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How To Outline A Short Film BEAT SHEET

This document provides a template for writing a short film beat sheet. It includes suggestions for the title, genre, main character description, other character descriptions, and 6 key plot points or beats: 1) opening image, 2) set-up and catalyst, 3) debate/fun and games/new goal, 4) bad guys close in/all is lost/dark night of the soul, 5) climax and final goal, 6) final image. It also provides examples of character descriptions from other films.

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Nina Jason
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2K views2 pages

How To Outline A Short Film BEAT SHEET

This document provides a template for writing a short film beat sheet. It includes suggestions for the title, genre, main character description, other character descriptions, and 6 key plot points or beats: 1) opening image, 2) set-up and catalyst, 3) debate/fun and games/new goal, 4) bad guys close in/all is lost/dark night of the soul, 5) climax and final goal, 6) final image. It also provides examples of character descriptions from other films.

Uploaded by

Nina Jason
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SHORT FILM BEAT SHEET

The following is a suggestion, a place to start. Use it as is, or revise it so it has the structure
and wording that makes sense for you and your script.

Title Ideas:

Genre(s) (get as niche/specific as you can):

Main Character Name, Age, Pithy Description (as you would introduce them in the script):

Other Characters Name, Age, Description:

Point of View (optional):

1. Opening Image (showing us the mood, world, POV ie a sad rainy night):

2. Set-Up & Catalyst:

3. Debate/Fun and Games/New Goal:

4. Bad Guys Close In/All Is Lost/Dark Night of the Soul:

5. Climax (Recognition & Reversal)/Final Goal:

6. Final Image (how have things changed from the opening image? ie a happy sunny
day):
Character Description Examples:

THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998) by Joel and Ethan Coen


A fortyish man in Bermuda shorts and sunglasses. He is THE DUDE. His rumpled look and
relaxed manner suggest a man in whom casualness runs deep.

BUTTER (2011) by Jason A. Micallef


This is LAURA PICKLER and her age is none of your business.

A YOUNG BLACK GIRL rides her bike down a long dirt driveway toward a yellow house. She
has multi-colored barrettes in her hair and a white wicker basket attached to her bike.
This is DESTINY, age 12. She’s adorable.

CHILDREN OF MEN (2006) by Alfonso Cuaron, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus
& Hawk Ostby
A man enters the coffee shop, making his way through the people: THEO FARON (55).
Detached, unkempt, scruffy beard, glasses, Theo is a veteran of hopelessness. He gave up before
the world did.

JASPER PALMER was young in the 60s, and has refused to let go of his youth ever since. Thick
glasses, wispy beard, long hair, he is probably the coolest 75-year-old on the planet.

BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985) by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale


The light becomes brighter as we pan over to

MARTY MC FLY, 17, a good looking kid wearing Porsche mirrored sunglasses. The mirrored
lenses reflect the MUSHROOM CLOUD of an ATOMIC EXPLOSION.

And some advice:

You don’t have to give an age range, but it’s common. You don’t have to say the character is
good-looking, but if it’s your hero, that’s not a bad idea. While many actors want to play
“ordinary people,” they prefer playing “quirkily good-looking” ordinary people. -John August

Look for details that have an iceberg quality: only a little bit sticks above the surface, but it
represents a huge mass of character information the reader can fill in. -John August

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