# Beat

Canonical URL: https://www.cineoboard.com/glossary/beat

A beat is the smallest change that deserves a new storyboard frame: location, subject, or intention. Not every line of dialogue.

Last updated: 2026-09-13

A **beat** is the smallest change that deserves its own frame. Location change, subject change, or intention change. A new line of dialogue with the same camera is usually not a beat.

First-pass boarding is beat-finding, not drawing. [How to make a storyboard](/blog/how-to-make-a-storyboard) starts here on purpose: teams that draw first re-board once the shot list appears.

## How to mark beats in a script

Read until something in the picture must change. Put a slash. That slash is a frame. Coverage (master / over / close-up of the **same** beat) is extra frames for the edit, not extra beats in the story.

## Beats vs coverage

- Story beats answer “what happens”
- Coverage answers “how we can cut it”

A two-page dialogue scene may be four beats and twelve setups. Both numbers belong on the board. [Coverage](/glossary/coverage).

Related: [frame](/glossary/frame), [shot list](/glossary/shot-list).

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