Logline, Synopsis, Story Layout!

The travails of a filmmaker in a demanding business environment.

A logline is your elevator pitch. Synopsis is the next port of call for the investor, followed by a story treatment/ show bible (film/show). But do we enjoy writing this material to pitch our films? Ummm, not so much!

As filmmakers, we like writing scripts. And we love filming them. Post-production brings with it anticipation of the fruit of our labour. Writing loglines, synopsis, treatments, show bibles et al is tedious, linguistically challenging, and exhausting for most of us.

Especially when we have to write it in a language that we are not comfortable with.

The reality is that your pitch material needs to be a compelling presentation of your film. Its aim is to persuade people to invest in your project, be it a financier, producer, streaming platform, film festival, and more. Unless one has the good fortune of pitching to a kindly investor curious enough to move past poorly written material and go through an entire screenplay, the chances of missed opportunities are high.

How can we up our game here?

Concise Drafting

The goal is to write material so enticing that it hooks the reader/listener into reading the entire script. It needs to lay out the key elements - main character, setup, central conflict, protagonist’s goal - into a clear, concise invitation to dive deep into your project.

An added advantage of writing in a structured manner is that it would bring greater understanding of the story to yourself as its creator. Breaking down key beats and elements can help clarify what is important and what isn’t.

Use Available Resources

To have to write your material in English (the usual norm) is hard if its not your first language. There are plenty of resources online and elsewhere to help you with the writing. Professional writers on sites such as Upwork and Freelancer can help pin your messaging down to the point. It will cost you some money but is worth the value that well-drafted marketing material brings to your project.

Proof Read

Proof reading the material is even less fun than the actual writing work. It has to be done though, and again, something for which you can seek outside help. For the reader of your pitch material, poor formatting, typographical & punctuation errors, and flawed sentence constructs, can interfere with the flow of the story.

For personal hygiene checks, one can rely on free software like Grammarly and Quilt Bot that not only act as paraphrasing tools but also help you improve your tone for clarity.

Connect the Dots

The process of writing begins as we gestate on the film/show. Your initial written material will most likely differ vastly from the screenplay/ story in its final form. You would want to update all your writing material in sync with your latest end product and ensure that it is correctly aligned to the same before you put it out there in the market.

Over-Prepare

Finally, pay attention to detail. Over-prepare, rather than under-prepare, your material. It will serve you well.

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Here are some online resources I was able to find that might be useful -

Resources for Writing

25 Original Logline Examples [From Famous Movies]

How to come up with a HOOK for your screenplay?

How to write a synopsis

How to write a Film Pitch

The intent of this post is for us to be able to help each other with tips and resources that are efficient, easy to use, and improve our business strategies. Please feel free to add additional suggestions in your comments.

Nina.