Spec Flashpoint — Part One (A)

by Alex on October 30, 2008

in Featured Posts,Writing

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Part 1 of 7

    Everyone needs some kind of procedural spec under his/her belt, and a great action/cop one can be the way to go.
    A few reasons pushed me to spec Flashpoint, and I thought wise, for those out there who wish to spec the show, to post my various breakdowns of FP episodes as well as my overall research on the show, à la Chuck, on my blog.
    So here goes.

    Part One: Breaking it

    A — Pilot Episode

    The following is a breakdown of the Flashpoint pilot, through its shooting script.

    The plot revolves around presenting us the SRU team, especially Ed, as well as the arrival of a new member, connecting everything with an enraged gunman at a Plaza.

    What we will call the “Plaza sequence” is everything revolving around what happens at the Plaza with the gunman.

    Storylines:

    A: Gunman Plotline and Plaza sequence (comprises of Ax + Ab + Ac)
    Ax : Backstory of Gunman, events leading up to SRU arrival, and what happens after to Gunman/Family
    Ab: Plaza sequence with SRU on scene
    Ac: Plaza sequence from Ed’s POV

    B: SRU life, routine — Before and After the Plaza sequence (not including Ab)
    C: Ed’s life — Before (family) and After (interrogation) the Plaza sequence (not including Ac)
    D: Arrival of a new SRU member

    It should be noted that a few “B story” scenes revolved around Jules (hinting at a future romance between Sam and her), but for the sake of argument, I merged her SRU scenes with the larger B storyline. Ditto for her scenes on the rooftop (merged with Ab).

    Breakdown:

    Episode 1×01 — 66 pages

    Teaser — 5 Scenes (exposition of A story) — 3 pages
    1+2 — Ab
    3 — Ac
    4 — Ab
    5 — Ac

    Act One — 17 Scenes (Before Plaza sequence) — 20 pages
    5 — Ac (repeat of last Teas scene)
    -> FLASHBACK
    6+7+8 — C
    9+10+11 — Ax
    12 — D
    13 — B
    14 — Ax
    15 — D
    16 — B
    17 — Ax
    18+19 — B leading to Ab
    20 — D
    21+22 — B leading to Ab
    END OF ACT ONE just as the SRU arrives on the scene -> Ab

    Act Two — 29 Scenes (During Plaza sequence) — 17 pages
    23+24 — Ab
    25 — Ac
    26 — Ab
    27+28 — Ac
    29 — D
    30+31 — Ab
    32 — Ac
    33 — Ab+D
    34 — Ac
    35+36+37 — Ab
    38 — Ac
    39 — Ab
    40 — Ac
    41 — Ab
    42 — Ac
    43 — Ab
    44 — Ac
    45 — Ab
    46 — Ac
    47 — Ab
    48 — Ab+D
    49+50 — Ab
    51 — Ac leading back to C
    END OF ACT TWO just as Ed is taken away by inspector -> C

    Act Three — 12 Scenes (After Plaza sequence) — 17 pages
    52+53 — C
    54 — Ab leading back to B
    55 — D
    56+57 — C
    58+59 — B+D
    60+61 — C
    62 — B+D
    END OF ACT THREE

    Act Four — 7 Scenes (Continuing — After Plaza sequence) — 9 pages
    63 — C
    64 — B+C+D
    65 — C+D
    66 — Ax
    67 — B
    68 — D
    69 — C

    Summary:

    Episode 1×01 — 69 beats

    A storyline total: 5 + 5 + 28 + 2 = 40 beats
    Ax storyline: 0 + 5 + 0 + 1 = 6 beats
    Ab storyline: 3 + 0 + 17 + 1 = 21 beats
    Ac storyline: 2 + 0 + 11 + 0 = 13 beats

    B storyline: 0 + 6 + 0 + 4 = 10 beats

    C storyline: 0 + 3 + 0 + 10 = 13 beats

    D storyline: 0 + 3 + 3 + 6 = 12 beats

    Tune in next time as
    we will discuss in more depth the overall Flashpoint structure, through other FP breakdowns (Episodes 8 & 9).

    Series NavigationSpec Flashpoint — Part One (B)


    Possible Related posts:

    1. Spec Flashpoint — Part One (B)
    2. Spec Flashpoint — Part One (C)
    3. Spec Flashpoint — Final Thoughts
    4. Spec Flashpoint — Part Two (C)
    5. Spec Flashpoint — Part Two (B)

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