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31 of 98 on the sheet
| # | Kind | Title | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Guide | The Save the Cat beat sheet — a practical guideFifteen beats, page by page, with what each one is actually doing — plus where Snyder is wrong and why working writers still use it. | Fifteen beats, page by page, with what each one is actually doing — plus where Snyder is wrong and why working writers still use it. | 15 min |
| 002 | Guide | How to write a cold openThree structural jobs of a teaser — and how the openings of Breaking Bad, The West Wing, and Whiplash do them in under three pages. | Three structural jobs of a teaser — and how the openings of Breaking Bad, The West Wing, and Whiplash do them in under three pages. | 10 min |
| 003 | Struct | Hero's JourneyJoseph Campbell's monomyth structure - the classic adventure template | Joseph Campbell's monomyth structure - the classic adventure template | 12 beats |
| 004 | Struct | Story CircleDan Harmon's simplified 8-step structure based on the Hero's Journey | Dan Harmon's simplified 8-step structure based on the Hero's Journey | 8 beats |
| 005 | Struct | Three Act StructureThe foundational dramatic structure used in most screenplays | The foundational dramatic structure used in most screenplays | 8 beats |
| 006 | Struct | Save the CatBlake Snyder's 15-beat structure for commercial screenwriting | Blake Snyder's 15-beat structure for commercial screenwriting | 15 beats |
| 007 | Struct | Five Act StructureClassical dramatic structure from Greek theater, used in TV and theater | Classical dramatic structure from Greek theater, used in TV and theater | 5 beats |
| 008 | Struct | Pixar Story SpineEmma Coats's six-sentence framework used at Pixar — great for emotional clarity | Emma Coats's six-sentence framework used at Pixar — great for emotional clarity | 6 beats |
| 009 | Struct | KishōtenketsuFour-act structure from East Asian storytelling — no conflict required | Four-act structure from East Asian storytelling — no conflict required | 4 beats |
| 010 | Struct | Seven-Point StructureDan Wells's seven-point plotting system used in novels and screenplays | Dan Wells's seven-point plotting system used in novels and screenplays | 7 beats |
| 011 | Struct | Freytag's PyramidClassical five-part dramatic arc from Gustav Freytag — common in tragedy | Classical five-part dramatic arc from Gustav Freytag — common in tragedy | 5 beats |
| 012 | Struct | Mini-Movie MethodChris Soth's 8-sequence structure — each sequence is a mini-movie | Chris Soth's 8-sequence structure — each sequence is a mini-movie | 8 beats |
| 013 | Struct | TV Pilot StructureSix-act structure for hour-long TV dramas with act breaks | Six-act structure for hour-long TV dramas with act breaks | 7 beats |
| 014 | Struct | Rom-Com Beat Sheet10 genre beats — meet cute, obstacles, grand gesture, happily ever after | 10 genre beats — meet cute, obstacles, grand gesture, happily ever after | 10 beats |
| 015 | Struct | Thriller / Mystery12-beat structure for escalating tension and investigation | 12-beat structure for escalating tension and investigation | 12 beats |
| 016 | Term | MontageA montage is a sequence of short shots, presented as a list, that compresses time or shows a process — training, falling in love, a city waking up. In a screenplay it is headed "MONTAGE" and broken into lettered or bulleted beats, each a single image, often scored to carry the passage of time. | A montage is a sequence of short shots, presented as a list, that compresses time or shows a process — training, falling in love, a city waking up. In a screenplay it is headed "MONTAGE" and broken into lettered or bulleted beats, each a single image, often scored to carry the passage of time. | Definition |
| 017 | Term | IntercutAn intercut is an instruction to cut back and forth between two locations that are happening at the same time — most often a phone call between two rooms. Writing "INTERCUT" once lets the dialogue alternate without repeating a full slugline for every switch, keeping the exchange fast on the page. | An intercut is an instruction to cut back and forth between two locations that are happening at the same time — most often a phone call between two rooms. Writing "INTERCUT" once lets the dialogue alternate without repeating a full slugline for every switch, keeping the exchange fast on the page. | Definition |
| 018 | Term | Smash cutA smash cut is an abrupt, jarring transition from one scene to a sharply contrasting one — loud to silent, calm to chaos — with no easing between them. Written "SMASH CUT TO:" flush right, it is used for shock, comedy, or to slam two opposing images together for effect. | A smash cut is an abrupt, jarring transition from one scene to a sharply contrasting one — loud to silent, calm to chaos — with no easing between them. Written "SMASH CUT TO:" flush right, it is used for shock, comedy, or to slam two opposing images together for effect. | Definition |
| 019 | Term | Match cutA match cut transitions between two scenes by aligning a shape, motion, or composition across the join — a thrown bone cutting to a spacecraft, a round mirror to a round moon. Written "MATCH CUT TO:", it links scenes through visual rhyme, carrying an idea forward without dialogue. | A match cut transitions between two scenes by aligning a shape, motion, or composition across the join — a thrown bone cutting to a spacecraft, a round mirror to a round moon. Written "MATCH CUT TO:", it links scenes through visual rhyme, carrying an idea forward without dialogue. | Definition |
| 020 | Term | Cold openA cold open, also called a teaser, is the scene that runs before a show's title sequence. It drops the audience into action with no setup, doing three jobs at once: hooking attention, establishing tone, and planting the question the episode will answer. Common in television and many features. | A cold open, also called a teaser, is the scene that runs before a show's title sequence. It drops the audience into action with no setup, doing three jobs at once: hooking attention, establishing tone, and planting the question the episode will answer. Common in television and many features. | Definition |
