 When talking about storytelling, how can we differentiate between bigger and smaller narrative units in stories or, let's say, the pieces of information? Screenwriting advisor Robert McKee introduces the smallest part, an exchange of behavior in an action-reaction, as a beat. Musical beats then form a scene. A scene in a movie mostly presents actions or interactions at one place at one time. A sequence then describes a gathering of scenes that belong together and are united in an overlapping motive or a goal. A series of sequences that peaks in a climactic scene is called an act. What does that mean when looking at a movie, for example, at a classic movie like Pretty Woman from 1990? And by the way, I know Pretty Woman might not count as the incarnation of the future of storytelling. But, as I said, we have to look at the past and present first before discussing any possible outlooks on the future. I chose Pretty Woman because many of you might know it, and if not, it's rather easily accessible if you want to watch and analyze it yourself. Hollywood romantic comedies, as most Hollywood classics, follow a basic three-act structure. This basic structure of classic stories has a beginning, a middle and an end. In other words, it has an exposition, a confrontation and a resolution, whether bad or good, as, for example, in a happy ending, which is a really good ending. These theories, as you might already know, even lean back to Greek philosopher Aristotle. Most Hollywood romantic comedies, like Pretty Woman or Sabrina, Notting Hill and Sweet Home Alabama, for example, have a happy ending. But what about the other parts, the other acts of these movies? Well, the basic romantic comedy is built as a meet-lose-get. A potential couple meets in act one, struggles to come together and separates in act two, the big lose, and finally, after all the conflict is settled, comes together in a get in act three. This get is most often celebrated with a final kiss that is orchestrated in zoom-outs with music playing shortly before the movie ends. So now we've got our three acts in a movie like Pretty Woman. But what about the sequence? Pretty Woman is a story of a prostitute who by chance meets a ruthless millionaire. While saving each other's lives, they fall in love and end up as a couple. If interested, you can also find the trailer linked below. To discuss the narrative units in Pretty Woman, let's look at the polo match sequence that shows our potential couple's first time out in the open at a big social event together. This, by the way, would be our connecting motive of the sequence here. The whole sequence unites several scenes at the polo match, in which the two protagonists, Vivienne Ward, played by Julia Roberts, and Edward Lewis, played by Richie Gere, interact with each other like here on the polo field. Other scenes of the same polo match sequence have both protagonists interact with other side characters, like when Vivienne Ward meets Edward's lawyer Stucky, whom she first thinks to be a friend of Edward's, and therefore interacts with innocently and very friendly. Seconds later, she realizes that he very well knows about her being a prostitute and the scene turns to Stucky shamelessly harassing her, and making Vivienne in return feel cheap and betrayed by her companion Edward Lewis. This whole encounter between Vivienne and Stucky can be defined as a scene, whereas Vivienne's first innocent chatter, then Stucky's flirtations, and then Vivienne's hurt reaction, are all single beats in this single scene. Single actions and reactions that turn the story a tiny bit. The many scenes of the polo match form the whole sequence that builds up to a big argument between the protagonists in the following sequence, when they are back at their hotel in LA. We can find these little narrative units in nearly every story, not only films and especially not only classical Hollywood movies, but let's go back and look at the bigger picture again, the overall story design.