Beat by Beat Page 3
When we finish watching Skyfall this thought crosses our minds: Sometimes the old ways are best. The audience or readers of your screenplay should always walk away having learned a one-line sentence from your story — a bit of wisdom, tied to the theme, that makes them better human beings. Even after viewing a movie with a tragic ending, we should learn something positive that makes the experience worthwhile.
Q and Bond explore Skyfall’s theme: Old Ways vs. the New Ways
In The Hangover, Phil allows himself to be bullied — his flaw
HERO’S FLAW
The Flaw is what your Main Hero struggles to overcome throughout the entire movie. He or she is clueless of this flaw at the beginning but an Inciting Incident and an adventure come along that will expose and test this flaw. In a happy ending, the hero overcomes his flaw and is rewarded because of it. In a tragedy, the Main Hero fails to overcome his flaw, but we learn from his mistakes.
A flaw can be selfishness, anger, unforgiveness, hatred, addiction, etc. Examine your own life. What’s the flaw that you are unaware you have, or you’re in denial about? What’s that flaw that’s holding you back from being a better human being? What’s the flaw that life keeps hammering at and exposing until you finally learn to overcome it? What’s that flaw that — if you don’t overcome it — people will view as a tragedy when you are dead?
The flaw is tied to the theme. In fact, your whole story is about whether the hero will overcome his flaw or not. Yes, there may be action scenes, thrills, drama, and horror happening all around your hero, but those events in a story happen in order to expose and test the hero’s flaw in hopes the experience makes him a better person.
THE PERFECT ARC
The best character arcs are the ones where the Main Hero goes through a 180-degree turnaround. For example: Hate to Love, Selfishness to Selflessness, or Hopelessness to Hope. The more extreme your Main Hero’s arc, the better the ride for your audience.
At the beginning of The Hangover, Phil allows himself to be bullied by his fiancé Melissa. In the end, however, Phil refuses to be bullied by Melissa and breaks up with her — his 180-degree arc.
PURPOSE OF A SCENE
A scene is one step forward in your hero’s trek toward confronting his flaw. A scene reveals something new and significant about your hero or the other archetypes, either through action or dialogue. A scene reflects the theme in some way. A scene shows conflict, opposition, or tension. Most scenes can be anywhere from an eighth-of-a-page to five pages. A good scene doesn’t meander or linger: It enters the drama as late as possible and exits as early as possible. A scene that lacks friction or tension, or fails to address the theme in some way, must be cut.
PURPOSE OF DIALOGUE
“When we tell a story in cinema,” Hitchcock once advised Francois Truffaut, “we should resort to dialogue only when it’s impossible to do otherwise.” In other words, after you’ve exhausted every conceivable way to cleverly show conflict and tension in your scene (as if you were writing a silent movie), then you may insert dialogue to advance the story.
And in that dialogue you must express what each of the archetypal characters would truthfully say in that particular situation. Their words must sound fresh and original, devoid of clichés. Each of the characters must speak genuinely in accordance to their unique personalities, diverse upbringings, educational backgrounds, regional cadences, ages, IQs, worldviews, and philosophies.
Dialogue must not be “on the nose” (characters saying precisely what they mean) unless absolutely necessary. Your dialogue must utilize the power of subtext instead, meaning: The characters say one thing but think another. A classic example of subtext is in The Godfather when Don Corleone tells his godson, Johnny: “We’ll make him (the Hollywood producer) an offer he can’t refuse.” Subtext: We’ll threaten his life.
4-ACT STRUCTURE
I use a four-act structure simply because the act breaks for the three-act structure always seem clumsy to me: Act 1, Act 2a, Act 2b, Act 3. I’m not a fan of the “a” and “b” thing. The four-act structure makes more sense to me and many other pro screenwriters: Act 1 (pages 1 to 30), Act 2 (pages 31 to 60ish), Act 3 (61 to 85ish), Act 4 (86ish to 120ish).
If I were to sum up the four-act structure into a simple story, it would go like this:
Act 1
The Main Hero goes about his usual business with his sidekick, oblivious of his flaw. Suddenly, an incident occurs that will force him to eventually deal with that flaw. But since he doesn’t want to face his flaw, or is in denial about it, he refuses to confront what the incident presented to him. Eventually he . . .
Here’s how I break down the four acts (using Skyfall as an example):
ACT 1
pages 1–30
Setup
Bond may be too old to kill the villian.
ACT 2
pages 31–60ish
The Quest’s Escalating Complications
Bond’s aging body gives out while trying to find the villian.
