Screenwriting : Using 'Beat' in a spec script by Robert J. Verlander

Beat and pause are accepted. I try to be creative with my beats, and I use them to describe some action: rolls his eyes, smirk, bites his nail, glares, and so on.

Usually people recommend small descriptions of slow events. So that you don't need to use the "Beat" stuff in the screenplay. Personally I cheat in first drafts and just write "..." as my "Beat". That way I and the reader know there is a moment without anything happening there and I show it in the screenplay length. But preferably I should probably replace the dots with some small event later on. Even so I do personally feels that it works but I may be wrong.

Observe the dramatic silence used between speaking parts in Jaws. Brilliant!

I use BEAT between action lines at times but not all over.

I aim to avoid (beat) altogether. It's kind of a dead, meaningless word. I'll try and use an action or an observation to indicate the pause.

This could not be more confusing. The writers I really lookup to saying different things. UGH.

There's nothing wrong with the occasional beat, or ellipses or whatever subtle way you want to indicate a pause, and they're certainly not dead.

I find it weird that the argument for doing or not doing something can be: It shouldn't be done therefore you should not do it.

To me it's not a clear case for anything. If that's really the whole logic behind some behavior I feel that it needs to be looked into. Maybe it makes no sense?

I use ellipses and beats, along with dashes and commas when it comes to rhythm and flow. To me, punctuation is more fitted to dialog whereas beats suggest an action pause. But then I get to the next page... an' it's all changed. Consistency is not my strong suit.

A "beat" from "La La Land" script.

MIA

It was pure insanity.

Mia stops. Thinks. Mutters to herself: "Insanity"... Then

leans down and grabs a piece of paper from the passenger

seat. It's a SCRIPT.

MIA (CONT'D)

(reading now)

Pure lunacy. Oh God, I know...

We got the beat

We got the beat

Yeah, we got it!

~The Go-Go's.

Robert - did you? Was your question answered?

I stopped using 'Beat' sometime ago. I now use.

DANNY

But you said...

LISA

...What if I did?

I know it's supposed to be a trail off but it works for me when I want to emphasise that silent pause.

I first read this 'Beat.' in the script of Whiplash by Damien Chazelle who also is the author and director of LaLaLand where you found it. Then, he directs his own scripts what explains why nobody would kill it out.

To me it was a better read with this 'Beat.' because I find it has a certain strength. It's not only a pause but also like a beat of a drum. This is what musicians read. So, I liked it then. Don't know in other scripts and haven't used it myself yet.

Like so many other elements in a script, it's preference. I've been told not to use it, and to allow the actor do decide...and I've been told to use it if I feel it's needed.

(beat)

I use it. :)

Actors may have the choice to decide if they will say a line in this or that way. But when I use the ... it's just as much to illustrate that the script is a bit longer here. You can write a 10 page script that is supposed to have tension or you can clearly show the tension on the page so every reader can feel it directly. This will make the script 12 pages long but add a ton of emotions to it. How you read the script is how you see the story in your head. And sometimes a reader won't know when to take these breaks if he is reading the script fast.

If it's an extended pause, then I write "Long Beat".

Most will tell you not to use camera direction or tell actors how to say lines, but I am of the belief that anything that helps you tell your story and helps a producer envision it on the big screen is positive. Even when Quentin Tarantino wrote some early scripts that he didn't direct, he still included a lot of these elements. None of them - to me - are deal-breakers. I was once considering a co-production with a producer overseas, who I discovered to be unscrupulous, unethical, unprofessional and (BEAT) dishonest, and said producer was one of the few people who harped on not using camera direction. Said producer, who paid me to write a script, also gave the most generic tips to me that validated my thoughts on the camera direction debate. Tell your story when you write a script, if that includes some camera direction, some BEATs and even a few suggested songs, so be it. Just make sure your STORY is GREAT, your script is TIGHT and you can't spot a single grammatical error. You do those things and I assure you the BEATS will go on ...

I only use break or break to show when a long dialogue should break. Otherwise I use a parathenthical with a small action. (Takes sip, looks out window.)

I’ll have to remember that when I ever send you a script! Lol

Well that makes us even cause I can’t tead. Lol

Or edit. What's tead? LOL

Read. Pain in the ass! Lol.

Thanks for clearing that up. LOL

Next i’ll Need to get coverage for my forum post.

I'll tead for you.

Personally? I think it's dated.

It was popular in the 70's (dating myself) with the Syd Feld type formatting. Most scripts I see now use "A pause." like;

ROBERT

(excited)

That's one big-old slugline you got there!

A Pause

KEVIN

Yeah-- I guess so.

Thanks for the laugh John Iannucci and Tony S.

And the beat goes on.

=)

... and on, 'an on, 'an on...

But avoid the gerund version "beating" as it's not active voice...and other stuff... ;)

LOL. Love your sense of humor Doug. (still laughing)

How to beat a dead horse:

"He wakens, feels the sheets with displeasure; they are wet.

He looks at his hand; the wetness is blood. He is

frightened, pulls aside the covers, and sees fresh blood on

his sheets and pajamas. He grunts, pulls the puddle of

blood in his bed. He feels his own body frantically,

moving, down, following the blood, until he is face to face

with the great severed head of Khartoum lying at the foot of

his bed. Just blood from the hacked neck. White reedy

tendons show. He struggles up to his elbows in the puddle

of blood to see more clearly. Froth covers the muzzle, and

the enormous eyes of the animal are yellowed and covered

with blood.

WOLTZ tries to scream; but cannot. No sound comes out.

Then, finally and suddenly an ear-splitting scream of pure

terror escapes from WOLTZ, who is rocking on his hands and

knees in an uncontrolled fit, blood all over him."

Wow, I had no idea one word was such a hot topic! I've read so many DO's and DON'Ts about spec script writing that I can see how a new script writer would be overwhelmed by it. Thanks for all the ideas and inputs. 'Don't use it unless you absolutely have to' seems to be the general consensus.

I use them sparingly