I am having a hard time getting my head around this concept. can someone explain it to me so i understnad?? i would really appreciate it!!!

thanks

Your script has a rhythm and beats are the way it's measured.  They are a way of dividing up your script into smaller, more manageable pieces - like an outline but briefer. They can be arbitrary, there's really not set rules for how small those pieces should be.  

Some people will disagree with me because sometimes the concept of beats is mixed with structure and they say that at a certain beat something specific should happen.  These people usually believe that there are a set number of beats in a proper script.  How your beats work all depends on who you read and who you agree with.

But basically they are a way of dividing up and outlining your script.    

Also, a "beat" can be seen as a pause of a character speaking, in the script.

It will be in (bracket) and be at the start of the dialogue, just under the name, or halfway through the dialogue.

Is also sometimes used to denote a pause in action, as well as dialogue. For instance...

Johnny picks up a glass from the table.

After a beat he throws it at his wife.


As Cornetto said it is based around the idea that movies have a rhythm, I would say it may also stem back from the early days of cinema when there was no sound and everything was set to music. I could be wrong here but makes some sense to me.

While the script certainly does play a part in creating the rythym of a movie, one would say that editing plays a much bigger role. But it is certainly possible to read a script and pick up on a rhythm when a writer has done a good job of it. It certainly helps a script read so much better, though it is more of a subconscious feeling than anything and thus hard to quite put a finger on it.

If that makes any sense at all.

Beats other than pauses in dialogue or action often refer to the occurrence of a movement of action, known as a Story Beat.

Story Beats’ are the staged structure of a scene. They help construct a scene to the point and purpose of what you want to establish from the scene.

Many script guru’s suggest creating a beat sheet before you begin writing your script.

This takes the concept of a beat within a scene to the entire scene having a beat within the complete story.

It is particularly useful when writing complex action screenplays and helps to maintain the pace and steady build to a climax in a concise and clear manner.

Indication of the use of a Beat Sheet is apparent when a screenplay has a natural feel to it but every page is a page turner. When reading such a screenplay you have to turn the page, you have to know what happens next.

You have to find the next Story Beat.

That’s not achieved by accident, it is planned both within each scene and how each scene fits in with the complete picture.

In my opinion it is the biggest reason most amateur and novice writers fail, a lack of forethought regarding timing, pace and the importance of positioning of an incident within a scene and the scene within the total presentation.

Here's an example of a beat:

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

JOHN (30s) pours coffee from the pot at his kitchen counter.

SALLY (30s) lounges at the breakfast table.

SALLY
Can I get some more?

JOHN
Get it yourself.

John puts the pot back in the heater. He sits down across from Sally.

Basically, a beat is a simple "He wants - She wants". The catch is that there's a dramatic need. Sally wants a cup of coffee, but John doesn't give it to her. Beats will, when written correctly, lead into the next beat. Beats change when the dramatic need changes. (And a dramatic need is something a character wants. In this scene, Sally's  dramatic need is coffee.) Let's say that Sally now asks, "Why are you such a bastard?" That makes a new beat.

Beats on their own are nothing. It's when you have many beats, each with their own climax (The climax of the above scene is when John says no. Sally doesn't get what she wants.) These beats combine to make a scene. Scenes become Acts. Acts become movies.

I hope I've made some sense.

[SIDE NOTE: Forget (beats). If you want to disrupt the dialogue with action, write in the action. Replace (beat) with (lights cigarette), (takes drink), (coughs), etc.]

Quoted Text SIDE NOTE: Forget (beats). If you want to disrupt the dialogue with action, write in the action. Replace (beat) with (lights cigarette), (takes drink), (coughs), etc.

This doesn't always work. Scenes are more complex and personal than you are giving them credit for. Sometimes, it can be intended for there NOT to be an action. It all depends on when and how you use beats. Whether it's effective or not is a different matter entirely.

Basically, it's like almost any other "rule" we've discussed regarding screenwriting -- it's bendable. No one will condemn anyone for using them and no one will condemn anyone for NOT using them.

