How to Outline a Short Film: Sequences, Beats and Labels
How to outline a short film step by step: four sequences, seven story beats and their labels, built live for The Night Ferry. Then one test that tells you if the outline works.
Chapters (9)
In this lesson you will learn
- How to work in the Outline view, with its tracks and plus buttons
- How to split a short film into four sequences
- How to add seven story beats with their outline lines
- How to label beats and spot a missing structure beat
- How to restructure the story with drag and drop
- The read-aloud test that tells you if an outline works
This lesson shows how to outline a short film step by step, building the full outline of The Night Ferry in ScreenWeaver's Outline view. Starting from the title card that holds the logline, you add four sequences, The Last Crossing, The Passenger, The Fog and Home, then seven story beats, each with a short outline line.
Next you label each beat, from Opening / Setup to Resolution, and notice the colors along the track showing the structure at a glance. A missing climax label reveals that in a short film the twist and the climax can be the same moment. You then see why restructuring costs nothing when every beat is a card you can drag and drop. Finally, a simple test: read the outline out loud, card by card, like a story told to a friend.
Full transcript
0:04Time to build. In this lecture, we'll create the full outline of the Night Ferry in the outline view. The title, four sequences, and seven story beats with their labels.
0:16Switch on the outline view in the sidebar. At the top, the title card with the log line we wrote in its outline line. Below, the empty tracks, sequences, story beats, and scenes. Every track ends with a plus button to add a card.
0:33First, the sequences, the four chapters of our film. Click the plus on the sequence track and name it The Last Crossing. Then, The Passenger, The Fog, and Home. Four chapters, and you can already read the shape of the story.
0:51Now, the beats. Under The Last Crossing, add a beat The Rule. In its outline line, Elias closes The Last Crossing, no passengers after midnight. Then, under The Passenger, The Girl in Yellow, and He Let's Her On.
1:09Under The Fog, The Engine Dies, and Who Are You? Under Home, The Compass, and Home. Seven beats. Read them from left to right. It's the whole film in seven moments.
1:24Now, the labels. Every beat card has a header with quick actions. Click the label button on The Rule and choose Opening slash Setup. The Girl in Yellow, Inciting Incident. He Let's Her On. Plot Point One. The Engine Dies, Midpoint, plus Tension slash Suspense. Who Are You? Low Point. The Compass? Plot Point Two, plus Heart slash Emotional. And Home? Resolution.
1:56Look at the colors along the track. The structure of the film at a glance. Something's missing, though. There's no climax label. In a short film, the twist and the climax can be the same moment. Add climax to the compass. That's three labels, the maximum for one beat.
2:15And because everything is a card, restructuring costs nothing. Want to test the compass reveal earlier? Drag the card one place to the left and read the outline again. Not better? Drag it back. One second, no page rewritten.
2:31Before you leave the outline, do one last thing. Read it out loud, card by card, from left to right, like a story you're telling a friend. The Rule. The Girl in Yellow. He lets her on. The Engine Dies. Who Are You? The Compass. Home. If you can tell the whole film in 30 seconds, and your friend wants to know what happens next, your outline is working.
2:59Your exercise? Build the outline of your own story. Your sequences? At least seven beats, with their outline lines and labels. Then read it from left to right and ask, does every beat change something? Next, we turn beats into scenes. The Ends.