I just wanted to ask a few things regarding screenwriting's biggest monster, the Beat Sheet.

As a new(ish) writer I am unfamiliar with how this works.  Babz wants one for Outbreak Z and I can't do it, or at least I think I cannot.

The thing I struggle with the most is Theme.  

Here is an excerpt of the theme of Outbreak Z:

"Never judge a book by its cover", Mack feels inadequate to the rest of the group and uses racial and sexist slurs to further himself from his fellow survivors.  But deep beneath, Mack is a man who lost his daughter to cancer and believes that he should be alone, because in his eyes he will fail them just as he failed her.

Does that work?  I am not overly sure on how beat sheet structure works.

Does anyone have a beat sheet of their own they could share for educational purposes?

Thanks,
Lee

Beat sheets are not that horrible. A synopsis is but, that's another matter.

I usually do beat sheets to help me come up with the story and how things go but, it usually changes on me so many times. lol.

This is what has helped me in creating beat sheets:

http://www.beatsheetcalculator.com/
http://screenplayhowto.com/beat-sheet/inception-beat-sheet/

Hope this helps,
Gabe

The "Wedding Crashers" beat sheet is on here.

http://www.blakesnyder.com/tools/

hope it helps

Mark

Beat sheet...synopsis....LOGLINE...all that stuff should be done way BEFORE you write the script. The theme sometimes will come out while you are writing but you should have an idea of it when you start writing. It doesn't have to be a beat sheet but can also be an outline ...sequences mapped out...something as simple as your main turning points simplified.....

Do it first next time. It will make your life a lot easier. :)

I've planned out the scripts using page counts.  Like a 1-5 introduction etc.  I never did a beat sheet before I had to do one.

I've got the logline and the synopsis, which come natural due to my novel writing background.  It's just the beat sheet that poses as a problem and stresses me out.

Thanks for the links guys.  Hopefully this helps others too.

Lee

A beat sheet is a pretty handy thing to have before you tackle your script.  Essentially it's just a breakdown of the major checkpoints of your scripts.  You have to hit those important checkpoints but how you get from one to the next is when you really start writing.

I tend to go with a less constrictive outline which is just seven checkpoints:

1- intro
2- inciting incident
3- Act 2 start
4- midpoint
5- low point
6- climax
7 - conclusion

I arrange these into a table and list how major characters are impacted at and between these critical checkpoints but that's just my style.  A beat sheet from what I've seen tends to be a bit more thorough as the examples listed in the replies before mine show.

Good luck with your beat sheet, Lee.

Quoted from RegularJohn A beat sheet is a pretty handy thing to have before you tackle your script.  Essentially it's just a breakdown of the major checkpoints of your scripts.  You have to hit those important checkpoints but how you get from one to the next is when you really start writing. I tend to go with a less constrictive outline which is just seven checkpoints: 1- intro 2- inciting incident 3- Act 2 start 4- midpoint 5- low point 6- climax 7 - conclusion I arrange these into a table and list how major characters are impacted at and between these critical checkpoints but that's just my style.  A beat sheet from what I've seen tends to be a bit more thorough as the examples listed in the replies before mine show. Good luck with your beat sheet, Lee.

Now that's I've read the Inception beat sheet I understand it a bit better.  I was going off the Blake Snyder beat sheet 15-step guide.  Which is what confused me the most.

As a tester (this is Deep in beats)

1- intro - Jensen works with the mob.
2- inciting incident - Jensen is undercover, turns in Sean, saves the kidnapped girls.
3- Act 2 start - Jensen returns home and finds his family.
4- midpoint - Rebecca is killed, Sarah is kidnapped.
5- low point - Jensen can only watch as Sean slits Sarah's throat.
6- climax - Jensen kills Sean and Tony.
7 - conclusion - Jensen is buried next to his family.

Obviously, more detail is needed, but I think I get the idea of it thanks to you guys.  Lots of weight off my shoulders now that I have a clue what I am doing.

Lee

John August uses a couple of different styles to do beat sheet, and they are less restrictive than STC:

http://johnaugust.com/2010/wtf-is-a-beat-sheet

Note that August states that a beat sheet can be written following a first draft - it all depends on your preference.

Quoted from Pale Yellow Beat sheet...synopsis....LOGLINE...all that stuff should be done way BEFORE you write the script.

What kind of crap is that, Dena? Such a lie!

Quoted from Mr. Blonde What kind of crap is that ...

Calm down, dear, it's only an opinion  :)

...have to agree with you though, logline & synopsis always follow a script for me.

