Need some help with Blake Snyders 15 beats

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Dark Side of the Camera
O.K. I developed my story, but find it hard to fit it in Blake Snyders 15 Beats.
(and yeah, I know it should be the other way around)

My story is much like Rambo/First Blood.

A guy get´s in serious trouble after the fist 10 pages, the Bad guys come in way before the midpoint (no B story no "Fun and Games") and there is no happy end, he get´s caught and lands in jail.



1. Opening image is no problem

2. Theme stated - here is my first problem. I could do it but not without being cheesy.

3. Set up and 4. Catalyst - no problem here

5. Debate - no time for that, he is under psycho drugs already

6. Break into two - O.K.

7. B-Story - I have no idea

8. Fun and Games - I don´t have that here, it´s to late for such a thing.

9. Midpoint - O.K.

10. Bad Guys close in (they already came in at "Catalyst")

11.- 15 is O.K.

Now what?

Thank´s for your thoughts,

Frank
 
My 2 cents:

Why do you try following his points when you abandon half of them? I don't understand.

Point 2, is the theme, or moral of story. Stating this up front sets up the audience to connect the various following scenes into a coherent whole that culminates with meaning. Have a side kick wander through and see him and accurately tell the hero what he needs for him to be complete. This will seem like a small & somewhat irrelevant statement of little consequence. In truth, it's a cornerstone; it's what the story hangs it's coat on.

Point 5, is the reluctant hero before the journey. Hero's don't start out as heroes unless they're super heroes, often they go through a change and then become a hero as a result of their experience. This point sets up the hero's state of development before the refiners fire and is a contrast to what follows. This helps the audience witness the character arc. In the classic story, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, what would Scoorge be if we didn't see him early on spouting off, oh, humbug! to every small inconveniance? Scrooge is in no way interested in being charitable, the mere thought to him is disgusting. This provides contrast to his journey and final transformation.

B-Story, this creates dimensional character and is often a source of great drama and can show the private side of the hero. This deals with the internal much more than the external. The internal is often the greatest challenge for any hero and audiences most often identify with this the most.

Fun & Games, this provides tone & setting for the audience and acts as contrast to what follows. This is needed!

Now what?: Go back and re-think, re-try using various angles to utilize Blakes recommendations. If you need them in the 1st place, then you are probably not in the best position to decide what should stay and what should go. Try them all. If it's difficult, then you're doing it correctly.
 
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1 - 4 are really a single unit. Your 1, 3, and 4 are not right if 2 is not woven through them. Don't panic. Many times you have to step back from a first draft and see what arc has developed, then go back and rewrite act one to better set up that arc.

Your character must grow in some fashion during the story and that arc will be your theme. Once it is set as a theme you may see that other characters impact or adopt the theme as well (compare and contrast).

My first feature the theme / lead character's arc became trust. I finally nailed that down on the 3rd rewrite and the 4th wrote itself. When you nail the arc down the rest of the gaps should close pretty easily.

Good Luck,

Bob
 
Use the structure beats with caution...don't try and force your script into an exact page-by-page replica. Use the elements presented to make sure you have what most films have so the audience takes the ride you have planned for them.

Use the structure points from multiple gurus so you have a large box of tools to use. Here is a great article with other gurus' structure beat sheets. Scroll down in the article list to find it.

http://filmschoolnow.com/Articles.html


Keep writing!
 
O.K. I was reading the second book "save the cat goes to the movies" today and found that I took the beats to literally in the first place.

Like "fun and games" was not meant to be only fun and games.

And thanks for that link Kess.

Damn there is so much left I have to to learn....

Frank
 
Why try and limit creativity by forcing yourself to fit into a formula? Three act structures, outlining, beat sheets, filling in questionnaires that people have prepared -- these all work for some people, for others they don't. I tried to write scripts for years heavily outlining complete with back stories, graphs, drawings, etc. I couldn't ever complete it, I would get to a certain point and loose steam, the story didn't feel right anymore, it wasn't driving itself but being driven by some abstract thought that I had before word one. One day I sat down and wrote a script with no preparation or forethought, just an image and an emotion, I then sat down and wrote another, funny thing is they always come in at around 100 pages, and seem to have beats in all the right places. What I am saying is that you need to find the way that's right for you, if fitting into a precisely prescribed formula works, then good for you - but if your struggling, then it might not work. For me it's best to let my mind wander free and then deal with the minutia of the script in the many rewrites.
 
Interesting thoughts Ryan. Every workflow is different. Some start with a kind of framework and fill in the gaps. When I come up with a story the whole thing comes up at once like a flash.

It´s hard to explain. But it´s like my brain needs a certain trigger (in this case it was a article in a magazine) and then it takes less than 2 minutes till the raw story unfolds in my mind.

Actually it´s not a story, but a kind of a "holistic" idea of a story. Then I have to turn it in to a screenplay, populate it with characters, dialogue andwhatnot.

Thou others really liked my screenplays, I always wanted them to be more tight with more impact - so I started to read books about screen writing and run into some issues.

Frank
 
Could I post that I recently emailed Blake and got a reply to tell me Blake died in August - I was shocked. I didn't even know him but felt like I did after reading his books.

I think his system is a great help to writers.
 
I think all of these different structures are great tools for adding some story elements to your writing. Write a draft then look these over and they may help generate additional ideas for you. Don't believe that following these story structures will instantly produce great scripts. That is why I do not use these tools to determine or limit page counts, etc. Getting the character's emotional depth into your scripts...whether it be comedy or drama or whatever...is what will hook your audience and have them talking about your film. Simple stories with great characters.
 
As Blake shows - good scripts follow a similar structure. But he doesn't suggest that just following a structure will give you a good script.

Your great story has to be applied on top of (and work within) a good structure.

The structure should be considered as housekeeping that will give you correctly placed plot points, scene structure, back stories etc.

In fact everything that a good script needs will be there by using Blake's structure - you just bring the creativity!
 
My 2 cents:

For me, many of these "Gurus" are simply describing what they most often observe in successful screenplays. This is like saying that most good tasting cakes have flour, sugar, some yeast, a little salt, and it's good to have some pans and a stove, etc... this helps point the baker in the right direction, but it's ultimately up to the cook to make a cake so wonderful we tell our friends so they drop everything and run off to get some of this cake also. By no means do any of these tips take away the work or creativity involved and deliver instant success. If it did, the gurus would all be hit screenwriters, and none of them can make that claim.
 
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