| 021 | Term | TeaserA teaser is the pre-title scene in a television script, named for its job of teasing the audience into the episode. In hour drama it is the engine that sets up the week's story; the closing counterpart, the tag, is a short scene after the final act that lands a button or a hook into next week. | A teaser is the pre-title scene in a television script, named for its job of teasing the audience into the episode. In hour drama it is the engine that sets up the week's story; the closing counterpart, the tag, is a short scene after the final act that lands a button or a hook into next week. | Definition |
| 022 | Term | TagA tag is a short scene at the very end of a television episode, after the final act break, used to land a last laugh, a quiet character beat, or a hook into the next episode. It is the bookend to the teaser — brief, pointed, and often played over or just before the end credits. | A tag is a short scene at the very end of a television episode, after the final act break, used to land a last laugh, a quiet character beat, or a hook into the next episode. It is the bookend to the teaser — brief, pointed, and often played over or just before the end credits. | Definition |
| 023 | Term | BeatA beat is the smallest unit of story — a single moment of change, decision, or shift in a character's emotional position. Writers also use "beat" as an in-script pause, written on its own line, to mark a held moment in dialogue. In both senses it is the basic pulse of dramatic action. | A beat is the smallest unit of story — a single moment of change, decision, or shift in a character's emotional position. Writers also use "beat" as an in-script pause, written on its own line, to mark a held moment in dialogue. In both senses it is the basic pulse of dramatic action. | Definition |
| 024 | Term | Beat sheetA beat sheet is a one-page outline that maps a story's major turning points — opening image, catalyst, midpoint, all-is-lost, finale — before a word of script is written. The best-known is Blake Snyder's fifteen-beat Save the Cat sheet, which assigns each beat an approximate page in a feature. | A beat sheet is a one-page outline that maps a story's major turning points — opening image, catalyst, midpoint, all-is-lost, finale — before a word of script is written. The best-known is Blake Snyder's fifteen-beat Save the Cat sheet, which assigns each beat an approximate page in a feature. | Definition |
| 025 | Term | SequenceA sequence is a run of scenes that together form one self-contained movement of a story, with its own small beginning, middle, and end. The classic feature is often built as roughly eight sequences of ten to fifteen minutes each — a mid-level unit between the individual scene and the full act. | A sequence is a run of scenes that together form one self-contained movement of a story, with its own small beginning, middle, and end. The classic feature is often built as roughly eight sequences of ten to fifteen minutes each — a mid-level unit between the individual scene and the full act. | Definition |
| 026 | Term | Act breakAn act break is the structural turning point where one act ends and the next begins — a decisive shift that raises the stakes and changes the direction of the story. In television it is also the literal break for a commercial, written to leave the audience on a hook that survives the ad. | An act break is the structural turning point where one act ends and the next begins — a decisive shift that raises the stakes and changes the direction of the story. In television it is also the literal break for a commercial, written to leave the audience on a hook that survives the ad. | Definition |
| 027 | Term | MidpointThe midpoint is the major turn at the centre of a story, around the halfway mark, that reframes the protagonist's situation — a false victory, a false defeat, or a revelation that changes the stakes. It splits the long second act in two and gives the middle of a script its forward drive. | The midpoint is the major turn at the centre of a story, around the halfway mark, that reframes the protagonist's situation — a false victory, a false defeat, or a revelation that changes the stakes. It splits the long second act in two and gives the middle of a script its forward drive. | Definition |
| 028 | Term | All is lostThe all-is-lost moment is the story's low point, late in the second act, where the protagonist's plan collapses and the goal looks unreachable. It is the dramatic floor — the defeat that forces the character to change before the final push — and is often immediately followed by the "dark night of the soul." | The all-is-lost moment is the story's low point, late in the second act, where the protagonist's plan collapses and the goal looks unreachable. It is the dramatic floor — the defeat that forces the character to change before the final push — and is often immediately followed by the "dark night of the soul." | Definition |
| 029 | Term | SceneA scene is a single unit of dramatic action that takes place in one location and one continuous stretch of time, opened by a slugline. It is the basic building block of a screenplay: a scene begins when the place or time changes and carries one clear piece of the story forward. | A scene is a single unit of dramatic action that takes place in one location and one continuous stretch of time, opened by a slugline. It is the basic building block of a screenplay: a scene begins when the place or time changes and carries one clear piece of the story forward. | Definition |
| 030 | Help | AI settingsWhat Arqo's AI does, what it sees, and bringing your own key. | What Arqo's AI does, what it sees, and bringing your own key. | 2 min |
| 031 | Help | How the memory layer worksCharacters, locations, continuity — surfaced when you ask, hidden when you don't. Never used as training data. | Characters, locations, continuity — surfaced when you ask, hidden when you don't. Never used as training data. | 4 min |