I'm feeling you Leegion,

Logline and synop - not too bad at doing. Beat Sheet - hopeless.

If there is a service that does beat sheets - I will gladly pay the fee.

The trouble with a beat sheet -- and why some people object to them -- is that your story needs to actually follow the "beats" to make one.

You can finesse things a bit, but one may struggle to place a truly unconventional structure into the confines of a beat sheet.

Quoted from RJ If there is a service that does beat sheets - I will gladly pay the fee.

A service would not do much good if the beats aren't there in the first place.

So Dena is "kind of" right, in that if you are going the beat-sheet route, it is helpful to have the beats more-or-less in place before you type FADE IN.

As to the logline, however, that is always the final thing I compose for any script.

I used a beat sheet one a feature I'm working on now. Followed it to a T. Now I'm into a complete rewrite and using the first draft of that story as more of a reference, while still trying to follow the beats of the first draft. I'm sure some of the beats will change slightly, but it did seem to make things easier for me.

Francis Ford Coppola told a crazed Dennis Hopper on the set of Apocalypse now that if you'd only learn your lines, then you can forget them.
I think a beat sheet is sort of like that. Sort of!

Steve

I just wrote 3 beat sheets to that 7-step formula.  All 3 stories "Outbreak Z, The Last Guardian and Deep".  It looks good, the guideline is down.  I map it out better so the story flows.  Important moments in each segment etc.

Now I have the hang of it things will be much easier pressing forward.  I already had the synopsis and loglines for each of the 3 scripts.  Essentially, the beat sheet, which I have finally figured out, is just the SYNOPSIS of the story shown in a PLANNED state.

So that 7-step formula works perfectly!

I usually start with a logline that usually changes. Then write a brief synopsis that describes the overall journey, it’s as simple as beginning, middle, and, end. After I understand what my story is about and what I’m trying to say I develop a beat sheet for structure purposes.
As far as theme is concerned, I find that it’s typically driven by the main characters flaw, and his/her need to overcome that flaw. With that said I try to develop honest characters and drop them into a situation. I try not to have my characters conform to my story needs, easier said than done. For me it’s all about the main characters internal (needs) and external (goal) struggle between his/her wants verses needs.
Here is an 8-turn structure I got from a writing class that I took
1)     HOOK: Establishes tone and genre
2)     Inciting incident: action that launches story
3)     Central question: establishes hero’s want
4)     Reaction to central question or First Act break: Hero’s first attempt to answer Central question
ACT 2
1)     Next Big Hurdle: stakes are raised to a higher level
2)     APEX: Big twist Hero shifts from passive to active in relation to Emotional Dilemma
3)     False Ending: Hero thinks he has achieved goal
4)     Low Point: Our villain’s counter attack
ACT 3
Wraps up what has been set up, our Hero’s final push to reach his goal or realize what his need is.
This structure works when your hero’s want differs from what he needs. Hero may want fortune and fame but what he really needs is love and acceptance.
I hope this helps a little bit.
There are other beat sheet outlines like Save the Cat, and probably a better breakdown of my jargon at on the page.com I think.
Stefan

Fuck the beatsheets.  Come up with a concept.  Come up with a story/plot.  Come up with characters.  Plan out script in head.  Get started writing.  Reread and check everything you write before you began writing each day.

Don't be boxed in by all the BS you hear.  Never save the cat, as cats are smart and cool and can save themselves.

;D ;D ;D ;D

I don't know. Beat sheets come naturally if you have a solid, fully-formed idea, but I always have a hell of a time articulating them, once I've written something.

I use beat sheets as a guide so I could find out where I want the story to go. Writing out a beat sheet is like writing a draft of a script.  

Granted it changes on me when I actually start writing the script, nevertheless it helps me keep organized.

You sometimes need a little structure in your life.

I'm kidding for the most part.  I don't use them and never will, but if some need or like dong it this way, more power to ya!  

Quoted from Dreamscale Fuck the beatsheets.

Yeah! f1ck 'em b1tch!

Quoted from Dreamscale I'm kidding for the most part.  I don't use them and never will, but if some need or like dong it this way, more power to ya!

I agree with moderated Jeff. Most sensible.

I sometimes do scene outlines when I start a new feature.

Make a list of the slugs, a couple of lines about what happens in each scene, etc. it helps

I somewhat agree with Dreamscale, but I def agree with Mr. Ripley.  In the opening stages of planning your screenplay it would probably be helpful to beat it out, and come up with the story and structure, from beginning to end, using the beat sheet, i.e., notecards or something like that.  Use it as an outline for your story.  Use it to organize your scenes.  I think the seeing your script as a movie starts right there.

