In a five-seven minute short this may only be 3-4 beats. In general try to avoid moving the story forward through a lot of talking and dialogue exchanges. Shorts collapse under the weight of this kind of thing because there isn't enough time to offset them with action.
A beat sheet is a simple document that outlines your entire story from the first act to the final image. By listing out the key plot points and important frames, it'll make your writing process way easier. Online storyboards allow you manage frames much easier with features like automatic frame numbering.
In the golden age of film, a writer would articulate this on paper by writing BEAT, though this is rarely used nowadays. Narrative frameworks such as Blake Synder's Save The Cat offer a complete structure of 15 or 40 beats when creating a script.
Most short films (and most screenplays in general) utilize the common, 3 Act Story Structure. This simply means they are structured to tell a tale that has a beginning, middle, and end.
Another golden rule to bear in mind is that every festival is different and they all have very different perceptions of the duration of a short film. Some perceive short films to run between 5-60 minutes, some up to 40, some up to 45, some up to 30 and some up to our favourite number – 15.
The eight point story arc is a narrative framework made up of eight stages that should occur in a story, in a specific order, in order to create an engaging plot that feels natural yet riveting to the reader. These eight points are: stasis, trigger, quest, surprise, choice, climax, reversal, and resolution.
Beat Sheet is a popular story structure template that subdivides the beginning, middle, and end of a story into 15 “beats” or plot points. Each of these beats has a specific purpose and serves a particular function within your over-arching, global story.
Beats take place within sentences, paragraphs, scenes, and scene sequences. Two or more scenes can form a scene sequence (e.g., the SETUP beat in the Story Beats). The grouping of scenes and scene sequences forms the Story Beats, and that structure advances your narrative from the first to last page.
You would count the beat 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, and so on. In-between you would fill in the word 'and' for the eighth note subdivisions of each beat. A measure of eighth notes would be counted aloud, “1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and.”
In filmmaking, a beat is a small amount of action resulting in a pause in dialogue. Beats usually involve physical gestures like a character walking to a window or removing their glasses and rubbing their eyes. Short passages of internal monologue can also be considered a sort of internal beat.
Just like feature films, short films are complete stories with a beginning, middle and end. The main difference is that they're… well, a lot shorter. Successful short films tend to be super focused with a compelling story, and are often shot at one location with a very small cast.
Consider first what structure your short film will take. The three or five-act structures will naturally be shorter than in full-length movies, but they must still contain an exposition, a central problem or conflict, a rising action, and a resolution of that conflict.
Terms. Short films or movies are sometimes called short subjects. Before 1910 all American movies were short subjects. Another term used for short films is avant-garde or "avant-garde short films".
In screenplays, a “beat” is the smallest unit of measurement. If a character sits down at a desk and picks up a pencil, that is two beats. A “beat sheet” is a type of outline where each “beat” is an individual unit of plot.
Major beats are the most important scene in your movie/story, and minor beats are the smaller scenes, e.g. from Harry potter: [Major:Harry Potter finds out he's a wizard], [Minor:Harry buys an owl] I hope this helped!
Using the basis of Three Act Structure, the method uses the power of three to divide each act into three blocks, and each block into three beats. These beats can each be turned into a chapter, giving you a comprehensive story in 27 Chapters.
Story beats can be emotional turns, incidents or events, actions, and reactions, or realizations. They can even be small shifts in narrative tone or a character's emotional arc. Essentially, beats are small moments that move the story forward. Scenes are made up of many beats.
The 7-point story structure is a plotting method introduced by novelist Dan Wells that focuses on seven key beats of a story. The literal structure offered is more simple than some others, such as Save the Cat! or The Hero's Journey, but nevertheless just as effective.
Of course, this changes from festival to festival, but the take away is to try to keep your movie around 30 minutes or less if you're going for a short film block in a festival. It is much easier for a film festival to schedule one or two minute short movies.
A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits".
