synopsis (one page)-- purpose?

[Randall_Oelerich]

How important are synopses, who are they intended for, are they still used, necessary, in the industry?

I recently wrote a one page summary synopsis of my feature spec to share with a couple of fellow wannabe writers (i count myself as a wannabe). It included the hook, inciting, locations, main chars, goal, midpoint, complications, setback, battle, resolution. In spite of all that crammed onto one page, my synopses seemed to generate more questions than answers from my two readers. Which in a sense was very frustrating, because their questions are of course answered in the screenplay; there simply is not enough room on the one page synopsis to explain details about a killer's motivation, what happens after this or that, etc. Is this normal for synopses to generate questions in the readers' minds? Makes me almost want to not show a synopsis again to a fellow writer. Maybe to someone at the coffee shop, a barista maybe, but I wonder if fellow writers (in an MFA program in screenwriting) tend to ask a lot of questions because they are writers, rather than take the one page as what is is, like the description of a story on the back of a DVD jacket?

Thoughts?

 

[Eric Boellner]

The synopsis is not intended to relate the story. In fact, you should NEVER try to tell the story in the synopsis. The only point of a synopsis (or a treatment, or any other story-related material other than the screenplay itself) is to get whoever is reading it to read the screenplay.

Bullet points:

- Do NOT include the resolution in the synopsis. You've lost the war at this point, because you've taken away the reader's only reason to read the screenplay.

- Be clear, but don't explain. The synopsis is meant just like the back of a DVD jacket. You only put enough information on there to get someone to watch the movie. The information must be clear, but it can't waste time trying to explain things either (like, "Bill hunts John, who is actually Jacob's son, but he doesn't know that...").

- Leave them wondering what happens. They need to have a clear reason to read the screenplay. There has to be an idea, a concept, a problem that requires a resolution that they won't find anywhere but in the screenplay.

- Do NOT leave them wondering if you're a good writer. The synopsis must be well written, and keeping in tone with the rest of the screenplay.

- I repeat for emphasis, the ONLY goal with any non-screenplay item you shop around (to producers, to writers, to your dog) should be to get that person to read the screenplay. Nothing else.

This article written by Terry Rossio (Oscar-nominated writer: POTC trilogy, Aladdin, Shrek, Deja Vu) is mostly about treatments, but I think a lot of the same rules apply to synopses as well.

http://www.wordplayer.com/columns/wp37.Proper.Treatment.html

Hope all of this helped!

Michael

 

[Randall_Oelerich]

Most definitely helped, thank you so much.
I owe you a beer! :beer:
randall