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Save the Cat

Fifteen beats with page numbers.

Where it comes from

Blake Snyder, Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need (2005). Snyder was a working spec-script writer; the book turns studio reader instincts into a checklist.

Who uses it

Hollywood features, especially comedies and genre films, and the beat sheet most executives recognise by name. Page guides assume a 110-page script.

What it is good for

Best for a single-protagonist film with a clear want. Its critics say it makes every film feel the same; its fans say it only describes what audiences already expect. Both are right. Use it to check a draft, not to write one.

The stages

1
Opening image
One image that sets tone, mood and the hero's starting point. Snyder pairs it with the final image so the audience can measure the change.
2
Theme stated
Usually a minor character, usually a throwaway line. The hero will have to learn its meaning the hard way.
3
Set-up
Introduce every main character, plant what needs fixing in the hero's life, and show the "six things that need fixing". Somewhere here the hero should do one likeable thing, which is where the book's title comes from.
4
Catalyst
A telegram, a diagnosis, a stranger at the door. Bad news that turns out to be the beginning of the story.
5
Debate
The hero doubts, prepares or resists. The debate section must pose a question the rest of the film answers.
6
Break into two
The hero must choose to go; it cannot happen to them. The world of Act 2 should be the opposite of Act 1 in some visible way.
7
B story
A breather from the A story and the place the theme is discussed out loud. Its characters are usually new, belonging to the Act 2 world.
8
Fun and games
The trailer moments. Stakes are lighter here; the hero explores the new world and the audience gets what they paid for.
9
Midpoint
Either the hero seems to have won (and will lose) or seems to have lost (and will win). Fun and games end; the stakes become public and personal.
10
Bad guys close in
External enemies regroup and internal ones (jealousy, doubt, the team falling out) do their work. Everything the hero built in fun and games is undone.
11
All is lost
The opposite of the midpoint. Snyder's "whiff of death": a mentor dies, a plant is thrown away, the old way of being ends.
12
Dark night of the soul
The pause before the answer. The hero must be seen to give up before they can be seen to change.
13
Break into three
A and B stories meet: something learned in the relationship story unlocks the plot. Act 3 begins with a plan.
14
Finale
The old world is dismantled and a new one built. Snyder later split this into five steps: gather the team, execute the plan, high tower surprise, dig deep down, execute the new plan.
15
Final image
The bookend. If the final image does not differ from the opening one, the film has not told a story.

Seen in

Legally Blonde
Snyder's own favourite. Catalyst: Warner dumps Elle. Break into two: she gets into Harvard. Midpoint: she wins a place on the case. All is lost: the professor makes a pass and she quits. Finale: she wins the case as herself.
Die Hard
Opening image: McClane afraid of flying, clutching the armrest. Catalyst: the terrorists seize the tower. Fun and games: one cop against the building. All is lost: bleeding feet on the glass. Final image: he walks out with Holly, no longer a man clutching an armrest.
Finding Nemo
Theme stated at the reef ("you can't never let anything happen to him"). Catalyst: Nemo is taken. The B story is Dory. All is lost: Nemo appears dead in the bag. Final image: Marlin lets Nemo go to school.

Try it

Add these 15 stages to your film as plot beats

Start your film

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