SOCIEDAD
II. INTRODUCCIÓN
~ Highlight major OBSTACLES (inanimate or physical situations).
~ Describe important ADVERSARIES (characters) that try to prevent the star getting what they want. These blockers should be worthy opponents, otherwise overcoming them won't be satisfying.
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4) What's at stake?
Describe a few dramatic moments in detail. Choose moments involving the star where the conflicts escalate or the crisis becomes more
complicated. Make it clear the star resolves the climactic crisis or is actively involved in resolving it.
USE YOUR GENRE TO SELL YOUR PITCH
Know the genre of your movie -- movies are sold to audiences by genre.
Your pitch audience is interested in how they will market the movie as well as how they will make it. Don't tell them how to market it, just make it clear that it is MARKETABLE.
EMPHASIZE STAR QUALITIES
Present your story to emphasize the qualities that will attract the star. Here are some general guidelines:
1) Stars usually respond to an interesting, well-developed character caught up in a compelling situation with potential for exciting
conflict.
2) Stars instinctively want to play a character who takes action within the story that leads to the resolution of the climactic conflict. Duh.
EMPHASIZE QUALITIES THAT MIGHT ATTRACT A SUCCESSFUL DIRECTOR.
To attract a director you must lay out a compelling story that can be told visually. By this I don't mean special effects and stunning
scenery. The story must unfold visually; the emotion conveyed visually, the danger represented visually and so on. Your pitch
demonstrates this by the action you choose to describe and the way you've dramatized and resolved the conflicts
DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS
How detailed should you be? Don't become mired in miniscule movements of plot. Give them a movie trailer not a summary of the movie.
Query Letter
Some writers mistakenly believe a query letter should ask permission to send their script. That sets you up for a lot of rejection. Your query letter has a much more subtle purpose – to identify those who will respond to your movie.
HOW TO BEGIN
Format: Query letters run one page or less, single-spaced in a readable font on business-like stationery.
Salutation: Write to a targeted individual, not a company. This target should be someone appropriate for your story.
ANTICIPATE THEIR QUESTIONS:
Often, you don’t personally know the target of your query. And they certainly don’t know you. Put them at ease by answering the first question on their mind –
WHY ARE YOU BOTHERING ME?
Your opening paragraph should clarify why you have chosen to query this particular person. Define how the script might meet their needs. If an established film professional referred you to this person, tell them this upfront.
OKAY… SO WHAT IS YOUR MOVIE ABOUT?
I know this part of the letter sets stomachs churning. Writers believe the entire future of their script rests on what they put into these few descriptive sentences.
Relax! No one sells a movie script off a query letter. All this letter has to do is entice them to take a look at the script. This first contact begins a conversation that hopefully develops into a working relationship.
Organize your pitch into two paragraphs:
The Movie Trailer
The first pitch paragraph acts as a trailer for your movie. Tease the reader into wanting to see your movie script, just like movie trailers entice the audience to come back to see the next attraction. Introduce your genre, the main characters, the lead character’s situation, the main obstacles and major adversary and how the lead plans to overcome them. Hint at the ending without giving it away.
The Movie Poster
The second pitch paragraph promotes your script by highlighting vital elements that reveal unique marketing angles which make your movie special. Think of it as the poster for your movie. Here are some brief examples of story elements worth emphasizing:
POTENT THEMES: The movie WITNESS had a provocative theme – Do you resort to violence in order to keep the peace?
UNEXPECTED TWISTS: The alien in E.T. is not a conventional extra-terrestrial intent on conquering earth; he’s a frightened, homesick, loveable creature who was stranded here accidentally. He’s not the adversary in the movie, the misguided adults are.
GENRE FLIP-FLOP: THE FULL MONTY is an a-typical male bonding movie (no violence or contact sports) where the men recover their pride by baring their souls as well as their bodies.
