I guess I should pop in a little more often... Interesting back and forth. LOL.
I've done a LOT of what
mlesemann suggested/recommended you do over the years with a many many movies and quite a few of my favorite television shows.
I won't get into a detailed discussion but yes... You nailed it with the above statement in your post that started all this. Stories are fractal in nature... Yes, the events change as you tell the story but EVERY story element -- depending on the kind of structure you use -- is simply retold within the context of that particular plot element.
Doesn't matter what you're using... The best stories (in my humble opinion) go through the same structural steps whether you're using Acts, Sequences, Plot Points, Scenes, Beats, etc. I do however, think it's the actual WRITING and ACTING that elevates a particular story to the point that I actually PAY ATTENTION. I say this because I've seen what I believe to be terrible dialogue acted out by an amazing actor completely keep my attention.
Of course when both the writing and acting are stellar? We're glued to the screen. We invest ourselves until the end.
But back to your statement... Yes. Most structure is all the same whether you're using The Hero's Journey or whatever else is out there. Me personally? I've never felt that any of these structures nailed everything I've seen in my favorite films and television shows so many, many years ago, I decided to create my own basic story structure as a simple baseline to begin any story.
It's not a cookie cutter formula by any means... Just a way to begin and a PLUG IN those great ideas that make you want to write the story in the first place.
Most of these are very similar but I do think plenty of them leave things OUT that I feel need to be IN every great story but that's just me. Suffice to say... The best structural elements of every great story seem (again, just my opinion) to be repeated in every structural element that was used to create the story but elevated as the story progresses albeit a little more dramatic than the structural element before.
To go further? Yes, the entire series with all the episodes can easily have it's own structural process too.
Don't believe it? Take any great movie and I believe MOST of them will repeat the same structural elements in each act but simply within the context of that act and what that act tries to convey at that particular time in the story.
So I do believe you're on the right track. To have either noticed or guessed that these elements repeat themselves over and over again in the same story is a great first step to understanding how great stories are told.
Again... Just my opinion.
*EDIT: I forgot to add... I think a lot of the better television shows were/are written much better than movies are written today. I just finished a binge of THE SOPRANOS -- the entire series. Still holds up and written much better than most movies I've tried to sit through for over a decade now.
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