy on the team who seems like he's going to get everyone killed. This is the guy who makes you think, "Why is that guy on the team? He's going to get everyone killed!" This character is always played by a short, squirrelly, funny-looking white guy, often Steve Buscemi.
Once the hero's team has completed its training, the assembled team will always walk in semi-slow motion side by side toward the camera, wearing whatever outfits they will wear in their new world. This shows that they're now a single unit, not four or five individuals. This badass walk is how you know act one has ended and act two is beginning.
If it's a movie about hookers, they're dressed in pumps and miniskirts. If it's about astronauts, they're wearing space suits. If it's Reservoir Dogs, they're wearing cheap suits and skinny ties.
The second act takes place in the "special world," the world of wonder where most of the story actually happens. This can actually be a different physical location from the normal world, or it can take place in some marginal society that's still geographically in the same town as the normal world. But it's often a different physical location. And when it is, part of the "journey" will involve the hero and his team traveling to that physical location.
In this special world, the hero will battle many foes and almost die several times (figuratively or literally). He will become stronger, physically and spiritually, with each battle, until he meets the ultimate evil (antagonist) in the third act in the battle in the innermost chamber. This is the climax of the film, and it usually happens in the middle of act three. The most quotable lines from the movie come from this part. The quote on the movie poster often comes from this part.
If it's a cowboy movie, the battle in the innermost chamber takes place in the corral as a shootout with the villain. If it's a courtroom drama, it is closing arguments screamed by lawyers and defendants in front of a jury while the judge bangs his gavel and demands order. If it's that dodgeball movie, the battle is the dodgeball championships in Las Vegas. During the battle in the innermost chamber, the hero will die (figuratively or literally), resurrect with wounds (this is probably a Jesus metaphor), and stand again to finally slay the beast, even though he's bleeding (figuratively or literally).
Then there's the denouement (pronounced "day nu ma"), the gentle anticlimax where the hero gets the girl, gets the gold, saves the farm, and returns to the normal world. But now he's richer for the experience, changed for the better, and bearing gifts (literal or symbolic) to help his community. (This section often leaves one or two seemingly small questions unanswered, which sets the story up for a sequel, just in case the film makes a lot of money.) Roll credits.
Do you feel cheated? You should. Hollywood relies on this formula to make safe movies that are guaranteed to turn a profit. They even wrap this formula around true events that do not occur in three acts, in biopics and documentaries. Sometimes, especially in reality TV, the conflict is even manufactured, put together behind the scenes by the producers. (See Figure 2-5.)
No cats were harmed or even mildly irritated in the making of these images. They illustrate the idea of contrived conflict, and it does look like the producer is strategizing behind the scenes to create conflict. It looks like Debra Jean is putting one cat near the other cat, but she's actually gently removing the cat who was about to fight, thereby stopping a fight.
Scripts that don't follow the hero's journey recipe to a T are routinely turned down by producers, even if the story and writing are great. Hollywood has so much potential, and it's almost always wasted. It's sad. The hero's journey does, however, have some good attributes. Study this formula, know it when you see it, and then rewrite the rules. Pick the parts you like, discard the rest, and make something brilliant. (Or do what South Park does and follow the formula to the letter, exaggerate all the bullet points, and make fun of it while you're doing it.)
Most good videos have a discernable beginning, middle, and end; even unscripted vlogs (video blogs—confessional, one-person-looking-into-the-camera-and-baring-his-soul-type videos, which are very popular on YouTube) have these three parts. The best vlogs have a feel of introducing an issue, talking about the issue, and resolving the issue, and the best vloggers do this without even thinking about it.