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PRESSURE COOKER: Some movies use devices to raise the stakes. MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET has a ticking clock – Kris Kringle needs to be released from jail by Christmas Eve. TITANIC exploits our knowledge that the big boat sinks and sets us wondering which passengers will survive.
WHO ARE YOU? AND WHY SHOULD I CARE?
This paragraph should reveal your credentials. Include relevant background information: scripts sold or optioned, filmmaking experience, publishing credits.
If you have no writing credits, focus on relevant accomplishments:
script contests or writing programs you have completed. If you have personal experience relevant to your story, the setting or the crisis of your hero, include that; but BE BRIEF.
Add a unique and memorable detail that will make you attractive to the agent or producer. Some writers target film pros from their alma mater.
Others mention unique hobbies, personal experiences or established careers in other fields that give them a special point of view.
DON'T FORGET THE HANDSHAKE
Invite them to read your script and tell them how to get a copy. Some writers include a self-addressed stamped postcard for a reply.
VITAL DETAIL: Include your contact information (or your agent’s)!
WHAT TO LEAVE OUT OF YOUR QUERY :
THREATS: Resist the urge to beg, whine, complain, fabricate or threaten.
CYNICISM: Avoid statements like this: "You’re my 209th submission and you’ll probably blow me off royally like the rest of them did…"
NEGATIVITY: Resist defeatist generalities: "With 100,000 scripts floating around Hollywood, I doubt you’ll pay attention to mine…"
PITY: Don’t ask for pity: "I have three young children, my health coverage expired, the transmission blew on my Toyota and my husband just walked out on me…"
FORMAT
The presentation of your letter can be as important as your content. A traditional (paper) query should include the following elements:
A decent letterhead. At the very least, your name and address and other contact information should be printed at the top of your letter (NOT at the bottom or under your signature) in an attractive font. You can have an inexpensive letterhead designed and typeset at your local printing shop, or online through iPrint.com. Or, design your own on your
computer.
A business-style body. Always include a blank line between paragraphs, and don't indent more than five spaces (if at all).
A formal salutation. Don't address the editor by first name unless you know him/her personally.
Clean, proofread copy. Don't rely on your spellchecker; review your query yourself before mailing it out.
Quality paper. Use at least 20-lb. bond paper for queries. Some writers like to use fancier papers -- parchment, linen, etc. -- on the theory that a nicer paper with a professional tint will stand out amidst all the white paper on an editor's desk. Don't go to "colors" however -- pink paper and blue type scream for rejection.
A SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope). Don't use "insert" envelopes;
fold a full-size business envelope (#10) in thirds and use that. Be sure it has adequate postage. If you are submitting a query from
another country, be sure that your SASE has the correct postage for the target country -- or else include an appropriate number if IRCs
(international reply coupons).
THE LAST WORD
For better results, focus on the ACTION you want the reader to take after reading the letter. SUBTLE HINT: You want them to think -- Hey, we do not want to miss out on this script, let’s take a look at it.
Synopsis
Even when many writers understand their story's premise, they have a tendency to revert to offering examples of the activities of their characters and plot devices when asked to describe their story. While characters and plot are a manifestation of a story, they do not
accurately reflect what a story itself is about. The purpose of this essay is to lay out the principles of writing a story synopsis:
• understanding what a story is that engages an audience
• writing a synopsis that reflects a story's movement to fulfillment
• understanding the difference between a synopsis of a story and an outline of character goals and plot device
When a writer is able to write a story synopsis that accurately reflects the issues at stake in their story, they can describe their story in a dramatic, compelling manner.
Writing A Synopsis
Many writers confuse this issue of describing a story by outlining the actions of their characters because they come to their story through some character or plot device. To describe a story, however, is a
separate issue from writing about a character's goals. For example, the 102
story The Hunt for Red October is about freedom defeating oppression.
This is the dramatic issue at the core of the story. Through resolving what's at stake in the story -- this issue of freedom defeating
oppression -- in a dramatic way, the story offers an audience a fulfilling experience.
