Monday, October 31, 2011

Michael Jackson's THRILLER Follows the Beats!

Hey all you ghouls and goblins, I did a minute-by-minute analysis of Michael Jackson’s THRILLER for you. I wanted to prove that the SOMETHING STARTLING HAPPENS’ universal story beats not only work for feature films, but they also apply to iconic 12-minute music shorts as well. If it’s a successful story, no matter what the length, it uses the minute-by-minute beats!



MINUTE  1:  ATTENSION!
A young couple’s car stalls on a scary back road
MINUTE  2:  THE BUILD
Michael Jackson acts weird when the full moon appears       
MINUTE  3:  THE RATCHET
Michael turns into a werewolf and chases the girl
MINUTE  4:  ANOTHER NOTCH 
The werewolf catches the girl and raises his deadly claws
MINUTE  5:  JAW DROPPER
Michael Jackson breaks into a song and performs jaw dropping dance moves
MINUTE  6:  FRIEND OR FIST
Michael and his girlfriend laugh and joke around (Friend)
MINUTE  7:  FRIEND OR FIST 2
Michael Jackson and his girlfriend enjoy each others’ company some more ((Friend)
MINUTE  8:  SOMETHING STARTLING HAPPENS
Zombies crawl from the graves!
MINUTE  9:  THE PURSUIT
Zombies pursue Michael and his girlfriend
MINUTE 10: THE DISCUSSION 
Michael sings (tells) his girlfriend that this is “Thriller Night” 
MINUTE 11: THE WARNING
Zombies chase the girl to the house (a warning that her life is in danger) 
MINUTE 12: HARSHER WARNING
Zombies break into the house and close in on her!
Michael Jackson’s eyes turn a sinister yellow! 
THE END


To learn much more about all the minute-by-minute beats, and how to apply them to your screenplay, TV pilot, novel or graphic novel, order Something Startling Happens: The 120 Story Beats Every Writer Needs To Know at Amazon.com or Barnes & Nobles.http://shop.mwp.com/products/something-startling-happens-the-120-story-beats-every-writer-needs-to-know
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