The Ten Finger Pitch

 One job I've always been interested in trying out is screenwriting, and not just screenwriting for animation. I've been doing an online course for screenwriting in the past two weeks and I've just finished it. At first I didn't know how to turn my notes into a full screenplay, it seemed very intimidating to do so, until they taught me about the Ten Finger Pitch.

 Some of you may already know about the Ten Finger Pitch if you've done screenwriting lessons before or have spoken on screenwriting forums. The Ten finger Pitch is a tactic to help understand the story of your soon-to-be screenplay, by drawing a a diagram of two hands and writing what happens in the fingers and thumbs.


The left hand contains these elements:

Pinky: Genre - What genre is the project?

Ring: Protagonist - Who is the main character of your project?

Middle: Goal - What is your protagonist's goal of the story?

Index: Obstacle - What obstacle does the protagonist have to face to achieve their goal?

Thumb: What's Important - Why is this story so important to tell?


And the right contains these elements:

Thumb: First Act - What happens in the first act? Plot points tend to be less dramatic here.

Index: Midpoint - This isn't necessarily the middle of the film. When does the plot change? Does the protagonist decide something life-changing, or did something happen to them?

Middle: Crisis - What then goes wrong in the story?

Ring: Realisation - When does the protagonist realise they have to step up or fight back or make a choice?

Pinky: Climax - What happens in near the end of the film. How did the protagonist's realisation affect the ending?


 This tactic really helped me figure out what happens in my stories before I made a beat sheet or synopsis for them. It tends to work with three-act structured scripts, but I highly recommend trying it out anyway if you're ever stuck on structuring a screenplay.