A step outline (more commonly called a beat sheet) is a detailed telling of a story with the intention of turning the story into a

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 ...

for a

motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

. The step outline briefly details every scene of the screenplay's story, and often has indications for

dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is c ...

and character interactions. The scenes are often numbered for convenience. It can also be an extremely useful tool for a writer working on a spec script.

References

{{filmmaking paper trail Cinematic techniques Film production Screenwriting