It used to be acceptable to start your screenplay or novel with an extended introduction to the normal life of your protagonist before getting the actual story started.
In the 19th Century, a lot of books started with the entire lineage of the protagonist or a detailed description of the weather and/or the building. Plays began with a couple of the servants chatting at length about the history of the family and recent events.
In 1979, Syd Field wrote the influential book, Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, in which he said the first act should establish the normal life of your protagonist. That meant the inciting incident could occur around page 30.
In the 90's, most screenwriting teachers and books suggested that the "normal" period should take up no more than 20 pages.
More recently, that was shortened to 15.
Not any more.
It may be a reflection of our ever-shortening attention spans or the ever-increasing competition for it, but these days the audience doesn't want to wait for the story to start. That means you have to immerse your protagonist--and the audience--in the story immediately.
"But wait!" I hear somebody saying, "if I'm going to plunge my protagonist into a new set of circumstances, how will the audience know that it's new?"
You'll have to reveal that as you go along.
It's not actually a new concept at all. Shakespeare knew how to do this.
He could have started Hamlet by showing Prince Hamlet's ordinary life, his relationship to his mother and stepfather, his attraction to Ophelia, and then, one page 20 or 30, have him see the ghost of his father who tells him that he was killed by his own brother, who is now married to his widow. That's the inciting incident, the thing that sets the story in motion.
Instead, the first thing that happens to Prince Hamlet is hearing this from the ghost. It's true the ghost first appears to some guards and Horatio, who then take Hamlet to see him; this may have been to give the groundlings at the Globe theater time to settle down.
Shakespeare immerses Hamlet (and us) in the story immediately and then lets us discover along the way what Hamlet is like and what obstacles this creates for his search for the truth and revenge.
Sometimes, writing some pages about what happens before the story kicks in helps you to get into the flow. That's fine for the first draft. When you're ready to write the second draft, consider axing those pages, and figure out how to layer in the bits that are really important for the audience to know, as the story goes along.
