A beatscript or beat-script is a scripting aid used for describing story ideas. It offers a level of detail not afforded by the standard feature-film
screenplay
''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993.
Background
After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...
format. This makes it especially useful for describing
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. 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 ...
, animation and short sequence ideas.
Its structure is focused on action rather than thought. This allows
screenwriters
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
T ...
to organise their
narrative
A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller (ge ...
ideas in a concise manner that is conducive to screen presentation. It prevents authors from describing non-tangible,
subjective elements that are unable to be effectively represented in screen form.
Beatscripts are used as the starting-point for generating
storyboards
A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, in the ...
and
shooting-scripts. While beats are used to describe action, shots are used to describe the visual screen presentation of action.
The relationship between individual beats and shots is not direct. In situations, where an event is significant in a sequence, a single beat might equate to a single shot (and is likely to be framed as a close-up). Whereas a series of beats might describe a general idea, these beats might collectively equate to a single shot (which is likely to be framed as a long-shot). The specific visual treatment of beatscript ideas is usually determined by the
cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
or director (which on small projects is usually the same person).
References
* Carnicke, Sharon Marie (2000). "Stanislavsky’s System: Pathways for the Actor". Twentieth-Century Actor Training, ed. Alison Hodge. London: Routledge. 11–36
Teaching Stanislavski* Perkins, Simon (2005)
Beatscript / Prose Storyboards: action-centred scripting for shortfilms and animations
Film and video terminology
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