ACT 3
pages 61–85ish
Death Valley
Villian is going to kill Bond and the girl.
ACT 4
pages 86ish–120ish
Resolution
Bond kills the villain.
Act 2
. . . embarks on a quest that forces him to enter a “dark cave.” The Main Hero, with the help of his Sidekicks, Maiden, Wise Old Man and Mother Figure, battles the Henchman, Shape-shifter, and Villain in this strange dark cave (who all challenge his flaw). Obstacles grow more difficult and complications escalate the deeper the Main Hero goes into the cave. It’s at this point the Main Hero either sees a (false) light at the far end of the cave, or the cave collapses in front of him on his way toward the light. This collapse forces the Main Hero to find another way out.
Act 3
The Main Hero then experiences the darkest moments of his entire life as he continues to fight the Villain who prevents him from exiting the cave. In fact, the Main Hero reaches the lowest point he’s ever experienced. Realizing that his only hope of getting out of the cave is to overcome his flaw and to face the Villain directly, the Main Hero prepares himself for battle. He then marches toward the Villain for a final, winner-take-all brawl.
Act 4
The Main Hero sacrifices his flaw completely on this final quest and suffers great pain because of it, but in doing so he defeats the Villain and finds a way out of the cave. Stepping into the sunlight, the Main Hero is rewarded with a new and better life. (Or, if he doesn’t overcome his flaw, he is defeated and we, as an audience, learn from his failure.)
TURNING POINTS
Now that you’ve learned about the four-act structure, it’s time to add Turning Points to your skill set. Turning Points are events that send the hero, and the story, into a dramatically different direction. A Turning Point happens on or near Minute 17 in Act One. Additional Turning Points occur in Acts 2 and 3 every fifteen minutes to keep the audience off guard, engaged, and guessing (Minutes 45, 60, and 75). Turning Points are also used during Minutes 90, 105, and 120 if you need to extend your story.
In fact, if you want to expand your story indefinitely, simply add a big Turning Point every fifteen minutes after Minute 120 — a Turning Point that will be difficult for the hero to unravel or resolve. This is a longtime secret trick of playwrights and screenwriters to extend any story.
The timeline below shows you when the Turning Points happen within the acts, which I will elaborate on when you reach that Minute in the book. The Inciting Incident, The Quest, Midpoint, and Final Quest are Turning Points, too, but they have their own special set of requirements, which I will also explain in more detail when you reach those Minutes.
Note: Check out the ultimate cheat sheet on pages 292–293 . . . the entire Beat by Beat structure summarized in a detailed timeline.
ACT 1
pages 1–30
Setup
ACT 2
pages 31–60ish
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The Quest’s Escalating Complications
ACT 3
pages 61–85ish
Death Valley
ACT 4
pages 86ish–120ish
Resolution
ACT 1
Setup
MINUTE 1
ATTENSION!
Tension begins
Whether it’s action, adventure, comedy, drama, horror, or thriller, all successful movies start with tension: anxiety, apprehension, danger, discomfort, crisis, distress, hostility, or sexual tension. Tension grabs attention. One of the most popular tension-grabbers in film is Danger. When we witness something dangerous happening to others, our attention peaks because we feel we have to keep an eye on it for self-preservation. Five out of six of our case studies utilize Danger to start their stories:
SKYFALL
Bond raises his gun.
THE AVENGERS
Narrator says: “What can the humans do but burn?”
THE HANGOVER
Tracy can’t reach her fiancé or his friends before the wedding.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Hansen shoots John an intimidating stare.
THE CONJURING
Teenage girl says: “It (the doll) was moving around by itself.”
GONE GIRL
Nick narrates: “I picture cracking her lovely skull.”
MINUTE 2
THE BUILD
Tension builds
Not only does. . . .
Audience anticipation is increased by “building upon” already existing tension. Good screenwriters know that opening a story with tension will grab an audience, but just like in real life, if you don’t escalate that tension, people will lose interest. A great way to help you escalate the tension in your story is to use the phrase, Not only does:
SKYFALL
Not only does Bond want to stop the agent’s bleeding, but M orders him to “Leave him!”
THE AVENGERS
Not only does Nick Fury say “How bad is it?” to Coulson, Coulson responds with: “That’s the problem, sir. We don’t know.”
THE HANGOVER
Not only does Tracy tell Phil that: “We’re getting married in five hours,” but Phil responds with: “That’s not gonna happen.”
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Not only does John overhear his fellow student say that MIT “is only taking one (candidate) this year, “but then he hears the student say: “Then things got worse . . .”
