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 500+ 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 complete scene-by-scene analysis: intensity scoring, character presence tracking across every scene, genre composition breakdown by act, and narrative beat classification, all benchmarked against 500+ 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, a character presence map showing which characters appear across the arc, a genre composition breakdown revealing the tonal register of each act, narrative beat classification for each scene’s emotional function, plus automatic act structure detection and peak identification. The entire process takes just a few minutes.
Every story, regardless of genre or setting, tends to follow one of a small number of fundamental story shapes. Narrative archetype mapping identifies which archetype your screenplay embodies: whether it follows a Transformation arc, a Revelation arc, a Survival arc, a Quest, or another core pattern. This is not about genre (a horror film and a drama can share the same archetype) but about the underlying emotional and structural logic of the story. Knowing your archetype tells you which beats should carry the most weight and where the story is most likely to go wrong.
A Structural Analysis Report is the flagship output of the Studio plan and the one-off report purchase. It goes beyond the arc chart to give you a development-ready document: archetype classification with the parameters driving it, framework alignment showing how your beats map against Hero's Journey, Save the Cat, and other established frameworks, beat-by-beat shaping guidance identifying where the story is on track and where it needs work, a pacing verdict, comparable titles from the benchmark library, and character presence summary. It is delivered as a PDF, formatted to share with a director, writer, or development executive.
Quanten Arc supports PDF, plain text (TXT), Fountain (.fountain), and Final Draft (FDX) screenplay formats. Upload any of these and the analysis runs automatically.
The benchmark library includes 500+ 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.
Yes. The upload form supports feature films, mini-series, prestige series, short films, and network TV episodes. The benchmark library is currently built primarily around feature films, so structural comparisons are most meaningful for feature-length work. Series and short film benchmarks are being added as the library grows.
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.
Yes. The one-off report at $499 gives you a single Structural Analysis Report with no account required. You enter your email, receive a secure upload link, upload your screenplay, and pay via Stripe. The report is delivered to your inbox within 24 hours. If you need reports regularly, the Studio plan includes 50 credits per month shared across your team, which works out significantly cheaper per report.
Your credit card will be charged $9/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.
Creator includes 3 uploads per month. Unused uploads roll over to the next month. If you need more than 3 per month, the Studio plan is structured around a shared credit model: 50 credits/month across 5 seats.
Unused upload credits roll over, so you can save them for when you need them. On a monthly Creator plan, 3 credits are added each billing cycle. On an annual Creator plan, all 36 credits (3 per month x 12) are loaded upfront on day one. Studio annual plans load all 600 credits (50 per month x 12) upfront. Monthly upload limits still apply regardless of billing period. All accumulated credits expire when your subscription is cancelled.
Studio is for production houses and agencies: 5 team seats, 50 credits/month (benchmark scripts, commission Full Structural Analysis Reports), credits roll over, top-up available at $99 for 10 credits. Enterprise is for large organizations needing unlimited seats, custom integrations, a dedicated account manager, and SLA guarantees at custom pricing.
Yes. All plans are available on annual billing at a discount equivalent to 2 months free: Explorer at $90/year ($7.50/month), and Creator at $490/year ($40.83/month). Studio annual billing is discussed on your discovery call. Annual plans are charged in full upfront. Explorer annual does not include a free trial. Creator and Studio annual plans load all 12 months of upload credits on day one: 36 credits for Creator and 600 credits for Studio.
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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