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Activity 1: Major and minor beats

A story spine split into eight major beats.
Part A: Pick a scene or sequence from one of your three favorite movies and do the following:
  • What is the major beat in the story that it depicts?
  • Break this major beat down into a bullet point list of minor beats.
Remember, each minor beat represents one event or idea (this happens, this happens, this happens...).
A scene split into minor beats.
Part B: Pick two major beats from your own story spine and break them down into a bullet point list of minor beats.

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  • piceratops ultimate style avatar for user STORMBREAKER9
    X-Men Apocalypse:
    Major: Cyclops is brought to Professor X's school for gifted young
    Minor: His brother brings him to the school
    Major: Cyclops and the rest fight Apocalypse and his four horsemen face to face
    Minor: Cyclops says that not all of them, including him, can control their powers

    My story:
    Major: Guy discovers he's a superhero
    Minor: Guy gets his own "super" name
    Major: He gets captured by his own enemy
    Minor: Through tech, only he can hear or see his enemy
    (30 votes)
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  • piceratops tree style avatar for user 22drages
    Movie: How to Train Your Dragon
    Major beat: Hiccup shoots down a Night Fury
    Minor beats:
    - Hiccup doesn't kill the dragon
    - Hiccup is put in training camp
    - Hiccup learns more about Night Fury
    - Toothless gets his name
    Major beat: Hiccup and Astrid find Dragon Island
    Minor beats:
    - Hiccup doesn't kill Monstrous Nightmare in arena
    - Stoick finds out about Dragon Island
    - Stoick and adults travel to Dragon Island
    - Hiccup forms the Dragon Riders

    I just watched this movie the other day.
    (24 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user p5c25GavinoPalacios5R3A
    Exercise 1: Major and Minor beats
    A story spine split into eight major beats.
    Part A: Pick a scene or sequence from one of your three favorite movies and do the following:
    What is the major beat in the story that it depicts?
    Once upon a time a man found out how to replicate dinosaur dna
    Everyday he would make you dinosaurs and put them on a island so he can have a zoo
    Until one day a work was attacked by one of the dinosaurs
    Because of that he needed the expert's opinion of his island
    Because of that they went to his park and were amazed by the dinosaurs
    Because of that they went on a tour of the park
    Until finally the dinosaurs got out and were killing them
    And ever since that they have escaped but have not been on that island
    The moral of the story is not to play God and humanity should not control nature

    Break this major beat down into a bullet point list of minor beats.
    Remember, each minor beat represents one event or idea (this happens, this happens, this happens...).
    Alan grant and the rest go on the tour
    This happens are bored that there is dinosaurs that they can see
    This happens Alan sees a sick Triceratops and stops the tour to see it
    The rest follow him and they are amazed by him


    A scene split into minor beats.
    Part B: Pick two major beats from your own story spine and break them down into a bullet point list of minor beats.
    Everyday he would look for new ways to earn wealth.
    One way involved being an inventor
    Another way involved being a door-to-door salesman
    Until finally he went back to convince the old man to give him his souls back.
    He looks throughout the town
    He remembers the hill that they met on and goes there
    He find him on the hill and begins to beg for his old life
    (12 votes)
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    • aqualine tree style avatar for user Sai Bedadakota
      I feel like the girl getting kidnapped would be a major beat and not a minor. Because it's not a minor thing. It's practically the basis of your story and the story kind of depends on you saving that girl for the happy ending. So, I think the girl getting kidnapped should be a major beat.
      (4 votes)
  • aqualine seed style avatar for user Eduardo Rodrigues
    Anomalisa
    Major Beat:
    -Michael Stone hears a different voice.
    Minor Beats:
    -Michael goes out of his room
    -Runs in the hotel to find the different voice
    -Searchs in a lot of rooms until he find a pair of girls in one of them.
    -Starts to talk with the friend of ''the voice''
    -With that, he met the difference voice.
    (7 votes)
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  • leafers tree style avatar for user Ghian Saayman
    this is the best type of sckool it is better than math
    (8 votes)
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  • starky sapling style avatar for user Alionna Alcatraz
    Show:Stranger Things
    Major Beat : Will is kidnapped
    Minor Beat: they meet eleven
    Music Talent Discovered:they find out that eleven is magical
    this show is amazing!
    (7 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user Lauren Pitt
    Movie:
    Miracles from Heaven
    Major Beat:
    Anna is Poorly
    Minor Beat:
    Goes to the Hospital
    They say she is lactose intolerance
    Do more tests and find out she is really poorly
    Have to operate immediately
    Major Beat:
    Anna falls into the tree
    Minor Beat:
    Abby runs away
    Her Dad gets a ladder and tries to see her
    Phone Fire and Ambulance Service
    Firemen try to get her out

    How did I do?
    (7 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user beckerboy05
    My Own Film:

    Scene One,

    Major Beat,
    Jerome wakes up on a shore after being bitten by a zombie and being infected the night before.

    Minor Beats.
    He discovers that he is not alone, Sam has been watching him.
    Jerome panics. Thinking he's infected, he warns Sam that he was bitten last night.
    However Sam tells Jerome that She found him five days ago.
    Then Jerome realizes, he is immune to the virus.

    Scene Two.

    Major beat,
    Sam leads Jerome to her camp.

    Minor Beats.
    Sam explains where her and Jerome are and how it is really safe from the infection.

    Sam takesJerome to the camp leader

    The leader, is very skeptical of Jerome especially since he has 'survived a "infection"
    Nonetheless, he welcomes Jerome and gives him tests on his infection

    Sam gives Jerome a home.
    (6 votes)
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  • leaf grey style avatar for user JuanChamorroArenas
    The Godfather: Scene 1

    The major beat is an enclosed, dark, misterios place. The pace is slow and it is a dialogue.
    Minor beat 1: Close up to Mr. Bonasera sitting and talking to Don Corleone, with gradual zoom out to general frame. (end scene standing)
    Minor beat 2: Half frame to Don Corleone, speaking in his deep scratchy voice (shortly)
    Minor beat 3: then a general frame of all the people in the office. (shortly)
    Minor beat 4: again Don Corleone, sitting, but a full frame.
    Minor beat 5: general frame of all the office. Don Corleone stands and all stand (as if saying that something different is going to happen)
    Minor beat 6: the convesation continues but and now standing and walking, alterning between Mr. Bonasesa and Don Corleone.
    (4 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user hailmyers10
    i don't have any cameras can i use my phone for filming?
    (3 votes)
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