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 A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

format. This makes it especially useful for describing

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

, animation and short sequence ideas. Its structure is focused on action rather than thought. This allows

screenwriters A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

to organise their

narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller ...

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 simple 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 ...

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 recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

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 {{film-term-stub