Beat Sheet Problems

[StaceyUK]

I think I may have confused myself. I'm creating my first beat sheet using a combination of Goldmine and Contour systems. I'm not sure I have all the obligatory beats in the correct places. I also include beats suggested by Scrivener as obligatory beats as well.

I know where I want to end up but I'm a bit fuzzy on how to hit the obligatory beats in the right order and in the correct place, so that's why I'm aking sure they are in the correct place.

What I could really do with is a comparison of Goldmine and Contour, where it shows me where Goldmine fits in the Contour structure. I would also like other beats in this comparison that make up the spine such as the 'mid point setback' etc.

Can you look at my beatsheet etc and help me out?

Many thanks,

Stacey

[flipper]

excellent post, scriv. i've made up a similar beat-sheet spreadsheet for myself and it contains some phil, some contour, some from a few other sources. i've attached it as a pdf that also contains my breakdown of the movie Ghost Town. one difference b/ us is i'm using 3 sequences per act instead of 2. seems to make things a little more manageable for my wee brain.

anyway, could you have a look at it and tell me what you think, what you might add or change and so forth?

it is written in a kind of shorthand but i think it can be decoded ok.. also, it's 4 pages long; for some reason, there's a big break on page 2. finally, pls to excuse the typos!

thanks!

[StaceyUK]

Scrivener you are awesome!

I'm going to copy and paste your response. Very helpful. Your comments about my central question got the juices flowing.

Thank you.

Stacey

[StaceyUK]

Flipper this a great template!

[flipper]

glad you like it, scriv!

"The questions that pop to mind are, How do the scenes map to the plot points?"

Hmmm, how are you defining plot points here? the major ones? off the top of my head, the end of each sequence is, in theory, a plot point of some kind.

"What is the useful definition of Sequence that you use."

A roundabout answer: the idea is that, with three sequences to an act, they could easily be labeled beginning, middle and end, with each individual sequence containing its own beginning middle and end.

What happened was, I started off with the 2SQ/act concept but once I started outlining a few of my favorite flicks -- so far I've done ghost town, forgetting sarah marshall, and role models -- i saw that i could break things down to an even finer level, thus: 3SQ/act. I guess it's just another way of thinking about the same thing.

Er, the black column means nothing. don't know why it's there. probably had a reason for it at some point, now lost.

"The example is helpful but seems to be loosely mapped to the sequences in some parts."

Yes, this is true. On the left is the idealized structure; on the right, i.e., in the examples, is how it plays out in the real deal. It's loose. But close enough for it to be useful, at least to me. And when I started chugging through examples, I shouted Holy Cow! at several points, when the actual beats matched up with my notional beats.

"Maybe a single scene number column at the extreme left would help to share it and discuss it with others."

Yes, i'll work on that.

"You have really thought about this stuff and I see many long coffee soaked hours here."

Oh my God, you have no idea how many hours. Believe me, this isn't the first iteration. And then there's the mapping out of the actual example movies. Whoey!

But, hey, I'll do anything to avoid actually working on a script.

And I love this kind of tinkering, so right now, fussing over the spreadsheet, I'm in some sort of heaven. Sad. But true.

If at some point you might want to mess around with the spreadsheet itself, let me know and I'll email you the actual thing. This is, obviously, a work in progress, and the more help I get, the more progress I make.

pax,

and thanks again for the kind words.

flipp

[flipper]

Originally Posted by Scrivener

Hi flipper, I was thinking along these lines:

gotcha. in that case, each row equates to a plot point, with there being about 50 in the theoretical model. I've got 54 rows filled in for ghost town and assuming some error based on interpretation, that's pretty close to 50. and not too far off from the oft-praised 40.

[StaceyUK]

Nope you're not. I'm working on a new template right now!

[Scrivener]

Oh Stacey. If you have a partner in your life don't you dare say "Scriv made me do it!"

[StaceyUK]

Heheh. I don't have a partner but I have a Mum

I'll post a copy of my new template once I have it finished.

[StaceyUK]

Updated Beatsheet template. Let me know what you think.