Extended Step Outline

What is a ‘Step Outline’?

A Step outline is a detailed telling of a story intended to be turned into a screenplay for a motion picture. The step outline is used to detail every scene and ‘beat’ of a screenplay’s story, and often has indications of dialogue and character interactions.

Your extended step outline can be broken down in to acts and should follow a standard three-act structure (beginning/middle/end) and be either a complete scene, or an extract from a complete film.

It must also be highlighted that your step outline should not contain any dialogue. The reason for this is to give you space to describe the setting and what is going on without worrying about what is being said or how it is being delivered. You must visualise the setting and the micro-elements without reliance on dialogue carrying the scene and means you will be focused on mise-en-scene, sound and how it may be shot and edited.

Support

Elements	Explanation/Support
The Scene Number	The number of the scene from the entire film.
Slugline	This is essential information, It begins with the designation of INT (Interior) or EXT (Exterior), the location, and whether it is day or night.
Endpoint of last scene	This usually consists of a few lines to ‘set the scene’, and serves as a context for the current scene. It is here that you will see whether scenes flow or not.
Characters in scene	Simply a list of characters (if they are mentioned here then they must be seen in the scene).
‘Point of scene’	This is key to the motivation of the scene and the direction it will take. Behind all scenes there is a key point that is the reason why the scene exists. If you cannot find a point to the scene then the scene should be deleted. The point can be character driven, narrative driven, or merely even structural (getting characters from A to B).
Conflict	Another essential piece of information. All scenes should have some form of conflict, as conflict drives scenes along. Without conflict a scene serves no purpose and so should be excised.
Ending/central question	This defines the motivation at the end of the scene towards which the scene should be written. The question posed serves as motivation for a subsequent scene where the question will be answered and may be resolved.
Key micro elements employed	A list of the ‘key micro elements’ you intend to use.
Scene description	The large section is devoted to ‘scene description (without dialogue)’. This can also be known as the ‘exposition’ This section should offer a concise but visually descriptive focus on the scene’s events. Dialogue is unnecessary here. You should always be wary of writing something that cannot be physically expressed – a thought, for example.

Extended Step Outline Template to Download

Extended Step Outline template from zlorhenley

Example Extended Step Outline

Example Extended Step Outline from zlorhenley