THE CONJURING
Not only does the doll move around by itself, but then: “Things got worse.”
GONE GIRL
Not only does Nick ask Margo to pour him a bourbon, but Margo gives him a look that says: “This early in the morning?”
MINUTE 3
THE RATCHET
Tension builds even more
Not only that, but . . .
My dad taught me how to use a ratchet wrench when I was a teenager. The ratchet was perfect for tightening bolts in small spaces, like inside the engine block of my Chevy Nova. As the ratchet screwed the bolt closer to the metal plate, I could feel the tension escalate in my wrist. We use that same ratchet principle during Minutes 3 and 4. A great phrase to help you build the tension even more is Not only that, but now . . .
SKYFALL
Not only that, but now Bond and Eve ram into the fleeing car.
THE AVENGERS
Not only that, but now Agent Hill tells Fury: “There might not be a minimum safe distance.”
THE HANGOVER
Not only that, but now Alan wears only a jockstrap in front of embarrassed Doug.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Not only that, but now Hansen acts as if John is the waiter.
THE CONJURING
Not only that, but now the possessed doll draws “Miss Me?” in red crayon.
GONE GIRL
Not only that, but now Nick gestures for a much-needed refill.
MINUTE 4
ANOTHER NOTCH
Tension ratchets up another notch
If you thought that was bad . . .
We’re going to crank Minute 3’s ratchet one more notch, which will not only add more tension to our wrist, but will add more tension to our story. In Star Wars, the stormtroopers burst through the door during this minute, which ratchets the tension another notch, as it does in Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indiana Jones’s supposed ally pulls a gun on him. A phrase to help you ratchet up the tension another notch is: If you thought that was bad . . .
SKYFALL
If you thought that was bad, the enemy agent now shoots at Bond.
THE AVENGERS
If you thought that was bad, Hawkeye now tells Fury the cube’s doorways open from both sides.
THE HANGOVER
If you thought that was bad, now Alan tells Doug: “I don’t care if we kill someone.”
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
If you thought that was bad, now John’s loud, hungover new roommate arrives.
THE CONJURING
If you thought that was bad, now the thrown-out doll shows up in their closet.
GONE GIRL
If you thought that was bad, now the sexual tension heats up between Nick and Amy.
MINUTE 5
JAW DROPPER
Something extraordinary/astonishing happens
This minute makes the audience’s jaws drop. The story seduces us even further by showing us something extraordinary or astonishing. Things that we don’t see or hear every day fascinate us. It grabs our attention and dazzles us. What’s the Jaw Dropper in Jaws? The shark rips the naked girl from the buoy and yanks her underneath the water permanently — an astonishing event in her life, to say the least, and for the audience.
SKYFALL
The enemy agent crashes his motorcycle through a market window from a rooftop!
THE AVENGERS
The Tesseract creates a giant door that the villain Loki enters Earth through.
THE HANGOVER
Tracy’s dad tells Doug: “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Except for herpes. That shit’ll come back with you.”
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
John writes mathematical equations on the window.
THE CONJURING
“It’s something demonic,” Ed says.
GONE GIRL
Nick tells Amy: “I’m the guy to save you from all this awesomeness.” (He basically proposes to her within a minute of meeting her.)
MINUTE 6
FRIEND OR FIST
Hero and ally bond or fight
These next two minutes are about establishing the hero and ally’s relationship. This is a crucial step because the ally plays a big part in the hero’s life later on. Because of this fact, we need to get to know him, and the hero, a bit better. Why? So we care what happens between them — and to them — further down the road. The best way to do this is by showing them either bonding (Friend) or fighting (Fist).
SKYFALL
Eve follows Bond to help (Friend).
THE AVENGERS
Fury and Hawkeye face off against Loki (Friend).
THE HANGOVER
Doug, Phil, and Alan catch up in the car (Friend).
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
John and Charles get on each other’s nerves (Fist).
THE CONJURING
Ed and Lorraine answer questions together at a lecture (Friend).
GONE GIRL
Nick kisses Amy and then gives her oral sex (Friend).
MINUTE 7
FRIEND OR FIST 2
Hero and/or ally bond or fight more
How do the hero and ally bond or fight even more in classic films? In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indy saves his companion’s life (Friend). In Jaws, Mrs. Brody tells her husband to be careful (Friend). In The Sixth Sense, Malcolm talks to his former patient in soothing tones (Friend). In Forrest Gump, Mama Gump scolds Forrest (Fist).