From Blake Snyder's Save the Cat - Prose, Poetry and Pixels

From Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat Below are ‘beats’ Snyder felt all of his scripts should contain. In his book Snyder would write 1-2 sentences for each of the points below when he was preparing to shop his script. Project Title:

Genre:

Date:

1. Opening Image (page 1): Sets the tone and mood of the film 2. Theme stated (5): In the first 5 minutes a secondary character will bring up a topic to the main character (who doesn’t get it at the time) which will be the movie’s thematic premise. 3. Set-Up (1-10): All of the main characters are introduced or mentioned; the hero is set up shows the flaw that will need to be addressed; has to grab the audience 4. Catalyst (12): the turning point that incites the main character to respond 5. Debate (12-25): The time for the main character to consider the effect of the catalyst on his/her life. Allows the audience to see the struggle and understand the weight of the decision to change. 6. Break into Act Two (25): Once the main character decides to change, he/she must leave the old world (Act I) and move to a new world (Act II). 7. B story (30): A ‘love’ story that carries the theme of the movie. Helps soften the transition from Act I to Act II. 8. Fun and Games (30-55): The introduction to this new world. Things change but we don’t up the stakes until the midpoint. The core and essence of the movie’s poster. 9. Midpoint (55): The fun and games are over and the main character faces a false peak (up) or they suffer the lowest of the lows. The stakes are raised and the tone changes. 10. Bad Guys Close In (55-75) The hero’s team begins to lose strength or unity and the bad guys regroup to charge one more glorious time. 11. All is Lost (75): The low point for the character. The moment when they feel that there is nothing that they can do that is successful and that their goal will be ruined. Death is often associated with the all is lost category. 12. Dark Night of the Soul (75-85): during this time the hero or the main character spends time trying to figure out what to do to make the plot successful. At the end of the dark night of the soul the main character is figured out what they need to do to be successful and to come out of this funk. 13. Break into Three (85): the solution! Both in the external story (the A story) and the internal story (the B story), which now meet and intertwine, the hero has prevailed, passed every test, and dug deep to find the solution. Now all he has to do is apply it. 14. Finale (85-110): the finale is Act III. This is where we wrap it up. It's where the lessons learned are applied. It's where the character tics are mastered. It’s where the A story and the B story end in triumph of our hero. 15. Final Image (110): The final image in a movie is the opposite of the opening image. It is your proof that changes occurred and that it’s real.