Well, it IS the internet after all! So of course there are cats! But what does that have to do with writing?
Click here to buy: "Save The Cat"
Blake Snyder's "Save The Cat" series appears to be well named, considering it's as hard to avoid his writing books as it is to avoid seeing cats on the internet! If you've been at the "writing game" for a while, then you've surely crossed paths with Snyder's infamous "Cat" (though hopefully it wasn't a black cat!). If you're new to the writing scene, however, or you're a designer that's never even heard about the series before, then allow us to introduce you to the "Last Book On Screenwriting That You'll Ever Need!"
Blake Snyder at one point claimed this to be the "Last Book On Screenwriting That You'll Ever Need"... And then promptly came out with two more books. No.... Really...
The late Blake Snyder was a renowned screenwriter that came up with hits such as "Blank Check" and "How to Train Your Dragon". In his infamous book, "Save the Cat", he claims to have cracked the code on writing great movies by leveraging something he's dubbed a "Beat Sheet"; essentially, it's a worksheet that promises to help you properly pace out your story. Ever since the publication of the first Beat Sheet, it has become popular the world over not just with screenwriters, but with anybody attempting to tell a story!
That includes us here at Got You Covered, by the way...
In fact, we're going to come right out and blame this book in particular for this blog getting started! After all, if movies and stories can be boiled down to a primal pattern of some sort, then might this also carry over to great cover design? Is there a pattern? A formula that might we tweak? Thus why we are doing a study in movie and cover design at all! If there is a patter, we hope to stumble upon it over the course of this blog!
But first, let's go over what a "Beat" even is, in the first place.
The Fifteen Beats Are...
Blake Snyder postulates that there are Fifteen "Beats" total that make up the #BeatSheet. Beats can be thought of as "Milestones" in a story, only they occur within a certain timeframe of one another and typically inform/influence one another. For example, traits, quirks, and issues presented in the first couple Beats in the story, are often referenced again later towards the finale. Now this glib summary doesn't at all do the #BeatSheet any justice! To really grasp the full expanse of this fantastic tool, we are going to highly recommend that you pick up your own copy of Save the Cat. But for the purposes of this article, we'll give a brief summary of each beat.
Now as we go through each story Beat, might we make a fun recommendation? Pick your favorite movie on Hulu or Netflix, and follow along with the time stamps. Go ahead - It's fun! We only say pick a movie because the #BeatSheet was written specifically for movies.
For sake of popularity, and because it's both a book AND a movie, we're going to cite Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to help our example.
Opening Image (The first minutes) - Sets the tone for all the movie, and more specifically, needs to be the exact opposite of the ending story beat. In Harry Potter, we're shown a mundane street. Nothing wrong here. Very non-magical and predictable... Until a strange man in robes shows up. By the end of the series, we'll be back on this street again. Only it won't seem so mundane afterall.
Theme Stated (First six minutes) - Perhaps the most critical Beat of them all. This is the big lesson or punchline of the whole story that the Main Character will have to learn or prove wrong. Typically spoken to the Main Character by a secondary character. In Harry Potter, it's his Uncle Vernon growling out the words "There's no such thing as magic!" Which, if you note, contradicts the Opening Image as well.
Setup (Minutes one thru ten) - Sometimes inversed with the Theme Stated, the Setup is the part where you insert character quirks, show specific places, that will be showcased later on in the story. It's the parts featuring Harry doing accidental magic; talking to snakes; and getting bizarre letters; and witnessing even more bizarre behavior from his Uncle and Aunt.
Catalyst (Around 12 minutes) - The mega event that forces the Main Character to change everything. The moment when Hagrid finally arrives at last, forcing the Dursley's to tell the truth to Harry - Yes. There is magic! This beat in particular too, is also a beat I see some book/movie covers take their queues.
Debate (12 to 25 ) - Even though there's the call to adventure, there's still bit of a "buffer" zone before the characters enter this strange new world. For Harry, he's slowly transition from the mundane London, to the Leaky Cauldron, and finally into the magical Diagon Alley. It kind of parallels the overall journey, so to speak, and the Theme as well.
Break into Act II (25 minutes) - By now, your main character should be out of "Kansas", so to speak, and thoroughly plunged into the new life. Or in Harry's case, he's finally at the platform and ready to board the train to Hogwarts - to be fully entrenched in the magical world as distinct and separate from the rest of mundane London.
