The Short Film Formula Beat Sheet

Act 1 Act 2 Act 3

Opening Development Resolution Climax. The most dramatic scene.
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Break in two. The character makes a Midpoint. The character suffers a major ____________________________________
decision to pursue their goal. setback or failure. ____________________________________
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Catalyst. An event a problem, a ____________________________________
complication or goal.
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Break in three. The character
____________________________________ makes a decision to solve their
predicament. Denouement. The story is tied up.
_______________________________ ____________________________________
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Things get worse. Things get way
worse for your character. ____________________________________
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Opening image. An image that shows ____________________________________ ____________________________________
what your character and their world is
like before the events of the story. ____________________________________
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Your character pursues their goal.
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____________________________________ Final image. An image that shows how
____________________________________ your character’s world has changed.

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Set up. Establish the genre to set up audience expectations; the character,
including their traits, goals and motivations; the character’s world.
.
Establish genre.
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Establish setting
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Establish character
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