ACTS?

To avid - dreamer.

I don't have a copy of Movie Magic, though the ACTS option is for Stage (Play) formatting.
You probably have the following(possibly more) options available:
Screenplay.
Stageplay.
Sitcom 1.
Sitcom 2.

Go to either your Format or Tools menu, then simple choose(load) the Screenplay option.
This will ensure your screenplay is formatted correctly.
Acts in Screenplays(Three Act Structure) is based on page counts, though they are not an exact science.
Therefore, a 120 page Screenplay is usually divided as follows(approximately).

ACT 1
Set - Up (or Beginning)
Page 1 - 30

ACT 2
Confrontation (or Middle)
Page 30 - 90

ACT 3
Resolution (or Ending)
Page 90 - 120


Some of the Screenwriting guru's state that your Acts(and plot points), must fall precisely on particular page counts.
Other guru's beleive that this inhibits the creative flow of the Screenwriter.

There is also an eight(15 pages each) sequence system, and many other theories on how a Screenplay should best be written.

Daniel.

Agreed, acts are a stage play convention, and although screenplays would usually follow the three-act structure, act breaks aren't indicated in the screenplay.

-Derek

Just to be evil...

The "acts" issue isn't necessarily what you are thinking it is; acts in a screenplay are different from stage in that the script isn't broke down into the acts, and is basically free-flowing. However, films still follow the basic three-act structure, and so dividing it that way may not be a bad idea if it helps you stay organized.

In a standard "happy ending" script, the first act ends when the plot starts turning sour for the MC (rising action-rising action-rising action-falling action), and the second act ends when he gets it together (falling action-falling action-falling action-rising action). For a standard "sad ending", these are reversed...

[Obligatory: For Indiana Jones, the first act ends when Indy basically has no choice but to go after The Arc, and the second when he is captured.]

If it helps...
FR

My current script has a terrible situation happen to the main protag on Page 25 whre he discovers the evil plans of the antagonist and gets unwillingly caught up in those plans. And I assumed THAT was my ending of Act 1. But a pro script analyst said: "No, you made the rookie mistake if having Act 1 end 15 pages later than it should have, and so the TRUE ending of Act 1 in YOUR script falls on Page 40."

I disputed that at first and asked him to show me. He explained that the correct ending of Act 1 will be marked by the hero "answering the call to action." And Page 40 is indeed where my hero answers the call to action and swings into gear to combat the evil threat. So my terrible situation back on Page 25 is merely the set up for his answering the call later.

He said if I can compress all of Act 1 by ten pages I should be golden.


::ETA::

He says that in his experience MOST newbie scriptwriters almost always make that exact same mistake of stretching out Act 1 to be ten or fifteen pages too long.

He further says: "Most problems found in almost any screenplay can be fixed entirely in Act 1."

Plot Device:

If it helps, a few other rookie First Act mistakes:

1) Too much exposition (the writer figures that the world or situation is totally unlike anything that the audience has dealt with, and so add too much exposition)
2) Not enough exposition (the world is presented as is, but needs some exposition)
3) Too many characters too quickly (rather than bringing the characters in when needed, the writer feels that that they should all be introduced in the first act)
4) Too much weirdness (usually in a non-linear script, or other attempts to play with traditional structure)
5) Too much action (better known as the "We have a major car chase in the first five minutes????" problem)


If it helps...
FR