To describe The Hunt For Red October, then, is not the same as talking about the actions of its main character, Ramius. A synopsis of The Hunt For Red October might begin,
"The Hunt For Red October" is the story of one man's quest to be free of the system that oppresses him."
Note, the first line of the synopsis identifies what's at stake in the story, freedom defeating oppression. One should avoid writing,
"The Hunt For Red October is the story of Ramius, the commander of a Soviet nuclear-missile armed submarine who uses the submarine he commands to flee to America."
Ramius manifests the story, but the story itself is about this issue of freedom defeating oppression. Because readers desire to experience this story's fulfillment, they are drawn to the story.
So a story's synopsis should make it clear what's at stake in the story itself, first, before introducing the story's characters. Characters in a story have a purpose that is given meaning by what's at stake in the story.
"To gain his freedom, Ramius sets into motion a plan to escape to America in the Red October."
Note that Ramius, as a character, is described in his relationship to the issue at stake in the story, freedom. This continues this process of the synopsis describing the story itself. One should avoid writing,
"As the story opens, Ramius sets in motion a plan to escape to America in the Red October."
This offers a description of the story's main character, and the story's plot, but it doesn't suggest the connection between Ramius' actions, the story's plot, and what's at stake in the story itself.
"Ramius has long hated his oppressors, the communist party that rules Russia and his native Estonia, but he's been held in check while his wife was alive. With her passing, he has no restraints on his desire to be free."
This gives us a sense of why Ramius desires to be free: it is to escape the oppression of his communist masters, whom he loathes. Even though this appears to be describing Ramius, it's describing him in a way that
makes clear his relationship to the story itself, and its premise about freedom defeating oppression.
One should avoid writing,
"Ramius wants to pay back the communists for what they have done to his homeland, Estonia."
This explains why Ramius acts, and it's true, but it doesn't tie his actions into the story's underlying premise.
"To set into motion his plot to escape to America and freedom, Ramius must risk killing his political officer, then trust that his crew will blindly follow his orders because he's their captain. Ramius does this knowing that if he acts suspiciously, one of the crew has orders to kill him."
This description continues to tie Ramius' actions into the story's underlying premise. That Ramius can act to gain his freedom, but he must take risks. It is the nature of a story that it creates drama over its outcome. So a synopsis should offer an idea about what sets out a story's drama. Next, by the very fact that Ramius is part of an
oppressive system guarantees his orders will be obeyed. Thus, this description of the story ties these elements into its premise about freedom and oppression. Third, the synopsis raises a dramatic issue that plays out through the story: how long can Ramius hide from his assassin his true purpose?
Avoid writing,
"Ramius kills the Red October's political officer, and then gives his crew orders he knows they will follow because he's their captain."
The above merely describes the actions of Ramius, without tying them into the story's underlying premise. And, without giving a strong suggestion of the drama over the story's course and outcome.
"Killing the political officer is only a first step. Next, Ramius must avoid detection by his fellow submariners when they are ordered to find and detain him...later, to find and destroy him. For his communist oppressors fear what a free man armed with nuclear missiles might do."
Note the repetition of the story's main theme, freedom, and the escalation of the drama over the story's outcome: Ramius is now actively hunted and feared by his oppressors. Note how this synopsis presents that each step that Ramius gains to be free, he doubles the efforts others take to stop him. This, in brief, is the purpose of the story's plot, to increase the drama over the story's outcome.
Avoid writing,
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"Ramius outmaneuvers the Soviet submarines sent to find him, captained by men he has trained. In Moscow, those in the military and communist party begin to fear what Ramius might be planning, and plot his
destruction."
The above fails to directly state "why" the men in Moscow fear Ramius.
"Ramius outmaneuvering the soviet submarine fleet brings about an order that the soviet surface navy find an destroy him. The Soviet navy going on alert in the Atlantic puts the Americans on the alert. When they learn that a nuclear-armed submarine is on a course toward America, decisions must be made about the nature of the Soviet threat, and, if the Red October is a rogue submarine, the Americans should destroy it.
