What's a Beat?

Filmmaking is full shop-talk. For example: the word "beat".

So... what's a beat?

Well, there tends to be a bit of a divide about how this word is defined.

Most scriptwriters will tell you that it's a pause between a character's dialogue. (You can see how it'd be written in the photo -- this is a page from our screenplay for our feature film Under Jakob's Ladder).

In fact, some scriptwriters use the word "pause" instead of "beat".

Scriptwriter John August explains it this way:

"The term is probably taken from music, because it refers to the natural rhythm of dialogue. A beat is the pause a speaker takes to separate thoughts. Calling one out can help clarify a joke, a point of information, or a shift in the scene."

There's another definition for the word 'beat'. According to this school of thought, all scenes are made up of various 'beats'. Sort of an action-reaction, where something happens to change the mood or the intent of the characters.

(Sometimes, you just want to rip out your hair with all these differing definitions. Maybe that's why some of us don't have much hair anymore!...)