A beat is a term used to describe the timing and movement of a film or play. In the context of a screenplay, it usually represents a pause in dialogue. In the context of the timing of a film, a beat refers to an event, decision, or discovery that alters the way the protagonist pursues his or her goal.
Beats are specific, measured, and spaced to create a pace that moves the progress of the story forward. Audiences feel uneven or erratic beats. Uneven beats are the most forgettable or sometimes tedious parts of a film. Erratic beats jolt the audience unnecessarily. Every cinematic genre has a beat that is specific to its development. Action film has significantly more beats (usually events); drama has fewer beats (usually protagonist decisions or discovery). Between each beat a sequence occurs. This sequence is often a series of scenes that relates to the last beat and leads up to the next beat.
In most American films the beat falls approximately every five minutes. Following is a beat example from The Shawshank Redemption:
After each beat listed above, a significant series of results takes place in the form of the sequence, but what most people remember are the beats, the moment something takes place with the protagonist.
When the term beat is used in a screenplay, it usually refers to a pause in dialogue. The pause shows readers of the script that a moment passes without any character speaking. For example, this scene from the American film Fargo:
VOICE
Things have changed. Circumstances,
Jerry. Beyond the, uh ... acts of
God, force majeure...
JERRY
What the - how's Jean?
A beat.
CARL
... Who's Jean?
JERRY
My wife! What the - how's -