A beat is a term used to describe the timing and movement of a film or play. In the context of a screenplay, it usually represents a pause in dialogue. In the context of the timing of a film, a beat refers to an event, decision, or discovery that alters the way the protagonist pursues his or her goal.

Beats are specific, measured, and spaced to create a pace that moves the progress of the story forward. Audiences feel uneven or erratic beats. Uneven beats are the most forgettable or sometimes tedious parts of a film. Erratic beats jolt the audience unnecessarily. Every cinematic genre has a beat that is specific to its development. Action film has significantly more beats (usually events); drama has fewer beats (usually protagonist decisions or discovery). Between each beat a sequence occurs. This sequence is often a series of scenes that relates to the last beat and leads up to the next beat.

In most American films the beat falls approximately every five minutes. Following is a beat example from The Shawshank Redemption:

Beat may refer to:

Morgan Valentine Spurlock (born November 7, 1970) is an American documentary filmmaker, humorist, television producer, screenwriter, bounty hunter and political activist, best known for the documentary film Super Size Me. Spurlock was the executive producer and star of the reality television series 30 Days.

Spurlock was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and was raised in Beckley, West Virginia. He was raised a Methodist. He went to New York University and graduated in 1993 and is a member of the fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta.

Spurlock has stated that he is of Scottish and Irish descent.

Spurlock attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley, West Virginia, graduating in 1989. He graduated with a BFA in film from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1993. Before making the 2004 Academy Award nominated Super Size Me, Spurlock was a playwright, winning awards for his play The Phoenix at both the New York International Fringe Festival in 1999 and the Route 66 American Playwriting Competition in 2000. He also created I Bet You Will for MTV. I Bet You Will began as a popular Internet webcast of five-minute episodes featuring ordinary people doing stunts in exchange for money. Examples include eating a full jar of mayonnaise ($235USD), eating a "worm burrito" ($265USD), and taking shots of corn oil, Pepto-Bismol, lemon juice, hot sauce, cold chicken broth, and cod liver oil (US$450.00 for all nine shots). The webcast was a success, with over a million hits in the first five days.^{[citation needed]} The show was later bought and aired by MTV.

Matthew Hiltzik (born May 12, 1972) is the founder of the strategic communications and consulting firm, Hiltzik Strategies, representing influential companies, organizations, and high profile individuals in media, entertainment, publishing, finance, politics and philanthropy.

Hiltzik was raised in Teaneck, New Jersey and attended Cornell University's ILR School before moving on to the Fordham School of Law. His early post-law school life consisted of working as press secretary and deputy executive director of the New York State Democratic Committee, where he worked on the 1998 campaigns of Chuck Schumer and Eliot Spitzer and Hillary Clinton's Listening Tour in July 1999. In December 1999, Hiltzik left the NY Dems to join Miramax as head of corporate communications, where he was involved in public relations for Miramax Films, Miramax Books, Miramax TV, Talk magazine, and philanthropic and political fundraising and crisis management while also serving as personal spokesman for Harvey Weinstein and the company.

Daniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. (born October 31, 1931) is an American journalist and the former news anchor for the CBS Evening News. He is now managing editor and anchor of the television news magazine Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9, 1981, to March 9, 2005. He also contributed to CBS's 60 Minutes. Rather became embroiled in controversy about a disputed news report involving President Bush's Vietnam-era service in the National Guard and subsequently left CBS Evening News in 2005, and he left the network altogether after 43 years in 2006.

Daniel Irvin Rather, Jr. (/ˈræðər/) was born on October 31, 1931, in Wharton County, Texas, the son of Daniel Irvin Rather, Sr., and the former Byrl Veda Page. The Rathers moved to Houston, and Dan attended Love Elementary School and Hamilton Middle School. He graduated in 1949 from John H. Reagan High School in Houston. In 1953, he received a bachelor's degree in journalism from Sam Houston State University where he was editor of the school newspaper, The Houstonian. At Sam Houston, he was a member of the Caballeros – the founding organization of the currently active Epsilon Psi chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity. After obtaining his undergraduate degree, Rather briefly attended South Texas College of Law in Houston, which later awarded him an honorary Juris Doctor in 1990. In 1954, Rather enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, but was soon discharged because of having had rheumatic fever as a child .