Chapter 4: Scene Cards

After structuring your screenplay into its 3 acts with the major plot points and filling in your Paradigm, you are ready to move on to the next step of building your screenplay, the Scene Cards. This is a fun part of the process because it’s hands-on and gets you out of your seat.

As the name implies, each scene of your screenplay is written down on a card: one card = one scene. I find that 3×5 cards work best, although you may prefer to use large sticky notes, or a screenwriting software program that offers a scene card option. Whatever works for you.

Creating Your Cards

#1 Start with a pile of blank cards and include some “free” cards labeled: title, ACT 1, ACT 2, ACT 3.

#2 Keep the information on your cards brief. Include the scene heading, which indicates whether or not the scene is interior INT. or exterior EXT., the location and either DAY or NIGHT. Then briefly describe the action and name the characters in the scene. If the scene is one of the major plot points indicated on your Paradigm worksheet, then include that heading as well.

For example, a scene card from the movie Creed (2015) might look like this:

#3 Start filling in your individual cards with the major plot points from your Paradigm worksheet. Remember, each card is a single scene, and a scene is defined by time or location. For example, if a scene takes place inside of a restaurant at night, the scene heading would look like this:

INT. RESTAURANT – NIGHT

If the characters then walk outside the restaurant, even if you imagine it as one continuous shot with no break in time, it is still a new scene, because now the characters are technically in a new location, and on a film set, this would be a new set up. So, the new scene heading would look like this:

EXT. RESTAURANT – NIGHT

This new location indicates a new scene, and thus you would use a new scene card. The same is true for time. If a scene starts out in a restaurant at night, and the next scene is several hours later in the same restaurant, even though the location has not changed, time has lapsed. The new scene heading would look like this:

INT. RESTAURANT – LATER

Again, this would require a new scene card because technically it’s a new scene and set up.

#4 After writing out the major plot points onto your scene cards, now you can move on to other imaginative scenes that you’d like to see in your movie. At this point, don’t worry about being linear and working from the beginning of your movie to the end in sequential order. It’s perfectly fine and even helpful sometimes to work out of sequence and just allow your creativity to flow. The great thing about scene cards is that you get to move them around, so at this point, nothing is locked in.

This is also your time to fill in the subplots. Subplots are story threads that often involve relationships and supporting storylines. In a 20-minute short screenplay, you may only have one or two subplots or no subplots. The story may just be about the through-line that focuses only on the protagonist reaching his or her goal. In a feature film, however, you will have many subplots and these will help you fill up the second act.

You can use a marker or sticker to add a colored dot to the corner of your scene card that indicates a subplot storyline. This is an easy way to keep track of subplots visually as you look over your cards.

Laying Out Your Cards

Next, start laying out your cards across a table in columns, starting with the first act in the upper left corner and then working your way down the column with each scene card, and then starting at the top again. Lay the cards in order from beginning to end, sectioning off the different acts with your ACT 1, ACT 2 and ACT 3 “free” cards.

For a feature-length screenplay, you should have between 45 – 60 cards. On average, a scene lasts about 2 pages, so this would equate to a 90 -120-page screenplay. For a 20-minute short screenplay you should have about 8 – 15 cards, as some scenes will be much shorter than 2 pages.

This technique of laying out your scene cards will give you a visual of where your story is at. For example, if you discover that you have 30 of your 60 cards in Act 1, you know right away that your first act is way too long. The same goes for a short film. If your first act includes 6 of your 10 cards, you will need to cut that down or rearrange some scenes.

Remember, this is a creative, fluid process, so don’t worry if you don’t have all of the pieces to your screenplay puzzle yet. You may discover that you have a great opening and ending to your screenplay but your second act could use a few more scene cards and exciting obstacles for your protagonist to overcome. Now is the time to try some things out. Come up with some new scenes, plug them in and see if they work. Rearrange some scenes and see how that changes your story – sometimes it may be for the better.

This is also a good time to “talk” someone through your movie. Sometimes hearing yourself tell your story out loud will spark some creative ideas and help you figure out that perfect next-step for your screenplay.

I also recommend using a pencil and numbering your scene cards just in case your cat decides to check out your scene cards, and they scatter to the floor. This way you’ll be able to easily pick up where you left off, and if you change your mind, you can erase the numbers and start over.

Some writers really enjoy the scene card process, and can move from here straight into writing their screenplay. Others will move from this step on to the Outline/Treatment, which is a much more detailed breakdown of each scene, before they dive into writing. And some writers skip this step all together and go straight to the Outline/Treatment from their Paradigm.

I recommend going through all of these steps as you learn to write a screenplay and come to better understand your own creative process and what works best for you.