--Julio

On the topic of (beats), that is, pauses in a scene written out in wrylies or description, I'd really recommend writing (pause) instead.  If you write (beat), the director and actors, separately, will have to go to the trouble of crossing each and every instance out.  An important part of the work for both directors and actors is identifying where the beats are in a scene, and neither party will be interested in where the writer thinks they are.  It's very frustrating to have them written into the script and if they aren't taken out early they can get into an actor's performance and make it much more difficult for the director to get what they want, which isn't good!  

I don't use either (beat) or (pause).  I use --  or sometimes ... to indicate a pause in dialogue.  Most of the time a space between action blocks can serve as a pause in the action, but if I feel it needs to be accentuated then I write it into the story as  'A moment of silence, then' or 'He stops, then'.  

When I had first encountered the word, "beat" it had me, stymied too. (still does) I had researched it and discovered the "two kinds " of beats mentioned here and even after reading descriptions, the light never really went on.

The way I feel about the beat, as in the kind of rhythmic and pronounced dramatic need scenarios that present throughout a script is that they are INSTANCES. They are instances that reveal both need and pressure exerted either externally or internally within a small unit of time on screen. I'm not sure if it has to exist only in one scene or if it can extend to include a sequence.

I haven't read enough about them, but my intuition tells me that they are very important notations to be fully realized by the writer in order to utilize them as a kind of tool and way to approach the script.

The OTHER beat, the one simply acting like a stop in dialogue, I've learned I don't fancy at all. I did use it a couple of times, but to me, it feels like directing and I don't feel myself as a director. I don't want to direct. For me, it's about the words and emotions that I lay upon the page being subsequently interpreted and changing somehow.

To me the interpretation is a fascinating thing; not me littering the page with screen jargon whether I know it or not. Director/writers can do that. But that's not my role.

In sum, I like the word "instance" for my own personal understanding. Who came up with the word "beat" in these contexts? Anyone know?

Sandra

Sandra

The late Blake Snyder has a complete section on Beats in his book “Save the Cat” and even gives a Beat Sheet.

Outlining a list of events within a script structure that should happen by or on a certain page or within a page section, for example, Set-up pages 1 to 10.

It’s like a check list of points to tick when you are constructing a script.

I do not like using the word "beat" either.  I think they get in the way, are quite irritating when used often, and are defintely a form of directing that is totally unneccessary.

I also don't think the other "beats" are really that important, either.  Beat Sheets?  Who needs 'em?  As far as I'm concerned, these type of things just get in the way of the creative process.  I understand their relevance, but I do not think that they need to be worried about, or even be a part of the creative process.

Write good characters...write a good story...be unique.  Don't worry about Saving the damn cat...he has 9 lives, he'll be OK.

Quoted from Heretic On the topic of (beats), that is, pauses in a scene written out in wrylies or description, I'd really recommend writing (pause) instead.  If you write (beat), the director and actors, separately, will have to go to the trouble of crossing each and every instance out.

A beat and a pause are two different things.

I remember reading once that a beat is one second, a pause three and a long pause five. That may be wrong, but it indicates the variation that the terms cover. They are most definitely not interchangeable words for the same thing!

You will find the term "beat" appearing in many produced screenplays.

I agree with Heretic and Cornetto here.  I don't feel it's our job or in our best interest to try and influence actors/directors with this.  Even for readers...they should be able to figure out for themsleves where these "beats" and "pauses" should be.

When it comes to these beats, I've seen them before. I've seen them in professional theatrical scripts, and you're really putting too much stock in them. It is always best to place some kind of action around said beat. After all, if there's a pause, something is probably happening. Even if the characters are trying to stare each other down, you can still describe what the audience sees during this beat.

However, if you find that a direct pause is the best way to tell the story, then feel free. Always find a better way since writing "beat" to indicate a pause is a bit lazy most of the time, but if you've determined that the "beat" best represents the story, and this beat is not dead obvious from the scene, then write it in.

Seriously, people. We're writing the framework of the entire film here. We write all the dialogue, all the action, and all the locations, and you're worried about telling people what to do? Step back and think about that for a moment. We are to present a well-written, creative work that a hundred other people can hang their hopes on. If certain rule-breaking actions make this work that much better, then for crying out loud, do it. Just don't be lazy about it. That's the key.