The Dude with a Thousand Faces.

The Template is an outline for a generic 120-page screenplay. Replace each {variable} with your own ideas to create your own hero's journey.

The template is partitioned into acts, measures, and beats:

A beat is a sequence of scenes. Each beat reveals information relevant to the story's core conflict.
A measure is a sequence of beats. Each measure changes the hero's relationship to the story's otherworld.
An act is a sequence of measures. Each act changes the hero's relationship to his/her/their homeworld.

See the FAQ below for more details.

Act I: Enter the unknown.

1 OPEN FRAME: Reveal the {mise-en-scène}.; Reveal the {starting_time}.; Reveal a {banality} which demonstrates the {status_quo}.
5 SET PINS: An {anomaly} reveals a hint of the {core_conflict}.
10 RELEASE HERO: A {caller} induces the {hero} to visit an {otherworld}.; Hero departs from the familiar {homeworld}.
12 LET IT SLIDE: Hero touches an {otherworldly_person_or_thing}.; Hero commits a {boundary_violation} with no consequences.; Hero is unaffacted by meeting {various_otherworlders}.; Hero is lectured by an {authority} in an {authority_room}.
25 ROLL ON RUG: A {rude_awakening} compels hero to change course.; Hero undergoes {visible_adaptation} to the otherworld.; Hero suffers a {traumatic_separation} from the homeworld.

30 FALL INTO PIT: Hero is trapped in a {desolate_place}.; Hero recovers from a {debilitating_setback}.
40 LOOK UNDER HOOD: Hero is advised by a {prophet} in a {temple_of_truth}.
50 GAZE INTO VOID: Hero witnesses a {scary_reminder} of the cost of failure.
55 LIFT AND DROP: Hero is encouraged by a {false_hope}.; Hero is discouraged by a {demoralizing_defeat}.
60 ENTER TUNNEL: Hero is invited to an {exposition_diversion}.; Hero endures several {inglorious_frustrations}.
75 TALK TO SOURCE: Hero speaks to a {higher_power} of the otherworld.
85 ARREST HERO: Hero's path is blocked by a {powerful_authority}.; Hero's journey appears doomed by a {failure_to_notice}.

90 ENLIGHTEN HERO: Hero discovers a {solution} to the core conflict.
100 ROLL AGAIN: Hero attends a {showdown} with a {scary_antagonist}.
110 RETURN AGAIN: Hero reunites with {surviving_allies}.; Hero adapts to a {new_order} replacing the status quo.
120 UPDATE SCORE: A {novelty} echoes the initial banality.

Who put you in charge?: Nobody. The authors do not enforce any of these rules.
Can beats occur off-screen?: Yes, if they are unambiguously implied by on-screen events.
What if my story has multiple heroes?: Any of the protagonists can play the role of hero during a beat.
Are these beats the only significant events in a film?: No. The template beats are necessary but not sufficient to write a conventional monomythic screenplay.
Is that all?: Ay all.