STORY BEATS

Story Beats: These are panels that convey only the key events in your story.  What the plot turns on.  The number of panels can range from 9-12 for a 2 minute film to well over 50 for longer films.  Story artists will use these limited number of panels to work and rework a story until it gels.  From there the story artist moves into Action Beats to flesh transitions from panel to panel.

Take the Story panels as they comes. I recommend you work small using thumbnails to help focus your ideas and compositions.  Feel free to create as many panels as you need at this stage to find your story, arranging and rearranging , throwing out and adding panels until your story really starts to gel.  Once you have the basic story arc you will need to temporarily remove the extra panels reducing your number to only the key Story Beats. At this point your story arch should be as condensed as possible.

From here you can begin to rearrange your story beats experimenting with how your story is being told.  For instance: should you start with an establishing shot informing your audience of everything they need to know?  or should you begin very close up keeping your audience in the dark and guessing  as each new plot point is revealed?  Can you start from the end and work back?  How much can you avoid telling by letting your audience fill in the gaps? 

Points to remember about Story Beats:

• Work small to save time, expand on creative possibilities and focus on composition.
• Each image should be framed in such a way that it carries the emotional weight of the moment you want to convey.
• Draw as many panels as you need for your story to make sense to you and don't be afraid to draw multiple versions of your beats.
• Take the Story panels as they come. You can always edit your panels down later to the key moments that best convey the arc of your story.
• Use the flexibility of limited panels to experiment with the structure of your story.

The beats below are for what's shaping up to be a 5-6 minute short film.  Each beat conveys only the major plot points of the scene. The combined effect of your Story Beats should be a fairly cohesive plot with a beginning, middle and end.