Everything you need to know about narrative arc analysis, story structure, and how Quanten Arc works.
A narrative arc is the shape of a story when you map its emotional intensity from beginning to end. It traces how tension rises, peaks, and resolves across scenes. Every great film has a distinctive narrative arc, whether it follows a classic rising-action pattern or something more unconventional. Quanten Arc lets you visualise and compare these arcs scene by scene across 200+ films in the benchmark library.
Three act structure (also written as 3 act structure) is the most common storytelling framework in film. Act 1 sets up the world and characters, Act 2 develops conflict and raises the stakes, and Act 3 delivers the climax and resolution. Quanten Arc automatically detects three act structure as well as five act and unconventional structures, marking act boundaries on your narrative arc so you can see exactly where each transition falls.
Plot structure is the sequence of events that forms the backbone of a story. In film, strong plot structure is what keeps audiences engaged from the opening scene to the credits. It determines pacing, tension, and emotional payoff. Quanten Arc analyses your screenplay's plot structure by scoring the intensity of every scene, revealing whether your story builds momentum effectively or loses the audience at critical moments.
Story structure refers to the chronological sequence of events in a story, while narrative structure describes how those events are presented to the audience. A film might have a linear story structure but use a non-linear narrative structure (flashbacks, parallel timelines). Quanten Arc analyses both: it maps the intensity of scenes as they appear in the screenplay (narrative structure) and identifies the underlying act framework (story structure) so you can evaluate pacing from both perspectives.
A comparable (or "comp") is a film that shares similarities with yours in genre, tone, or narrative structure. Every story, no matter how original, exists within a tradition. Identifying comparables is not about saying your film is unoriginal — it’s about understanding the structural patterns that work for your type of story. For example, if you’re writing a slow-burn psychological thriller, comparing your arc to films like Gone Girl or Zodiac shows you how those films managed tension and pacing. Comparables give you a structural blueprint to learn from, so you can make more intentional choices about where your story follows convention and where it deliberately breaks it.
You have two options. If you’re on the Creator plan and have access to the screenplay, you can upload it yourself using your upload credits. The analysis will be private to your account and appear in the My Scripts section of your library, ready to compare against any other film. Alternatively, if you’d like a film added to the public benchmark library, simply reply to the welcome email you received when you signed up and let us know. If the screenplay is publicly available, we’ll prioritise adding it.
Quanten Arc gives you an objective, data-driven view of your screenplay structure. Upload your script and receive a scene-by-scene intensity analysis that reveals how your film script structure compares to 200+ professionally analysed films in the benchmark library. You can identify flat spots, missing tension, and pacing issues before committing to production. Compare your screenplay structure against films in the same genre to see where your story works and where it breaks.
When you upload a screenplay, Quanten Arc parses it into individual scenes and runs each through a custom audience model built on granular data collected from real viewers. The model evaluates dialogue density, action content, emotional keywords, and pacing, calibrated for your film's genre. The result is a 0–100 intensity score for every scene, plus automatic act structure detection and peak identification. The entire process takes just a few minutes.
Quanten Arc supports PDF, plain text (TXT), and Fountain (.fountain) screenplay formats. You can also attach SRT subtitle files to correlate scene timing with your intensity analysis, enabling runtime-aligned arc visualisation.
The benchmark library includes 200+ professionally analysed screenplays spanning multiple genres including drama, action, horror, comedy, thriller, romance, and sci-fi. It includes Oscar winners, Cannes selections, genre-defining blockbusters, and acclaimed independent films. New films are added regularly based on user requests.
Right now, the benchmark library is built entirely around feature films. Our audience model and intensity scoring have been calibrated specifically for long-format storytelling, so the comparisons and structural insights are most meaningful for feature-length screenplays. We’re exploring support for other formats — TV episodes, shorts, trailers, and more — and will announce new formats as they become available.
Your screenplay is processed to generate the narrative arc and immediately deleted from our servers. We never store your script, never use it for training, and never share it. Only the arc analysis (intensity scores, scene structure, and act breakpoints) is retained in your private account.
Studio is currently available at a launch price of $999/month. The regular price will be $1,299/month. Subscribers who join now lock in the $999 rate for as long as they remain subscribed.
Your credit card will be charged $49/month for Explorer. You can cancel anytime before the trial ends to avoid charges. During the trial, you have full access to the benchmark library and can compare up to 3 films side by side.
Yes. Creator includes 3 uploads/month. Additional uploads are $10 each. Unused upload credits roll over to the next month. If you consistently need more than 3 uploads, Studio tier ($999/month) includes unlimited uploads.
Unused upload credits roll over to the next month, so you can save them for when you need them. For example, if you only use 1 of your 3 credits in January, you'll have 5 available in February. However, all accumulated credits expire when your subscription is cancelled or terminated.
Studio is for production houses and agencies (5 team seats, unlimited uploads, $999/month launch price). Enterprise is for large organizations (unlimited seats, evaluation mode with detailed structural feedback reports, custom integrations, dedicated account manager, and SLA guarantees at custom pricing).
Yes, you can cancel your Explorer or Creator plan at any time. No cancellation fees or long-term contracts.
Yes! You can upgrade anytime. We'll prorate your payment and you'll get immediate access to Creator features.
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