Screenplay outline templates that actually survive a draft
Six outline shapes — beat sheet, index cards, sequences, treatment, mini-movie, eight-sequence — and when each one helps. Free .arq + .fdx + PDF pack at the bottom.
Outlining is the part of screenwriting nobody teaches you, because every working writer outlines differently. Some outline on index cards taped to a wall. Some write a 25- page treatment. Some don't outline at all and start on FADE IN. There is no correct method. There are six outline shapes that show up most often in working rooms, and each one is good for a particular kind of problem. Knowing all six lets you reach for the one that fits the script.
At the bottom of this post is a free template pack — all six outline shapes, pre-formatted in Arqo's native format, Final Draft's, and a printable PDF. Free, no email wall.
The six outline shapes
- The beat sheet (15 beats)
- Index cards (40–60 cards)
- The eight-sequence outline
- The mini-movie method (8 mini-movies)
- The treatment (5–25 pages of prose)
- The sequence outline (story-by-story)
1. The beat sheet
15 beats on one page. The Save the Cat shape, codified by Blake Snyder. Each beat gets one or two sentences; nothing more. The beat sheet's strength is that it forces you to articulate the engine of the story without getting lost in scenes.
See The Save the Cat beat sheet — a practical guide for what each beat does. Use the beat sheet first, before any other outline shape, because it diagnoses structural problems fastest.
When to use the beat sheet
- You have an idea but aren't sure if it's a movie.
- You're struggling with structure on an existing draft.
- You're pitching to a development executive.
2. Index cards
One scene per card. Aim for 40–60 cards for a feature. The physical version uses a corkboard or a long table; the digital version uses a beat board (Arqo, Final Draft, Highland, and Save the Cat's software all have one).
Each card carries: scene location, the action of the scene in one sentence, the function of the scene in the story (set-up, payoff, complication, reversal, etc.). Some writers add the protagonist's want and obstacle per card; some don't.
When to use index cards
- You have a structure but the scene-by-scene order is still flexible.
- You're working in a TV writers' room (cards on a wall is the room standard).
- You like to physically move things around. Index cards give you that more than any other outline shape.
3. The eight-sequence outline
Eight 10–15 page sequences, each with its own mini-arc. Originally a UCLA / USC screenwriting tradition — Frank Daniel taught it; Stuart Beattie, Pamela Gray, and others carried it forward. The shape descends from silent-era feature structure when reels were one-thousand feet long (about 12 minutes), and the practical structural unit was the reel.
Each sequence has its own protagonist, want, antagonist, and turn. The script is eight short stories that together form the feature. Used by, among others, Andrew Stanton at Pixar.
When to use the eight-sequence outline
- You have a long script and the second act is bagging. The sequence shape carves Act Two into two 25-page chunks with their own internal arcs.
- You're writing genre — heist, thriller, action. Genre rewards the sequence's mini-arc rhythm.
4. The mini-movie method
Eight 12–15 minute mini-movies, each a complete story. Closely related to the eight-sequence outline but different in emphasis: the mini-movie method treats each unit as a complete short film with its own three-act shape. Practitioners include Chris Soth, who built the method into a workshop curriculum.
When to use the mini-movie method
- You think in short stories more naturally than long.
- The script feels saggy and you can't tell where — breaking it into eight self-contained units exposes the weak ones.
5. The treatment
Prose. 5–25 pages depending on length. Reads like a short story — present tense, no dialogue (or one or two key lines). The treatment is the most flexible outline shape and the most time-consuming. It's also the one studio executives most often ask for in development.
A treatment is not a synopsis (1 page). It's a full prose retelling of the screenplay you're going to write — every scene in the order it will appear, the emotional beats, the turns.
When to use the treatment
- You're writing on assignment and the studio wants to approve the story before you draft.
- You're working on a complex multi-protagonist or non-linear script that the beat sheet can't contain.
- You write better in prose than in scene fragments.
6. The sequence outline
Different from the eight-sequence shape — this one is scene-by-scene, in the order they appear in the screenplay, with each entry one or two sentences. A sequence outline of a 110-page script runs to 4–8 pages and reads like a recipe.
The sequence outline is the bridge between the beat sheet and the script. Most working writers do it just before FADE IN.
When to use the sequence outline
- The structure is locked. The scenes aren't.
- You're about to start drafting and want a cheat sheet to keep on the desk.
How working writers actually combine outlines
Most working writers I know use two or three of these shapes per script.
A common stack:
- Beat sheet first. One page. Find the engine.
- Treatment second. 10 pages. Find the shape.
- Sequence outline third. 6 pages. Find the order.
- Index cards if needed.Move things around when the order isn't working.
- Draft. The script.
Other writers do beat sheet → cards → script. Others go treatment → script. There's no correct stack. The only wrong move is to skip outlining entirely on a complicated script — you'll write yourself into a wall and have to start over from a different angle.
What about pantsing?
"Pantsing" — writing without an outline, discovering the story as you go — works for some writers. It tends to work better on characters you already know deeply and on contained settings. It tends to fail on plot-driven genres (thrillers, mysteries, heists) where every scene needs to know about every other scene.
If you pants, expect more rewriting. The first draft is the outline.
Outline format on the page
None of these shapes use screenplay format. Outlines are prose documents in normal type — typically 11pt or 12pt Times or Arial, single-spaced. The beat sheet, sequence outline, and index cards may use a small amount of scaffolding (beat names, scene numbers) but the body is plain text.
For the screenplay format itself, see How to format a screenplay.
Most-asked questions
What's the best outline format for a feature?
There isn't one. Beat sheet for diagnostic, treatment for studio approval, sequence outline for drafting. Most working writers use two or three.
Do screenwriters really outline?
Most do, most of the time. Some don't — Quentin Tarantino is the famous outline-free outlier. The further you get from a single self-financed script and toward a commissioned or studio project, the more outlining becomes mandatory.
How long should a screenplay outline be?
Beat sheet: 1 page. Synopsis: 1 page. Treatment: 5–25 pages. Sequence outline: 4–8 pages. Index cards: 40–60 cards. Pick the shape that fits the problem you're trying to solve.