Synopsis -- Producer to Financiers

[finalact4]

Originally Posted by catcon

May not be of much help to you, but my writing follows this pattern:

- outline (40 pages or more)
- synopsis (3-4 pages; mine are long, which is just my style)
- screenplay (105 pages)

But to make something that's 2 pages long may be easier by parsing that, than trying to devolve the full script into 2 pages.

thanks for the advice, catcon, will definitely add step two to my process going forward.

[finalact4]

Originally Posted by Bono

A synopsis is simple a prose retelling of the plot.

ROBOT DIVORCE

Matt Damon wakes up. He goes to work. He finds out he's a robot. He meets a female Robot named Ben Affleck. They fall in love. But then they fight. And he wants to get a robot divorce and the whole movie is a court room drama about whether robots have rights.

I'm sure you can google a synopsis of a famous film. Or just look at most Wikipedia entries for movies for ideas...

https://www.writersdigest.com/publis...ansom-thriller

thanks, Bono. Ransom is one of my favorite films. i found this one as well. in case anyone else needs it.

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/ho...ovie-synopsis/

[finalact4]

thanks, Muckraker and GucciGhostXXX, i appreciate the advice. and Gucci thanks for the well wishes.

man, i would so love to direct. but it wouldn't get funding that way. but i'd like to be on set as much as possible.

he gave me an idea of what to include. i think he wants it straight forward. but he doesn't want the twist ending to be revealed because it's well set up, but it is a shocking end with a complete one-eighty.

thanks again.
FA4

[finalact4]

Originally Posted by Done Deal Pro

The example Bono posted should more than work. Here is one from the main site as well: http://www.donedealpro.com/members/d...ection_ id=13

A synopsis for coverage though is going to be different than a synopsis to sell someone. Coverage is almost always flat & dry. It's simply information for the producer, director, executive or rep reading it to understood what took place and be able to sound like they actually read the material.

For your situation, write two pages as requested. Don't go overboard and make it too flowery or prose like, but give it some spark. Make them feel a bit like you would want them to while watching it. Spooked? Nervous? Whatever. Choose words that compliment the tone & feel. The person doesn't stab at the girl, they slash. Blood doesn't drip, it splatters everywhere! It's not a scream they hear, but rather a blood curdling scream or chilling scream. Or a scream in agony. Etc. Just as a synopsis for a comedy, should be funny, yours should have some sense of "horror" to it.

Make it single-spaced. And choose a font like Times New Roman, Arial, Tahoma, or my current favorite, Calibri. That's all it needs to be. Don't sweat it too much. But do keep it looking straightforward and EASY on the eyes.



How do you be a producer? It's everything and nothing, depending on what kind of producer you really are. As you know, entire books are written on the subject. USC has the two-year Stark Program dedicated to just teaching people how to become a producer. Thus, there is no short answer really. That said...

There are producers that find the material, development, hire the director, set the project up at a studio or find financing, help to cast it, are on set all day, watch cuts of the film later on to give notes, etc. etc. Generally they are the person that deals with all the big picture stuff a director doesn't have time to deal with.

There are producers, executive producers, co-executive producers, EP/line producers, co-producers, and associate producers. Unless you worked on the actual film you don't know what each person truly did. I've worked on studio films where a couple of the producers never came to set; I never met or saw them and still haven't to this day. I've worked on films where the "producers" got paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, and I contributed more than they did. (And I say that with an incredible amount of humility.)

In your case, if you've never produced, it might be more of a gift title, especially if you don't get paid tons. Depending how about good your contract/agreement is, you may or may not be flown to set, given housing, a car and per diem. You might stand quietly in the back and observe the whole time. Nothing wrong with that really. But you probably won't be heavily involved or asked to do much.

A lot of how involved a producer is depends on who they are. Jerry Bruckheimer carries a lot of weight during the entire process. John Doe has nothing. Some just get projects set up, maybe do development on it, then leave it up to real producers, the director and the crew to make it. They are deal makers, that's all. Others are there first thing every day and frequently the last to go home. They battle it out over budgeting, scheduling, pace of the shoot -- is the director "making their day" each day? -- and so on. There are lots of moving parts on even a small film. Fires to put out every day.

If you love the project, stay/get attached as producer and get all you can out of it. A bit will depend on how much of a diva the director is and how truly involved and collaborative the producer is on the project you are currently dealing with.

Will, thank you so much for your time, consideration and excellent advice. i'm really grateful. exactly what i need to know to better understand the opportunities and how best to keep myself alive in the project.
best,
FA4

[Done Deal Pro]

Originally Posted by catcon

May not be of much help to you, but my writing follows this pattern:

- outline (40 pages or more)
- synopsis (3-4 pages; mine are long, which is just my style)
- screenplay (105 pages)

I consciously write my synopses from my outlines, which is a story source that's simpler than the full-blown script, and thus easier to break down into the smaller chunk.

I just noticed this. Though normally I would just let it go, I'm going to have to note something. No one on this planet should be writing a 40 page or more outline. No one. Some treatments can be long or longer in nature, of course. They can range from say six pages up to even close to 50 pages, depending on the circumstances. But no outline should be that long. In terms of length and density in the vast majority of the cases, it really goes logline, short description, beat sheet, synopsis, outline, treatment, then script. Yes, there can be exceptions here & there, but for the most part that's what I've seen for 30 plus years.

A synopsis for a script should be two to three pages. I've written four page synopsis for books; but then books are so much more dense and are in most cases around 200 to 300 pages on average in length. Some many more so, of course.

