A Film synopsis is the most important thing for a scriptwriter. It is the synopsis that decides the prospect of the whole project. If the synopsis is an enthralling one, then in most cases, the reader might invite you to send the complete manuscript for further consideration. And who knows, he might be the future director or producer of your script!

So, how would you write a good film synopsis that can keep the reader attracted right from the beginning? Well, there are two things that should be highlighted right at the start of the synopsis: the genre and the target audience market. The reason is that the reader, who could be your potential director, may be looking scripts that cater to a specific genre and that increases the chance of your script standing out.

The next big thing would be to put a short, simple yet effective summary of your script in about 25 words or less, which is technically known as a logline in the industry. The logline, which is normally just a sentence long, should tell us about the movie in short, and if put intelligently would create a positive perception in the reader’s mind. It could be something like: ìA young man, avenging his father’s mother, experiences emotional turmoil on learning that his own mother was the real killer!î

The total script needs to be divided into three acts, and then each act needs to be summarized in separate paragraphs. The Act I needs to give a general introduction to the story line, without feeding the reader with too much information at one go. Except for extremely unconventional scripts, the Act I summary is generally easy going with the main stress being on building the base for the other acts. However, in most cases, the main protagonist of the story is introduced in this Act summary, and thus a lot depends upon the attractiveness of the protagonist’s personality.

In the Act II summary, there is a scope to introduce the suspense and some twists, which lead to the main character’s action. This summary is very important as it would also accommodate the interval, and thus special care must be taken to preserve continuity to the summary without divulging much from the other half. The later half of the summary would ideally lead to the final act, and more importantly, the climax.

A climax is known to make or break a script. All the hard work of the scriptwriter, which was portrayed in the first two acts could escalate to new heights or just go to waste, depending on the final act summary. This summary must give way to a suitable ending, complete with all twists and suspense that the script might have. The climax should not be remotely different from the expectations set throughout the synopsis.

If there is something else that might add credit to the script can be mentioned in the fourth paragraph. However, it is optional and should only be added if it adds anything to the script at all.

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