This is just for those who use RL products for moviemaking.
Per Holmes of hollywoodcamerawork puts out a series of trainig courses, tutorials, apps related to movie training.

I am not personally involved in any of these but I do use many of them.

He has a screenwriter's aid called Causality as a free version at the moment.

It looks interesting and I am currently trying it out.

Should you care to take a look at the software it is on

https://www.hollywoodcamerawork.com/causality.html#5

with quickstart tutorials on YouTube.

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This looks interesting, something I may try out soon

yes it does look interesting! I understand the flexibility of the blocks (drag and drop) but I don't quite understand the rest...
I will definitely watch the tutorials when I have spare time.  

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It's interesting... I was already thinking of Blake Snyder's "beat sheet," and then I saw where they talk about writing "beats, not scenes."

I do recommend "Save the Cat" by Snyder.  Even if you don't use his tools and techniques, if you are interested in scripts and "stories" for movies, I think you'll enjoy his analysis and breakdown of what makes a good story.

I'll have to view some of the Causality videos.

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And, for an old man dissenting opinion...

It's things like these that are exactly what is wrong with most movies in this century.  Writing to "beats" and having software analyze what is missing is just plain stupid.  It's why there are no surprises in the cinema anymore (or if there are, they are exactly the opposite of what software and/or archetypes would tell you to do).  Writing a screenplay "by the numbers" is what all of Hollywood does, and it shows.

(But some people couldn't write a good screenplay or story to save their lives).

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Mike "ex-genius" Kelley

You have to remember, Kelley, not even nostalgia is what it used to be.

I have many books about screenwriting (I like books), but what I mostly use is a guide about formatting...

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For the sake of discussion, I will take a dissenting position to the esteemed Kelleytoons...

It is true that there can be too much cliché and formulas applied to movies, but on the other hand, there are certain structures that have proven to be effective.  Do you want to write an "artsy" script that confuses the audience and leaves them unsatisfied, or do you want to leave the audience feeling glad they saw your movie?

Having a structure can help ensure you get some fundamentals right.  I tried to apply Snyder's "beat sheet" to a script, and it was an interesting experience.  You can stick as many ideas as you want into the beat sheet, before you start writing much actual script, and what you quickly discover is you have waaaay to much stuff at the beginning of Act 3, a whole bunch at the end of Act 1, and massive voids in other places.  If you wrote a script in that condition, you are more likely to fall in love with lines of dialog that pertain to things that ought to be removed.  It can be really painful to watch a movie when, 40 minutes into it, you are still waiting for something interesting to happen.  So working in a structured environment can help you approach the writing as more of a professional task than some undefined artistic endeavor.

Of course you can "break the rules," but you should: a) Know you're breaking them, and b) Know why you're breaking them.

My wife and I have watched a lot of the romantic movies on the Hallmark channel the last few years, especially the Christmas ones. so of course the basic plots can get quite repetitive.  Yet there is still quite a variety in how the basic meet-then-fall-in-love story can be told, and some are much better written than others.  Some really drag at the 2/3 or 3/4 mark, and they seem to do things just to extend the movie, since of course it must fill a 2-hour television time slot.  Others make excellent use of the time, have better dialogue, and more interesting and believable characters.  My two points from that are: 1) There is a certain pacing that feels good for a certain type of movie, and good or bad, we are comfortable with them, and 2) Even with a structure, you still need good writing, and characters you care about.

So, bottom line, I believe a structure (beats) can be a useful tool, and you can work within one of the primary structures and still be creative. 

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Let's just say we agree to disagree <g>.

Again -- none of the great classic movies were ever written according to formula -- they, of course, invented those formulas.  But the reliance upon those trite and hackneyed methods have brought present Hollywood to its knees (and I don't speak from ignorance -- I've been in meetings where "beats" were discussed as if they were the holy grail, and "third act issues" talked about as if every movie had to follow a play's structure, which itself is an archaic holdover from times past).

And even you kids would probably admit, if you thought about it, that the best films of your own generation followed no such patterns, but broke the mold -- which is why they are surprising and interesting.

But they are aids for someone with no experience, and even trite and hackneyed rules are better than no structure at all.  But I've just seen far too many projects ruined by this approach to ever think it's worthwhile for anyone who can actually write (however, that's a VERY small minority of folks who "think" they are writers).

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Mike "ex-genius" Kelley

Thanks for sharing.
Always useful to know free tools to support the indie/hobby film community.