Free screenwriting tool
Beat Sheet Calculator
A beat sheet calculator shows the page each story beat should land on for your script length. In Save the Cat the catalyst sits on page 12 of 110 and the midpoint on 55. Pick a structure, type your page count, or drop your script to see which scene actually sits on each beat.
Written and reviewed by ScriptLix Editorial
In short
A beat sheet calculator tells you the page each story beat should land on for your script length; in Save the Cat on a 110 page script, the catalyst is page 12 and the midpoint page 55. It covers Save the Cat, three act, Hero’s Journey, Story Circle and eight sequence structures.
Save the Cat for 110 pages
- p. 1Opening ImageA snapshot of the hero before anything changes.
- p. 5Theme StatedSomeone says what the story is really about.
- p. 1 to 10Set-UpThe hero’s world, flaws and stakes.
- p. 12CatalystThe event that knocks life off course.
- p. 12 to 25DebateShould I go? The hero hesitates.
- p. 25Break into TwoThe hero chooses and enters a new world.
- p. 30B StoryA new relationship that carries the theme.
- p. 30 to 55Fun and GamesThe promise of the premise.
- p. 55MidpointA false win or false loss. Stakes go up.
- p. 55 to 75Bad Guys Close InPressure from outside and inside.
- p. 75All Is LostThe lowest point. Something dies.
- p. 75 to 85Dark Night of the SoulThe hero sits with the loss.
- p. 85Break into ThreeThe answer, often from the B story.
- p. 85 to 110FinaleThe hero applies the lesson and wins or loses.
- p. 110Final ImageThe mirror of the opening image.
Where these numbers come from: Blake Snyder’s page numbers from Save the Cat! (2005), written for a 110 page script, scaled to your length.
How to use it
- 1
Type your page count and pick a structure: Save the Cat, three-act, Hero’s Journey, Story Circle or eight-sequence.
- 2
Read the beat pages. Stretches like Fun and Games show as a range.
- 3
Drop your script to see the scene on each beat page, then copy the list or share the link.
What page does each Save the Cat beat land on in a 110 page script?
| Beat | Page |
|---|---|
| Catalyst | 12 |
| Debate | 12 to 25 |
| Break into Two | 25 |
| Midpoint | 55 |
| All Is Lost | 75 |
| Break into Three | 85 |
| Finale | 85 to 110 |
Where do beat sheet page numbers come from?
Every structure here started as somebody’s observation about films that work, so we use their own numbers and scale them to your length. Blake Snyder published exact page numbers for a 110 page script in Save the Cat!: the catalyst on page 12, the break into two on 25, the midpoint on 55. Syd Field’s paradigm puts the first plot point around pages 25 to 27 and the second around 85 to 90 of 120.
The Hero’s Journey, the Story Circle and the eight-sequence approach were never written with page numbers. For those we say exactly what we did: Vogler’s stages sit on the three-act grid he maps them to, Harmon’s eight steps each get an equal eighth, and the eight sequences split the script into equal parts of roughly 12 to 15 pages.
How do you use a beat sheet without writing to a formula?
A beat sheet is a diagnostic, not a recipe. If a reader says the middle drags, check whether anything turns near your midpoint page. If the setup feels long, see where your catalyst lands against the model. Being a few pages off is normal. Being twenty pages off is a conversation worth having with yourself.
Dropping your script turns the chart into a map of your actual draft. You get the scene heading that sits on each beat page, which is often all it takes to spot a beat that happens too late or not at all.
Questions writers ask
What page is the break into two?
Page 25 of a 110 page script in Save the Cat, close to Field’s first plot point around page 25 to 27 of 120. Enter your page count to scale it.
What page should the midpoint be on?
At the middle: page 55 of a 110 page script in Save the Cat, page 60 of 120 in Field’s three-act model. For your length, enter your page count above.
What page does the inciting incident happen on?
Usually in the first tenth of the script. Snyder puts the catalyst on page 12 of 110, Field puts the inciting incident around page 10 of 120.
What are the 15 beats of Save the Cat?
Opening Image, Theme Stated, Set-Up, Catalyst, Debate, Break into Two, B Story, Fun and Games, Midpoint, Bad Guys Close In, All Is Lost, Dark Night of the Soul, Break into Three, Finale and Final Image.
What is the difference between Save the Cat and three-act structure?
Save the Cat is a finer grained version of three acts. Its Break into Two and Break into Three line up with the first and second plot points, and it adds named beats inside each act.
Does it work for TV or short films?
The math works for any page count, so you can map a 30 page pilot or a 12 page short. The models were built on features, so treat the result as a starting point.
Sources
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<iframe src="https://scriptlix.com/embed/beat-sheet-calculator" title="Beat sheet calculator by ScriptLix" width="100%" height="760" style="border:0;max-width:760px" loading="lazy"></iframe>Further reading
- From the blogScreenplay Structure Beyond Three-Act TemplatesScreenplay structure beyond three-act templates: alternative frames, diagnosing structural failures, structure as discovery rather than imposition, when to deviate from convention.
- From the blogThe Save the Cat Beat Sheet, ExplainedA clear walkthrough of Blake Snyder's Save the Cat beat sheet: all fifteen story beats from Opening Image to Final Image, what each one does, the act structure they form, and how to use the sheet to diagnose a sagging draft instead of writing by the numbers.
- From the blogHow to Write a Plot Twist That Earns ItselfHow a screenplay plot twist earns itself: the discipline of planting before paying off, the difference between trick and recontextualization, when twists hurt rather than help.