- Put the following beats on one A4 page. If you can't explain each beat in one or two sentences, then you don't have the beat yet.
- Your script should be around 110 pages. If it's longer or shorter, it should still follow the beats proportionately.
Opening Image (Page 1)
- First impression. Should convey tone, mood, type and scope.
- Starting point of hero. 'Before' snapshot. The opposite of your final image.
Theme Stated (Page 5)
- Somewhere on page 5, someone (not the main character) will pose a question or make a statement to the hero, like 'Be careful what you wish for'. This is the theme. The hero won't know, but it will have meaningful impact later.
Set-up (Pages 1-10)
- Introduce the hero, the stakes and the goal.
- Introduce, or at least hint at introducing every character in the A story.
- Exhibit every behaviour that needs to be addressed later. Show how and why the hero needs to change to win.
- Show the list of things missing in the hero's life. There will be call-backs throughout, but these need set up.
Catalyst (Page 12)
- The inciting incident. You have established the world, now knock it down.
-It's not what it seems. It's not good news, but it's what leads the character to happiness.
Debate (Page 12-25)
- The is the last chance for the hero to question whether or not they should go. It's dangerous, but the alternative is staying here.
- You must ask a question of some kind. The catalyst segues to the character's solution: Go to Harvard, 'But can she get in?' The debate section answers this question.
Break into Two (Page 25)
- We leave the old world and proceed to a world that is the opposite of what we had before. It must feel distinct.
- The hero cannot be lured, tricked or drift into Act Two. They must make the decision themselves.
B-Story (Page 30)
- The B-story begins here. Usually it's a love story.
- It carries the film's theme and smooths over the abrupt act break. It should give us a breather.
- The B story is where the hero draws the strength he needs for the final push into Act Three and victory.
- Often a brand new bunch of characters. They are the upside down versions of the characters inhabiting the world of Act One.
- Provides vital cutaways from the A story.
Fun and Games (Page 30-55)
- Provides the promise of the premise. We aren't as concerned with the story progress as the stakes aren't raised yet. We're just having fun.
- This is where you should have fun set-pieces.
- This is the heart of the film.
Midpoint (Page 55)
- Here, your hero either peaks (though it's a false peak) or the world collapses (though it's a false collapse).
- The fun and games are over and it's back to the story.
- False victory. The hero gets everything he thinks he wants, but it's false because he has a long way to go before he learns the lesson he really needs.
- Has a matching beat on Pg 75 called 'All is Lost'. The two points are the inverse of each other. It's never as good as it seems to be at the midpoint and it's never as bad as it seems at the All is Lost point (or vice versa)
Bad Guys Close In (Page 55-75)
- The bad guys decide to regroup and send in the heavy artillery. Doubt and jealousy begin to disintegrate the hero's team.
- Evil is not giving up and there is nowhere for the hero to go for help. He is alone and must endure. He is headed for a huge fall.
All is Lost (Pg 75)
- Opposite of the midpoint in terms of 'up' and 'down'. Also known as 'false defeat'. It seems like total defeat. The hero's life is in shambles and there is no hope.
- This could be your 'whiff of death' moment. You can use this moment to kill someone. Kill off your hero's mentor.
- Even if you don't have a mentor to kill, or your death has nothing to do with your story, it doesn't matter. Whether it's integral to the story, or just symbolic, hint at something dead here. Anything. It could be a pot plant or a goldfish.
- This is where the old world, and old character, the old way of thinking, dies. It clears the way for the old world and the upside-down to fuse and become the new world and a new life.
Dark Night of the Soul (Page 75-85)
- It might last five seconds or five minutes, but you need an 'Oh Lord, why hast thou forsaken me?' moment somewhere in this section.
- We've all been there; hopeless, clueless, drunk and stupid; sitting on the side of the road with a flat tire and four cents, late for the big appointment that will save our lives. We must be beaten and know it to get the lesson. By page 85 the hero finally figures out his solution.
Break into Three (Page 85)
- Thanks to the characters and themes of the B story, and thanks to the hero's last ditch efforts to beat the bad guys closing in in the A story, by Page 85, a solution is found.
- The A and B stories meet and intertwine. The classic A and B fusion is the hero getting the clue from 'the girl' that makes him realise how to solve both; beat the bad guys and win the heart of his beloved.
Finale (Page 85-110)
- This is Act Three and where we wrap everything up.
- Lessons learned are applied.
- Based on what he learns in the upside down, the hero turns over the old world, creating a new world order.
- The lieutenants and henchmen die first, then the boss. The chief source of 'the problem' must be dispatched completely for the new world to exist.
- It's not enough for the hero to succeed, he must change the world.
Final Image (Page 110)
- The final image is the opposite of the opening image. It's the proof that change has occurred and that it's real.
-Always make a beat board. Always. Divide it up like this:
ACT ONE (Pg 1-25)
ACT TWO PART ONE (Pg 25-55)
ACT TWO PART TWO (Pg 55-85)
ACT THREE (Pg 85-110)
- The 'Break into Two', Midpoint and 'Break into Three' are your dividing lines. These are your turning points.
- Index cards usually denote scenes, but for now, use as many as you want. By the end you will have 40. 40 and no more.
- Write the slugline and the most basic scene action. Only a couple of sentences at most.
- Once you have all your ideas up, work out your three turning points first, then your other points follow.
- If your act three seems light, check your act one set-ups and character flaws are paid off. Your B-story needs pay-off too. Act three will fill out once you've tied off all of your loose ends.
- There should be 9-10 cards in each row.
- Colour-code your cards by character. Then by theme and repeated imagery if you like.
- You only get 40 cards. Examine each beat to see if it can be folded into another scene, or eliminated entirely.
- Chase sequences might span multiple cards, but they're really just one beat.
- Take a coloured pen you haven't yet used and write +/- and >< on every card. Every scene should have these.
- +/- represents emotional change. Eg, "+/- Bob starts out hopeful, ends up disappointed".
- If you can't figure it out, throw the card away.
- >< denotes conflict. Eg, "Bob wants to know secret; Helen can't tell him."
- Your conflict might be Man vs Man, Man vs Nature or Man vs Society. It's whoever is between your hero and their goal in each scene.
- Only one conflict per scene. If you have several, you have a muddy scene.
- If you don't have conflict, create one.
- You must be willing to throw it all away when you begin writing. Your beat board doesn't matter as you write.
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