Screenwriting Fundamentals: Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet

now at this point you may be having a hard time believing that just about every movie ever made falls into this five-step structure well we're about to go one step more extreme a guy by the name of Blake Snyder developed what's called the Blake Snyder beat sheet the bs2 for short that actually expands this outline to 15 specific beats or story points that every good screenplay should have he even numbers the pages in your script that each beat should land on let's run through them quickly we start with 1 the opening image a visual that starts the movie summarizing the tone of the film if it's a peppy Christmas movie it'll be bright with a tinkly soundtrack and lots of decorations if it's a dark action film it'll be full of shots of downtown Gotham at night with an eerie dissonant horn section to the setup this is where we learn what the hero's life is like before the inciting incident we also find out what it is the hero needs to become whole 3 the theme stated part of the setup we discover what the moral to the tale is could be the crime doesn't pay love triumphs in the end or any number of truisms about life think of it as the filmmakers hypothesis that the rest of the film is trying to prove right or wrong usually the hero actually articulates this if an honest man like me ran the country everything would be better if I could meet the right man my life would be complete if I became famous I'd keep the same friends and never change who I am for the catalyst another name for the inciting incident we mentioned in McKees outline this is the event that sets the hero on his journey 5 the debate here the hero hesitates arguing internally or externally about whether to make the journey it's the chance to bail out before passing the point of no return 6 break-in a - it's called breaking it - because this concludes the first act of a three act structure well look at the concept of acts in a later video here is where the hero makes the decision to head off on the journey blake snyder believes this should happen on page 25 of the script seriously preferably not page 24 and certainly not page 26 before he laughs know that somewhere in a studio in Hollywood right now there's a script reader turning to page 25 finding the heroines still on the couch at aunt Mabel's drinking iced tea and tossing the entire script into recycling seven the B story also known as a subplot this is a secondary story that holds the audience interest while the details of the main plot unfold it's commonly a love story whether that's between a man and a woman a father and a son or two kindred spirits destined to become best friends eight fun and games this is where a movie explores the realities of the story's main concepts The Invisible Man gets to see what it's like to listen in on private conversations the kung-fu kid gets to use his new mad skills to win some tournaments the corrupt investment broker gets to enjoy the fruit of his ill-gotten gains this is the excitement that the audience was sold on and came to see it's because of the tension of the hero's quest that they'll stay and later recommend it to their friends but these are the moments that sold them the ticket in the first place nine the midpoint this is where things are either at their greatest up point or the greatest down point the corrupt investment broker is doing more business than ever and seems to be untouchable by the authorities or the kung-fu kid is incapable of learning the secret ninja move and has his worst beating to date by the high school star quarterback this is where the fun and games end and we return to the high stakes of the main story 10 the bad guys close in this is where the evil forces be they people forces of nature or creepy alien goop hiding in the city sewers re-emerge after being frustrated or seemingly defeated during the fun and games section 11 all is lost this is where the bad guys deals such an utter defeat to the hero that it doesn't seem possible that a fairytale ending can still come out of it the broker is caught on making a major illegal trade the prehistoric shark breaks through the impregnable electric barrier and is now free to pick off the remaining cast one by one The Invisible Man is sprayed with the ink from a thousand permanent markers 12 dark night of the soul this is the point at which the hero recognizes her defeat discovers that she didn't have what it takes that she's at the mercy of universal forces greater than herself this is the moment that sets everything up for the greatness of sacrifice that will be required by the hero to right all the wrongs thirteen break into three the end of Act two in the beginning of the climax mentioned in rabaa Mickey's five-point outline this is the moment where the heroes stumbles upon the elusive answer to the impossible situation is in an answer that wasn't there a moment ago but through a sudden revelation often thanks to the love interest of the B story crystallizes in his mind it may cost his life it may be a long shot but there's still a chance at work 14 finale this is where it all comes to a head the bad guys get killed off from least important to most important or the smug District Attorney is dealt a decisive blow by the corrupt investors lawyer and our investment broker goes free on a technicality or the Invisible Man has found the courage to defeat his enemies covered from head to toe with Sharpie and in the best stories the whole world of the hero has changed things will never go back to the way they were it's a new day and a new dawn fifteen final image this is a closing image that reveals that the hero's world really has changed maybe it's a shot of the cubical office worker finally living his dream of being a ski instructor or the superhero having discovered her calling now out saving children from poorly designed play equipment this is also the resolution time in McKees outline where all the loose ends are tied up

Channel: Moviola

Views: 17,357

Rating: 4.9428573 out of 5

Keywords: Moviola, film, tv, entertainment, industry, hollywood, cameras, editing, learning, education, webinar, interview, professional, television, movies, beat sheet, blake snyder, screen writing, script construction, plot development, scriptwriter, professional tutorial

Id: EvAUbQ2IHbQ

Length: 6min 32sec (392 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 13 2019