B Story (30 minutes) - Now that the main character is on this journey in the first place, this is typically the moment when they meet the next big characters - the "Funhouse Mirror" version of the characters we met during the Setup! (Are you starting to see what I mean about the Beats all informing and influencing one another?) This Beat, in particular, is also critical to Designers and Cover Artists because if there were ever a Beat that Hollywood loves to put on their covers, this one is it. You've seen it countless times before too - The "Spread" of characters - The conglomerate, if not diagrammatic showcase of every B-Story persona that your Main Character meets along the way! So many Movie covers literally "chunk" the B-Characters together, and then sprinkle in a dash of things from the "Fun and Games" section (coming up next!), and wallah! NEW cover!
Fun and Games (30 minutes in, until the Midpoint) - The interesting thing about this beat, is that Snyder calls this part the "Promise of the Premise", and specifically notes that this is the Beat that Hollywood tries to leverage the hardest to make a movie trailer with. That's because this is the part that supposedly drives fans to the theaters, or to read the books in the first place. The real "meat" of the story should be here. If you are hankering for sci-fi, then this is the part where all the techno-babble should be unleashed. If you're reading a romantic comedy, the main characters should be bonding pleasantly by now. For Harry Potter, we've been building up to this theme of "Yes! There is magic!" And the story does not disappoint! Harry is casting spells, mixing potions, and we as readers are introduced to that magical game of Quidditch too! Interestingly enough, this is also where a lot of book and movie Covers also diverge, with books featuring more of their Fun and Games elements to tell a "mini" story, versus Movie's showing the cast. Fascinating! To say the least!
Midpoint (55 minutes in, give or take) - Unfortunately things always have to change. Nothing ever stays the same right? The magical honeymoon with Hogwarts is quickly over when the trio of new friends realize that Cerberus (who is also on the book cover above) is guarding something dangerous, and that somebody is after it! Queue the end of the light hearted fun, and let the grave troubles begin now!
Bad Guys Close In (55 minutes thru 75 minutes) - Now that the stakes are raised, the Main Characters are forced to really get down and fight - Sometimes with each other - Or in Harry's case, with whatever magical baddy lurks out there! (The trio thinks it's Snape, at this point).
All is Lost (75 minutes) - This is the part where most mentors go to die, and when the Hero and their party are particularly forlorn. This is often called a "whiff of death". Now Harry Potter is a kid's book, and still carries that heir of innocence with it. So instead of being ultra-dark, we are given a somewhat symbolic death - That of a dead unicorn, along with the ultimate warning - That Lord Voldemort can, indeed, return!
Dark Night of the Soul (75 to 85 minutes) - What a terrible thing to lament! Harry Potter only just got to this magical world he was denied his own life, and now that he's arrived, it's in danger of ending already? Harry can't let that happen though, so he goes to get help from Dumbledore, but Dumbledore is gone! Therefore, Harry and his friends will have to brave the trouble alone! More lamentation comes, which is the very definition of this beat. This has to be the hero's lowest point before they face off against the last act!
Break into Three (85 minutes) - This is the "fusion" of the worlds before and now. Everything and anything that the character has learned about themselves since the start of the story will now begin to come back into play, and give the audience little "pay-offs" along the way. We see an encore of "wizards chess" that nearly kills Ron. We witness Hermione demonstrate that acute intelligence of hers again. And finally Harry has to face off against the villain once and for all!
Finale (85 minutes until the end) - This is exactly as the Beat describes itself; the Finale; the ending; the wrapping up of all lose threads, and the final lessons being learned at last. Harry Potter uses everything he now knows of his magical world, and his heritage as the Boy Who Lived, to defeat the corrupted Professor Quirrel, leaving us with -
The Finale Image (Last minutes of the movie) - The last thing readers should see in the world they are leaving behind, should be the exact opposite of what they were greeted with in the first place. For Harry, his life was mundane and devoid of real family, with a pudgy Uncle constantly telling him there is "no such thing as magic" and he is alone. But when he at last returns to that same mundane street from before, Harry now knows that magic is real, and that he's not alone because he has another family, and furthermore, he has a magic photo album to remind him of where he came from.
In Summary...
Believe it or not, this section is but a precursory glance at the #BeatSheet, and how it works for story structure! Again, we'll have to insist that you go out of your way to pick up your own copy of Save the Cat to read (... and re-read... And re-read again and again to really absorb it). But if you're one of the many Designers out there who wanted to get an idea about why all these cats are hanging around everywhere, or you're a newcomer to the writing game, then we hope this article was helpful! If so, drop us a line and let us know!
Comments