Save the Cat Beat Sheet

 Introduction 

         Save the Cat Beat Sheet is a structure or format that helps writers plan out their story by splitting the story into  typically fifteen parts (or beats) , however my group and I did four beats instead. The person who developed the save the cat beat sheet is Blake Synder. Blake Synder was a screenwriter for Hollywood who sold many successful scripts. It was developed to make plot creation for writers easier and more connecting between scenes. It also helps establish meaning in the movie that might’ve been otherwise missed or less detailed. Save the Cat Beat Sheet supports a film’s opening by introducing the protagonist and their relationships, establishing the theme and tone of the movie early on,  and setting up the world the characters are in. There are 4 beats in the opening of a movie: Opening Image (First Beat), Theme Stated (Second Beat), Set up (Third Beat), and Catalyst or Hook ( Fourth Beat). Opening Image is exactly as it sounds, it’s the opening image of a film and introduces the setting, tone, and characters in the movie. Theme Stated tells the audience what the movie is about and its theme. Set Up establishes the mood of your movie and essentially lets you audience know if they will like it or not. It also introduces the protagonist(s) of the movie which is crucial. Finally, Catalyst creates an exciting moment in the movie and shows a obstacle that the main character has to overcome. 

Planning: Save the Cat Beat Sheet

 

Student names: Alani Spence,  Kayleigh Waith,  Jayda Lewis, Christie Fanfan Class period: 1		Date: January 4, 2025
Each student's responsibility should be documented below as individual and group efforts.
Team-mate 1: The 3 lines of dialogue that support he cjaracter in the film, the 1 line of dialogue that supports the theme stated beat, Beat ll: Theme Stated, Describe Beat ll, Beat IV: Catalyst /Hook, Describe Beat IV. Team-mate 2: What is the purpose of sound in film?, The Components of Sound, , Sound editing in film Team-mate 3: Beat I, describe Beat III, Team-mate 4: Sound Techniques: what is Synchronous, Asynchronous, parallel, and contrapuntal sound and the examples for them.		Group Efforts: The Save the Cat Beat Structure and the narrative continuity of the opening, Sound Techniques, What is the Save the Cat Beat and how did you use it?, Conventions of a Film Opening and Narrative Structure.
What is the Save the Cat Beat and how did you use it?
The "Save the Cat Beat" refers to a story structure method, that breaks a narrative down into 15 key plot points called "beats," which act as a blueprint for crafting a well-paced story.
Title of the Film:	The Test	Genre: Horror (Subgenre is slasher)
Production company	Sunset Crew
Theme:	Death
Define continuity: Continuity is the process of involving elements consistently in a scene which allows the charcters and actions in the movie to progress systematically.
Description or Synapsis of Film
Three friends, Jess, Vanessa, and Lucy face danger on their school campus after hours when trying to steal the answers to their midterm test.
Conventions of a Film Opening and Narrative Structure
Film Opening Conventions: Document the conventions of a film opening. E.g., Production company, titles, etc.
The conventions of a film opening are the introduction of (a) production company(s), as well as the title of the movie and even narration.
What is Exposition and list techniques used to establish the world of a film?
Exposition is the beginning of a movie where charcters, setting, and tone/mood is introduced.
List examples of Exposition in the Film Opening In our horror movie, The Test, the setting of the movie is established as a highschool in a sub-urban town in Florida. The protagonist(Jess) is introduced in her class with her two best friends ,Lucy and Vanessa.
The Save the Cat Beat Structure and the narrative continuity of the opening.
Beat I: The Opening Image	A visual image that represents the central struggle & tone of the story. ·         A snapshot of the main character's problem before the adventure begins. ·         It sets the tone, mood, genre, and setting of the movie.
Document the setting, location (inside-outside), genre, theme, tone, the mood of the film. It includes narrative devices such as text, voice-over, etc.	List 3 adjectives to describe the setting of the film. -Dark,scary, creepy List 2 feelings that you would want your audience to film. -Fear, anticipation What is the setting of the opening image? In the opening image, the setting location is a high school. The time of day is the morning . Indoor and outdoor List five strong mise en scene elements you will use to illustrate and support the genre and feelings. -Lighthing, Color, setting, props, and costumes. List narrative devices you will use to expose audiences to the back story/exposition of the film. -foreshadoiwng , dialogue   ( Note: you can add the setup into the opening image also. For example, introduce the main character immediately in the film.)
Beat II: Theme Stated	It is the central theme or premise of the film. The message, the truth you want to reveal by the end of your screenplay. ·         A secondary character poses a question or statement to the main character to reveal the theme. ·         What is your story about in a larger sense or the big picture? Our story is about teenagers taking the easy way out to get what they want, rather than working for it. ·         What is the purpose or reason for the movie? The purpose of the movie is to frighten the target audience, teens and young adults. ·         What is the problem the main character is faced with? The main character is faced with the problem of her parents not buying her a car if she doesn’t pass her Media Studies Midterm, which is a class she is currently failing.   ·         What does the main character have to accomplish? The main character has to accomplish passing her midterm, but decides to steal the answers instead of studying.
Describe Beat II	(Long answer) Jess and her best friends, Lucy and Vanessa, are told by their teacher that they will have a test for their midterm coming up soon. Jess is annoyed and panicked because her parents told her that she had to pass her Media Studies Midterm since sh is already faialing the class, and thee midterm could bring up her final grade. HHowever, if Jess doesn’t pass her midterm for this class, then she won’t get the brand new car she’s been begging for all year.
Beat III: The Set-Up	Introduction of the main characters in the film and an expansion of the opening image. ·         Present the main character's world as it is, and what is missing in their life revealed.
Describe Beat III	What is the name of your main character? Jess List 3 adjectives to describe who they are. -Determined, Motivate , persistent Who do they represent?  Race, gender, sexuality, social group, social class, etc. List two moral viewpoints they believe in.  Family, Friendship , get good grades or go home, and do whatever it takes. List two interests of your main character and list 2 ways you will illustrate them. Jess is mostly interested in her academics and sports. Two ways I will illustrate Jess is very competitive and daring.
Beat IV: Catalyst/ Hook	A life-changing event that causes a significant change in the main character's life. • A moment where the opportunity to go on a journey is presented to the main character. • Life as it is, is changing. The reason you watch the rest of the movie is the sound, characters' actions, eye-catching props, and mise en scene, which symbolize meaning and support the genre.
Describe Beat IV	Jess, Vanessa, and Lucy sneak into the school after hehours to steal the answers to the test. However, once breaking into their teacher’s classroom and scrambling to find the answrs, they realize they’re not alone when they hear footsteps. Worried that it’s a teacher, they all hide behind a sink (the media studies teacher also teaches art). Jess peeks above the sink to see who it is when she realizes that its not a teacher, but a masked murder, and she is visibly scared.
Reflection

