Structural Overviews: Why?

Right after learning the principles of structure, it will be hard to apply them to your own work immediately.

Better is to consolidate your understanding by applying it to films you know, by watching them and identifying the key turning points.

A breakdown in scenes or plot points is an excellent start. To help you with this, I will regularly publish examples from different genres.

Here is the full list of breakdowns – or ‘beat sheets’:

• Structure: Gladiator

  It hasn't been that long since we saw this year's Oscars Ceremony. But where are the movies? If you ask me: largely forgotten. So I felt compelled to look back at a Big Winner of 9 years ago. When Gladiator went on TV, I was the 'head of movies' fo...

• Structure: Avatar

  It took AVATAR 17 days to break through the $1bn worldwide. With the strongest 3rd weekend ever, it shows not only Fox's marketing works but word of mouth, too, is excellent. Audiences truly love the movie. To my taste - I was not raised on popcorn ...

• Structure: Shaun of the Dead

  Shaun of the Dead (S. Pegg & E.Wright, 2004) was my first iTunes movie download. I needed it urgently and the download was quick & cheap. Pure craftmanship. No wonder the 'zomcom' made $30m worldwide This is comedy only the Brits can do well....

• Structure: The Untouchables

  A structural overview of The Untouchables (David Mamet, 1986) David Mamet has never equaled the tremendous power of his eighties screenplays. The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Verdict, The Untouchables and even his own directorial debut House of Ga...

• Structure: A Beautiful Mind

  A structural overview of A Beautiful Mind (2001). It took me a while to appreciate this gem by Akiva Goldsman and directed by Ron Howard. Not sure why. The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, so I had a good reason for looking into ...

• Structure: Up

  A structural overview of UP (Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Thomas McCarthy 2009 I've been a big Pixar fan since stupidly missing out on the theatrical run of The Incredibles. In 2008 the festival potential of my own short animation Tin Can Heart - wr/di...

• Structure: The Incredibles

  A structural overview of The Incredibles (Brad Bird 2004) "Animation is not a genre but an art form" says writer-director Brad Bird on the commentary track. This is one of the most enjoyable superhero action adventures I know. It is also the #1 movie...

• Structure: Juno

  A structural overview of Juno (Diablo Cody 2007) At the time of release, much of the attention surrounding JUNO went to the screenwriter rather than the script. Now the dust around Diablo Cody has settled, some voices have questioned the qualit...

• Structure: Thelma & Louise

  I am a fan of Ridley Scott's flamboyant visual style of filmmaking. Although he has had numerous box office successes, in my view he has never equalled the overall excellence of THELMA & LOUISE (1991). It is a fabulous movie and an outstanding deb...

• Structure: Australia

  I like it. I don't love it. And I see why it is not getting the word of mouth it deserves. My take on the film is primarily from a broad story perspective. I don't go into dialogue, performance, SFX etc. because I believe they are secondary and ultim...

• Structure: Jaws

  A structural overview of Jaws (Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb, Novel by Peter Benchley 1975) Steven Spielberg first drew me into movies with Close Encounters of the Third Kind, back in 1977. Because I was too young for Jaws in 1975, it wasn't until la...

• Structure: Raiders of the Lost Ark

  A structural overview of Raiders of the Lost Ark (L. Kasdan, Story by G. Lucas and P. Kaufman 1981) The first film of the extraordinarily successful Indiana Jones quadrilogy, created by Spielberg and Lucas, the greatest filmmakers of their generat...

• Structure: Iron Man

  A structural overview of Iron Man (Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway 2008) Not just a great comic book adaptation and an exciting action flick, but also an elegantly written piece of cinema entertainment, executed with a daring cast a...

• Structure: A Room With a View

  A structural overview of A Room with a View (Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, 1985). Without any doubt, this is one of the finest literary adaptations and a timeless romantic movie. The film launched the careers of actors Daniel Day Lewis and Helena Bonham C...

• Structure: Shawshank Redemption

  A structural overview of The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont, 1994). It was nominated for seven Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Morgan Freeman), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Original Sc...

• Structure: Terminator 2

  A structural overview of Terminator 2: Judgment Day (J. Cameron, 1991). Terminator 2 offers amazing entertainment, with groundbreaking visual effects and unexpected character layers. Just like he did five years earlier with Aliens, co-writer/director...

• Structure: Ghost World

  A structural overview of Ghost World (Daniel Clowes, Terry Zwigoff, 2001). A cult comic, two charismatic teen actresses, an inspired director and a sparse score. Only six pages of still pictures were turned into one of the coolest movies of the de...

• Structure: Michael Clayton

  A structural overview of Michael Clayton (Tony Gilroy, 2007) in 8 Sequences. When I watched the film during its theatrical release, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Because of the relatively low budget (an estimated USD$25m) for its production values, Tony Gi...

• Structure: Assault on Precinct 13

  This is the first in a series of structural overviews of popular films. Identifying the main story turns in a film is a great way to get a solid understanding of how film story works. So I invite you to view these films, break them down in their main s...