Question 1

How many beats are in a scene?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

The answer is that there is no set or correct number of beats in a scene. A scene might last seconds or minutes. It could have a single beat or dozens of them. It all comes down to how the scene is constructed and what the intention is behind including it in the script.
So when putting together your own beat sheet, don’t feel limited by number. If you have two beats for a particular scene, that’s okay. If you have twenty, that’s okay, too.
That being said, what can be so useful about a beat sheet before you even get to the screenwriting part of the process is evaluating if those beats actually convey at the most basic level what is supposed to be happening in that scene.
Two beats might be just enough, or you might decide to flesh out that particular scene a bit more. In the same way, twenty beats might be exactly what the next scene needs or you might look at those beats and choose to par down.
Hitting a certain number of beats per scene is not the goal. Hitting exactly the number of beats you need for each scene is.

Question 2

What should a beat sheet look like?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

A beat sheet is comprised of the core moments in a story that keep moving it forward. To that end, no extraneous information is needed for it.
That means no dialogue. No character descriptions. No details that don’t inherently impact how the story unfolds.
There’s no single way that a beat sheet should look, but many Screenwriters create them as a bullet point document so that they can concisely map out those core moments and quickly refer back to them when the time comes to start writing the actual screenplay.

Question 3

What makes a good beat sheet?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

The most important marker of a good beat sheet is that it’s a beat sheet you’ll actually use.
If you’re new to beat sheets, you’re probably going to look at examples of them, whether they are documents you find online or get from your Screenwriter friends. That’s great.
Use them for inspiration but don’t feel obligated to construct yours in exactly the same way if it doesn’t feel organic to your personal writing style. The same goes for any screenwriting students who have been taught to create beat sheets in a certain way.
Considering that it does take a fair amount of time and energy to make a beat sheet, make sure that it flows in a way that will help you create the best script possible.
Given the intention behind beat sheets, it’s also important to keep it restricted to those most important moments in a script. Be mindful of a beat sheet so detailed with extraneous information that you find yourself getting lost in it.
If you personally feel like you want a support document for your script that does include certain elements like dialogue and the like, consider doing so with an outline instead.

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