If you watch a lot of movies, I believe you'll find that you can write your story and the proper beats will already be there whether you know it or not.  That's something that cannot be taught.  Either you have it or you don't.

And I guess that a "proper" beat sheet should be written once you finish for when an agent comes along and asks for them.

Maybe I'm doing this backwards.  I don't know.  But whatever works best for each individual...

Steve

Just wrote a beat sheet:

THIS IS FOR BLEAK FALLS (A comic-mystery thriller):

INTRODUCTION - Bert and Gertrude rob the convenience store. Haley stops them.
Mick reports Jake missing. Haley investigates. Salazar and company plot in secrecy.
Haley discovers her mother having an affair with John the Plumber in her house.

INCITING INCIDENT - Skeletal kills Henrique Glass. The two Dudes talk to Adam about it
as cops do nothing about the dismembered body parts. Haley arrives and discovers kids
kicking Henrique’s head like a soccer ball. Haley conducts interviews with the citizens
with hilarious results.

ACT 2 START - Haley discovers the killer is someone in the town. Skeletal strikes again
and kills the Dude. Henrietta hits Jimmy. Mick kills Father Maggle for Jake’s death and
frees Timmy the choirboy only to use him as a horse himself. Haley must stop Gertrude
and Bert again. She goes to Selina’s house and they watch Supernatural. Talk about
Jensen and Jared for a bit. Selina wants to have sex with Haley only for Angela and John
to suddenly appear in the room with hilarious results.

MIDPOINT - Skeletal strikes Chastity. She baits him and pretends to act for a movie
tryout. Skeletal does not want to kill her as she is pissing him off. She breast-impales
on a rail and he goes to the police station to wipe off the rotten milk thrown at him
earlier.
Bert and Gertrude find themselves stuck inside the care home and the Warden on the
verge of causing them some severe punishment. Haley talks with Jim after leaving her
house and tells him he will never amount to anything. So Jim decides to join Salazar and
his organization as they plot to kidnap the Mascot.

LOW POINT - Haley discovers that Skeletal knows where she lives so she conducts an
investigation and puts pictures of Jared Padelecki on her wall. She sets up devious traps
and sits in the chair waiting for him when all of a sudden DAVE comes home and gets
impaled on the kitchen-board knife trap.
Dave dies a few times. Skeletal arrives and scares Haley. He says they should go
somewhere different. Dave wakes up and Skeletal pounds him with several kitchen
objects but Dave will just not die. Salazar and co kidnap the Mascot and leave Jimmy,
wielding a broken arm, to fend for himself. Jim is left for the cops to pick up as the bad
guys seem to have the upper hand.

CLIMAX - Jim goes Rambo on Salazar and company. Haley and Skeletal romantically
dance at the park overlooking the ravine. Jim takes down Salazar and co. Henrietta
humiliates Dude #2 and Geek in her basement. Geek manages to escape. Haley takes
off Skeletal’s mask and uncovers that he is a hideous old man. She throws him into the
ravine.

CONCLUSION - The citizens of Bleak Falls are now safe. Skeletal is dead. Haley is proud.
Jim slaps Henrietta for treating him like shit. Cops host a barbeque in the street. Adam
holds up a Party Baby. Angela narrates. Haley shoots her in the head.

Personally, I prefer to go by the Hero's Journey for a "beat sheet". Mostly, I use Vogler's 'writer's journey' format, but I'm attempting to read through Campbell's Hero With a Thousand Faces and get a better grasp of that.

I was taught to use both beat sheets and the hero's journey in school and I've mainly stuck with HJ. Actually, I kind of forgot all about beat sheets. With HJ, I just think it's more time-tested. Since it's been the backbone of a lot of great stories throughout the ages, I figure it's instant insight into what humans like and what works as a story. I'm not saying I want to stick to it like glue, but it's a good place to start.

A beat sheet kind of tells you how to plot out the presentation of the big moments, but I feel like it's better to feel that out on your own, through trial and error. Different stories require different dynamics and beat sheets don't really teach you how to develop a sense for that. The Hero's Journey, on the other hand, only teaches you the logical progression of a story, rather than a scatter-shot approach to both progression and presentation.

One thing I'll say about the hero's journey is that it is kind of hard to make a premise fit every step of that journey. Less so with the writer's journey, though. But that's why I like it. Often, not knowing how to improvise can lead to disaster. A few times, it might. But other times, I think it can improve your abilities and make you think outside the box and really consider the logic of a story and a premise. The more you do that, the more you can master both presentation and progression, the master of both worlds.

But to each their own, I suppose.