Step 4 - Structure

You got your story but you are not ready yet. And it is still some days until Scriptfrenzy starts, and this is a good thing because there is a long way to go.
Today we are filling out the Blake Snyder Beat sheet. I can be found on Blake Snyders homepage but I give you the 15 beats right here.
1. Opening Image (1):
2. Theme Stated (5):
3. Set-up (1-10):
4. Catalyst (12):
5. Debate (12-25):
6. Break into 2 (25)
7. B Story (30):
8. Fun and Games (30-55):
9. Midpoint (55):
10. Bad Guys Close In (55-75):
11. All Is Lost (75):
12. Dark Night of the Soul (75-85):
13. Break into 3 (85):
14. Finale (85-110):
15. Final Image (110):
The numbers after the beat is the page in the script where this part is to go. This is Blake Snyder’s method so if you disagree, take it up with him.
All of these beats have to be filled in with scenes and story, but today I will only talk about a few of them.

1. The opening images - This has to be the opposite of the final image. Let’s say our hero is in a chaotic mess at the start he has to be at peaceful serenity at the end. This do not mean that it is only emotions that can be opposite, anything goes. The hero is alone in the opening, and surrounded by friend in the end.

2. Theme stated - What are you trying to say? What is your movie about? Cool sets, great characters? No. You got to find the moral of the story and that is what you put on page 5. Don't have to be big, a sentences or an imaged is enough. But it has to be said.

4. Catalyst - This is what puts the story into motion. Something happens that will change everything forever. The hero loses his bus, gets bad news, or great news, or meets someone. Something to make him take action

6. Break into 2 - This is the act break. The first act you set up everything. Theme, the need to action and the debate on he/her will make it or not. Here the hero leaves what he is used to (old world) and goes off on his adventure.

8. Fun and games - The most fun part of the movie. You get to go and do something else now. This is where the hero finds his skills that he need to solve the problem. And it involved a new story.

11. All Is Lost - It always seem darker be for dawn right? At this moment it has to appear that all is lost. It also has to be the opposite of the midpoint. It the midpoint is a something great (but it is a false greatness) then the All is lots has to be something miserable. But that too is false.

13. Break in to 3 - The solution! Here the problem from the set up, and what the hero learned in the second act all comes together. Because of the fun and games he/she have figured out how to beat the bad guy.

This is of course a really short summery of the structure, and I did not mention all the beats because I got trouble explaining them. I have been filling out my beat sheet today, and I am in trouble. Some parts are great, some are empty. Some are so filled up that I have no idea how to shorten them. But we will get into this some more next time when we look at "The board"

Step 3. Who is it about - Lets take it to the max

Now we got a logline, and we figured out what category the story fall into. It is time to figure out who it is about and then up the stakes.

The hero and the bad guy have to fit the story you are making. The "who" has to fit the "what is it".

So let’s look at my hero. He is a sexist idiot. Why? Well since once of his problems is that his wife is going to take over the show, a sexist idiot is the best who. If he wasn't a male chauvinist then it would not matter if his wife had a better job than him.... And writing that of course gave me the best idea. Our cop hero wants to move on from his cop job, into the FIB or CIA. Have to rub it in! That takes care of our good guys, now for the bad once. My logline say crime boss. That is not specific enough. Have to take it to the max. So what to do? I could make him a male chauvinist as well, that will of course sting our hero even more. I could make him a maniac, or my favorite stone cold. What would serve my story best? I really don't know. But I know that I have to take it to the max, and I will get there.

Step 2. What is is?

9 days to go and we are ready for the next step. You have to do is find what type of movie you are writing. We are not talking action, thriller, epic drama or anything like that. There are ten categories that a story belongs too. And they are:

Monster in the house: There is a "house" and there is a monster.
Golden Fleece: Any "heist movie" rode movie.
Out of the bottle: any movie that start "I wish.." and the wish come true.
Dude with a problem: A ordinary guy or gal get into deep trouble.
Rites of passages: Every change of life story.
Buddy love: Any buddy move, and also any love story.Whydunit: It is the why that is interesting, not the who.
The fool triumphant: the main character is considered to be a fool, but triumphs in the end.
Institutionalized: Family sagas and movies about a group.
Superhero: Stories about anyone with some special powers, they don't have to be the good guys.

I am not going to discuss every type of move. There are book for that, and this list and in fact any theory that I clamed to know anything about is all Blake Snyder's doing. He wrote a wonderful book called “Save the cat”. Get it, read it.

So what category does my story belong to? I could go several ways with my premise, but “dude with a problem” is what sounds closes to what I want to do.
This category is simple: you have an ordinary person that finds him or her self in big big trouble. And the trouble has to be primal. It has to be big, and it has to seem impossible to conquer.
My hero gets into deep trouble as he tries to solve a case with a crime boss that he knows is dirty. He just can’t prove it. Then he gets into more trouble by blowing it at work and gets thrown of the case. All seems dark, but are we true tormenting this guy? No! Then he figures out that his wife, that he though was little miss-stay-at-home-perfect, really is a CIA agent and she is heading the case. A tough blow for our male chauvinistic hero. So now he risking his work, his marriage and since I plan to make the crime boss really mean, he is risking his life as well. He got a problem, a big problem.

Step 1. Logline - isn't it ironic

So you want to write a movie? Then you got to have a logline.
Logline - got to have them. It just makes good sense. That one line is the basis for the whole script. It tells you and anybody else what this movie is about. But it can't just be any old line; it got to have several things in it.

First - irony. It just have to have irony, this is a non-debating issue.
Second - Compelling metal picture - You got to "see" the whole movie
Third - Audience and cost. This one is debatable. It depends on whether or not you want to sell the thing.
Forth - a great title. It has to be specific. It has to tell you what kind of movie this is.
From these four pieces, all bulled into one little sentence, you are to tell the most important thing of all - What is it? If you can't explain that you are toast. Anyone have to be able to tell, is it a comedy? A thriller? Who is it about, what is it about? And first of all it has to be ironic. Irony is the spice of a movie, what makes us tic.

Examples, bad examples but still.
"Water - a movie about a swimming instructor." Does that tell you anything? Want to pay to see that? Nope.
"Treading water - a swimming instructor with a fear of water." Ok this got some ironic, and I would guess it was a drama.
"Dark water." This got to be a thriller
Get the point? It is not easy; non of the above really cuts it.

So what is my movie about? I spend some time on this logline and am still not happy with it, so I probably change it, but for now here it is:
"A sexist cop thought he married stay-at-home-prefect goes toe to toe with a crime boss, but it might have to be the little women that saves the day - My wife is a CIA agent?"
Hmmm yes need some work. It got what I hope is a dash of irony. We have to see if I can’t prefect it later.
Can you tell what kind of movie this will be? Does it tell the whole picture?

Script Frenzy 2007

13 days until fade-in. That is what the Script frenzy site says. 13 days to plot and organize a movie. 13 days to get my thought gathered. Impossible or piece of cake - that reminds to be seen.
Script Frenzy - writing a movie script in 30 days. 20 000 words are to be written in script format for no other reason than to prove that it can be done.
So I will attempt this 30 day frenzy. I got an idea, it is thin, but it is a idea. I got what now is my trusted guide and never leaves my side- "Save the cat" a book written by Blake Snyder
I read ratter a lot of book on the subject, this is one of the better once, at lest for content, the writing style is a different story.
So while being on my 3rd re-read of that book I will prepare for the frenzy.