You got an idea for a movie in your head you'd like to get on screen. Before you can make it a reality, you have to get people, or money, or both to make it happen. So let's go over some basic terms you should know before you start looking for your crew, cast or an investor.
Synopsis
A synopsis is a one-page long summary of your script (or a movie idea, if you still don't have the script finished). It should be written in the present tense, third person and include the following:
- Header with your contact information (in case it gets to a producer from a different source than yourself)
- A logline
- Summary of your screenplay divided into acts; focus on the main characters and plot
When it comes to festivals, they might restrict you to around 300 words-long synopsis, so be ready to have that as well.
Logline
A logline is a one-sentence script summary written to captivate the producer from the get-go. Good logline sells movies, bad one causes headaches and sends your movie to graveyard right away.
Loglines distil the essential elements of your screenplay into a clear, concise, easy-to-follow sentence. The goal is to write a logline so exciting that it hooks the producer (or anybody else) into reading additional documents (treatment or a script).
After getting in a car accident, a woman is held in a shelter with two men who claim the outside world is affected by a widespread chemical attack.
– 10 Cloverfield Lane
Loglines are descriptive so we know what we're getting into in comparison to Taglines which are provocative (or witty, or dramatic) so they hook the potential audience into going to see your movie.
Tagline
A tagline is a witty slogan or dramatic statement, used to advertise a finished film to the potential audience. The tagline may even be provocative, controversial to a degree. It's the sentence you imagine seeing on your movie poster. The one-sentence describing your movie without revealing much, but enough to raise the curiosity of a viewer.
In space no one can hear you scream.
– Alien (1979)
Let's make something really clear: a lot of people interchange synopsis, outline and treatment. It happens, don't be weird about it. If you're not sure what they mean when they ask you for a specific document, ask for clarification.
Outline
An outline is a shorter version of treatment (up to 10 pages) and it's especially helpful when you're writing the screenplay because it describes what is happening in the movie, scene-by-scene.
Imagine it like a roadmap – you know where you're going and what will be happening in specific moments, but you're not there yet and you don't know the details.
An outline doesn't have a standardized format. It can be almost whatever you like it to be (prose, lists or even cards). The important thing is that it gives you the overview of your movie and based on that, you can change, add or remove scenes, beats or anything else before you get into the chair and start writing the whole screenplay.
Treatment
Treatment is a detailed scene-by-scene breakdown of a film’s story with as many additional elements as you feel fit to paint a complex image of your movie. It usually goes about 10+ pages.
Treatment is often written in the present tense, in narrative-like prose, and covers almost every detail of your project – plots, twists, revelations, characters and their backstories, locations, scene-by-scene descriptions and it should also include your logline, tagline, title.
Well, that's about it in general. Now, the following are the items your treatment should definitely include:
- Title
- Your name and contact information
- Logline, theme and concept
- Summaries of all acts, plot points, characters and locations
- Any detailed information (or context) where needed
If you feel like it, include also the following:
- Opening and Final scene
- A showcase of dialogue
Some will say that treatment shouldn't include any images, and it should be formatted similarly as a screenplay. I disagree. The times moved forward, and the film is a visual element. I encourage you to make the treatment visually appealing, to sell your idea with strong visuals that support your vision. Just make sure it's still easy to read.
Pitch
Pitch is the verbal presentation of a movie idea. You can be pitching your movie to a studio or network executives, independent producer or anybody else. But if you want to make movies, you will be pitching a lot.
You should have at least 2 versions of pitch ready – the short one (up to 3 minutes) and the longer one (up to 10 minutes). You also need to adjust your pitch based on who are you pitching to. Do your research. Don't pitch the same way to everybody in town.
Pitch is about getting funded. You want people to invest in your project, but they are not investing just in it, they are also investing in you. So make sure you're on top of your game. Be ready, be prepared, be excited. And be human. People don't want to work with robots.
Because the pitch is almost the last stop, you should be over-prepared. Let's take a look at the documents you might have ready at this point:
- Treatment or a Script
- Synopsis
- Logline and Tagline
- Show Bible (the comprehensive guide to your whole TV Show season)
- Lookbook (moodboard and production design inspiration, helps with showing your visual direction)
- Bios of Producer, Director or any other key crew members
- Financing that is in place (or financial plan, if you have one)
- Production schedule (if you have any)
- Budget
- Cast list
- Contact info
If you had only a verbal pitch without any documents, you might be asked to deliver a "write-up" – meaning they want you to send them the pitch in the written version. Whatever you bring to your pitch and leave with a producer is sometimes referred to as "leave-behind".
Pitching might be the single most important skill you have to learn in the filmmaking industry, and I was reading a great article not so long ago about it, so I want to share it with you, and hopefully, it'll help you nail your next pitch!
Pablo Carranza
Conclusion
Well, that's about it. Now we're on the same page. Hopefully, this clears out any confusion you might have had about the essential forms of presenting your movie. Wish you luck on your next endeavours!