Tensions escalate in Washington D.C. and Moscow. But CIA analyst Jack Ryan suspects Ramius' true purpose. Because he operates in a free system, his council is given weight and listened to."
Note how this synopsis introduces Jack Ryan, the other main character of the story. His actions are tied to the fact that Jack is listened to because he operates in a free system. Thus, the description of Jack also ties his actions into the story's underlying premise.
Avoid writing,
"Ramius outmaneuvering the soviet submarine fleet puts the soviet Atlantic fleet onto full alert to find
and destroy him. An American attack submarine that has picked up Ramius' trail passes along information about the Red October. The American sailors are intelligent, capable, and able to think for
themselves, in contrast to the soviet counterparts. In Washington D.C., CIA analyst Jack Ryan suspects that Ramius' purpose may not be what it appears. He is a strong, charismatic man, and his opinion is listened to. In both Washington and Moscow, tensions mount."
The above is okay, but it doesn't clear continue to identify what's at stake in the story.
"Ramius and the Red October narrowly avoid being destroyed by a soviet attack submarine. But now the American military must make a decision:
should Ramius, a rogue military commander, be destroyed? Is he a threat to America? Jack Ryan puts into action a plan to prove that Ramius is attempting to escape to America, and bringing a tremendous prize: a new type of submarine with a revolutionary propulsion system."
Again, this ties Ramius' action to this battle between freedom and oppression.
To conclude,
"In a climactic confrontation, Jack Ryan boards the Red October and is able to kill the KGB assassin hunting Ramius. Working with Ramius, the
two men are able to stage an "explosion" and sinking of the Red October witnessed by its crew, who have been picked up by American vessels. The crew will thus report that Ramius is dead, the Red October sunk. But working together and aided by the ingenuity of the American military, they merely "stage" that that the Red October, the Soviet Union's most advanced submarine, has been sunk.
"Through his undeniable courage, and the aid of Jack Ryan and other Americans, Ramius gains his freedom.
"The Hunt For Red October is a dramatic, compelling story about how the values of freedom defeat oppression."
The synopsis ends with a reiteration of what's at stake in this story, and the story's fulfillment.
At each step of this synopsis, the synopsis has been clear about what's at stake in the story. To simply describe the actions of a story's characters and its plot devices in a synopsis is to leave out what actually engages the interest of an audience: the dramatic playing out of what's at stake in the story revolving around a dramatic issue or idea that has engaged the interest of its audience.
The ability to write a synopsis that clearly describes what's at stake in a story and a story's fulfillment helps a writer bring out the true dramatic issue or idea at the heart of their story. Such a synopsis answers not only the question of "how," but the deeper question of
"why" an audience should care about a particular story and its outcome.
Treatment
A premise is an idea for a story; the set-up or situation, with little or no story implied. Rarely written down to be presented.
A synopsis can be one long paragraph, or several paragraphs; probably no more than a page-and-a-half in length; usually less, usually focused on plot. It's often a concise distillation of a story that exists in longer form, such as the synopsis of a script found in a coverage.
A treatment is a full exploration of a story. Covers character, plot, setting, theme; clarifies the intent of the writer. Can contain
character descriptions, a synopsis, or statements on theme and tone.
Attempts to convey the filmgoing experience through to the story's end;
may use bits of key dialog. Usually more than three pages; average is seven to twelve.
Occasionally, you'll get a producer or a development person who wants you to give them a treatment so they can use it as a guide to pitch to their boss or the company they have a deal with. Don't be surprised if, after you give them the five pages, they ask you to condense it into
Occasionally, you'll get a producer or a development person who wants you to give them a treatment so they can use it as a guide to pitch to their boss or the company they have a deal with. Don't be surprised if, after you give them the five pages, they ask you to condense it into