In most cases, writers do not need to be writing a synopsis unless asked. (Nothing wrong with writing one and having it ready, of course.) Do a beat sheet. Write an outline of reasonable length. And if you love writing treatments and they really help you, then do what you need to do. I wrote a "scriptment" once with a writing partner and it was 21 pages, which was overly long, especially for a comedy. But it was detailed enough to help me write a first draft. Granted the first draft was over 202 pages and I had to cut out like 90 pages ultimately, but it did help me write fairly quickly. That I will admit.

There may not be "rules" for writing, but an outline by definition presents basic "hierarchical relationships and is a type of tree structure." It should be lean & mean for the most part. If you are writing a lot then you've probably written a treatment. Otherwise, it's like saying you made a short film that's four hours long.

And a synopsis should be written from the finished script, unless a producer, studio or network asks you to write up one before they agree to the next step. (Had to do that recently for a cable network.)

[sc111]

Congrats! You know I love your writing so I must say I'm thrilled this producer agrees.

As for the synopsis, try working a synopsis of each individual act to break it down into easier sections to write.

When I write them for my stuff, I approach it like I'm telling a friend about a movie. Broad strokes of the storyline with insights about the main characters woven in.

Hope that helps. So thrilled for you.

[GucciGhostXXX]

All really good thoughts in this thread.

But allow me to also add this, as I learned it the hard way: PUT A TICKING CLOCK on how long you’ll do notes. And make that clear up front. No matter who the fukk it is.

Example: my last show I was working with one of the biggest producers in the game (Think: Rudin). I was told that once we get the script there we’re going to “______.” A long list of A-List film directors and that ____ 3 super agents at CAA were gonna help us package. A-List folks all the way around. So I fell for it, that dangling carrot, hard not to. Our meetings were at SoHo House. Chris Hemsworth is the next table over on our first meeting. Fancy, right?

A year and 3 months later I’m still getting notes. I lost track of how many drafts I did. FOR FREE. Ultimately the producer “emailed” my rep to tell them he’s dropping off the project. WHAT??? You (Mr. Producer) can’t bother to pick up the phone and call me direct to THANK ME FOR MY TIME after I’ve wasted a year and a half of my life developing this FOR FREE?

Don’t end up in that trap! I’ll never fall for that bullish!t ever again, no matter who it is. We get all excited when it’s a huge producer making huge promises. DON’’T FALL FOR IT! SET A TIME LIMIT!

Good luck!

[finalact4]

Originally Posted by sc111

Congrats! You know I love your writing so I must say I'm thrilled this producer agrees.

As for the synopsis, try working a synopsis of each individual act to break it down into easier sections to write.

When I write them for my stuff, I approach it like I'm telling a friend about a movie. Broad strokes of the storyline with insights about the main characters woven in.

Hope that helps. So thrilled for you.

sc111, thank you for your support-- your opinion means a lot to me. good idea with starting by acts, i like that.

do you think i should talk about the character and motivations inside the actual plot summary or summarize the story/plot first then write a separate (second page?) breakdown of the characters? idk?

and thank you for the kind words.

[finalact4]

Originally Posted by GucciGhostXXX

All really good thoughts in this thread.

But allow me to also add this, as I learned it the hard way: PUT A TICKING CLOCK on how long you’ll do notes. And make that clear up front. No matter who the fukk it is.

Example: my last show I was working with one of the biggest producers in the game (Think: Rudin). I was told that once we get the script there we’re going to “______.” A long list of A-List film directors and that ____ 3 super agents at CAA were gonna help us package. A-List folks all the way around. So I fell for it, that dangling carrot, hard not to. Our meetings were at SoHo House. Chris Hemsworth is the next table over on our first meeting. Fancy, right?

A year and 3 months later I’m still getting notes. I lost track of how many drafts I did. FOR FREE. Ultimately the producer “emailed” my rep to tell them he’s dropping off the project. WHAT??? You (Mr. Producer) can’t bother to pick up the phone and call me direct to THANK ME FOR MY TIME after I’ve wasted a year and a half of my life developing this FOR FREE?

Don’t end up in that trap! I’ll never fall for that bullish!t ever again, no matter who it is. We get all excited when it’s a huge producer making huge promises. DON’’T FALL FOR IT! SET A TIME LIMIT!

Good luck!

thanks for the heads up!

the best celebrity "contact" i can say is last month i was in Stockholm at a restaurant i picked and sat at the table across from Gwenth Paltrow-- then took a few steps next door where the South Korean delegation arrived while i stood by the door (Obama and Michelle left earlier) then while i was in the very swanky (could've been private party) i was mistaken as a celebrity actress by a bunch of rich people who (#1 in the world) train the world's best Jockies who btw on the side, make movies. haha. they didn't believe me, which was a lot of fun.

anyway, thanks for the sage advice. i don't want to rewrite for free. i'm doing my part, bringing material to the table. now, to get on board to produce i'll make whatever calls necessary or do what i can to get things moving and kee them moving. i'm not shy-- think pitbull with an old sock.

if i do, tho, i will set a time limit.

[sc111]

Originally Posted by finalact4

sc111, thank you for your support-- your opinion means a lot to me. good idea with starting by acts, i like that.

do you think i should talk about the character and motivations inside the actual plot summary or summarize the story/plot first then write a separate (second page?) breakdown of the characters? idk?

and thank you for the kind words.

Of course all of the following is my non pro take etc etc disclaimer.

Going from your original post, the producer is sending this synopsis to his financiers. If these people are the first set of readers, I'm thinking getting too detailed on characters and their motivations may not be the way to go. I'd aim for a more broad approach with the characters worked into the plot summary. Or ask the producer if he likes your idea for a breakdown of characters on page 2.