 

Planning in Film Activity II: Sound in Film Analysis

 

What is the purpose of sound in the film?
The purpose of sound in film is to make a film feel realistic for the audience.
The Components of Sound
Define Dialogue		The spoken or written words exchanged between characters
Define Sound Effects		Artificial sounds that are added to a movie to enhance the story,create realism,or evoke emotion
Define Music		Vocal or instrumental sounds combined in such way as to produce beauty of form, harmony,and expression of emotion.
Define diegetic sounds		Any sound that origantes from the world of a film, whether its on- screen or off- screen
List the diegetic sounds in the movie and give two or more examples.		-          Footsteps -          A door slamming
Define non-diegetic sounds		Sound in a film that the characters can’t hear but the audience can
List the non-diegetic sounds in the movie and give two or more examples.		-Music -Voiceover
Sound Techniques
Define Synchronous Sound	Synchronous sound is an audio that matches the action on the screen.
List 3 examples of synchronous sound	Three examples of Synchronous sound are glass breaking since the sound of glass breaking matches the action of glass breaking, footsteps since their footsteps will match the action of their feet, and dialogue since when a character speaks the dialogue matches their facial expressions.
Define Asynchronous Sound	Asynchronous sound is an audio that doesn’t directly correspond with the visuals on screen.
List 3 examples of asynchronous sound	A siren in the background of a calm conversation, birds singing you can hear but not see them, and dogs barking while a character is walking.
Define parallel sound	Parallel sounds are sounds that compliment that mood or atmosphere of a scene.
Define contrapuntal sound	Contrapuntal sound is a sound or music that contrasts with the visuals on screen.
Describe the soundscape in the film's opening and use examples. Is the sound parallel or contrapuntal? Use the Sound in Film Lesson pdf to see essential vocabulary. The sound is parallel to complement the mood or atmosphere of the film.
How does sound establish the opening image, the theme stated, set-up, and the catalyst? Ask questions such as: Is the sound melodic, discordant, or crescendo? How is the rhythm illustrating the pace of the film? (fast, slow, irregular)  Sound establishes the opening image by introducing the theme of the movie. The sound is going to be discordant to create an unsettling feeling at the end. The rhythm of the sound will be going fast towards the end when the killer shows up.
Are the sounds best suited for the film?		Yes because the sounds will help set the tone of the film.
List 2 or more dialogue lines that support the world/setting of the film.
“Midterm exams are approaching, it’s a good way for some of you to bring your grades up.”-Teacher		“Our midterm exam is going to consist of 50 questions. If you have been using saussure’s theory and mise en scene elements, and everythinng we've learned up till now in your blogs, then you shouldn’t have a problem.” -Teacher
List 3 or more dialogue lines that support the characters of the film.
“I  have other classes to study for, I don’t have time to study for this class, its not even as important anyway. Plus, I want that car, I’ve been asking for it all year.”- Jess		“Jess, are you sure stealing the test answers is the best option? I think we should just study instead.”- Lucy	“Lucy, if you don’t wnt to steal the answers, then just stay home. Jess and I will be getting those answers, but if you decide to be less of a scaredy cat, then meet us in the courtyard at 6:00 pm.” -Vanessa
List 1 or more dialogue lines that support the theme-stated beat.
“It’s just easier to steal the answers Lucy, studying for one class already takes too long, imagine studying for five classes.”-Jess
Sound Editing in film
Define L Cut		A film editing technique where the audio  from one scene continues into the next scene, even though the visuals have changed .	Ant-Man: The girls whisper to each other about stealing the answers even whe the scene changes to the teacher discussing more information about the midterm.
Define J Cut		A film editing technique that overlaps audio from the next scene with the video of the current scene.	Suspense building: Hearing footsteps from the murderer before the action is visibly revealed.

 

Reflection 

    After doing this assignment I learned about how story writers can construct their plot, specifically their opening scene, easier and better using the Save the Cat Beat sheet mechanism. In order to complete this assignment my team and I used the Word program to create and type into the document. We also had access to a school laptop to use the Word program so we could write on the beat sheet. I believe I am intermediate at understanding the Save the Cat Beat Sheet because I understand the main parts of it (as well as the Mise en Scene that is part of it), but could use more practice at understanding what the purpose of each beat is. It was very helpful in the planning of my movie and helped me organize my movie so it could engage and immerse my audience. 

(Work Cited Links) 

Kench, S. (2023) What is save the cat - synder’s beat sheet explained, StudioBinder. Available at: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-save-the-cat-screenwriting/ (Accessed: 04 January 2025).