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Karel Segers
The Synopsis
format and style
Webinar, eBook and Checklist

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1. Basics

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NAMES
What it is
A Synopsis is a lively summary of your story in one or two pages.
Not only does your synopsis give the reader a short outline of the story,
you write it in a compelling way, so the reader is interested in getting

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involved.
Synopses (pl.) come in various sizes: the paragraph (100-200 words), the
half-page (200-300 words) and the one-page synopsis (500 words).
Some use even longer synopses - just look on IMDb, where some have
well over 1,000 words - but we are not interested in those at this stage.
Despite its relative conciseness, a good synopsis proves that you have
enough material in your story to engage an audience or reader for a full-
length feature film, a TV episode, or a novel.
It also tests whether you are able to tell that story in a structure that is
fitting for the particular genre and format of your project.

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INTRODUCTION
Why it is important
Very few professionals will read your full-length screenplay, novel or
project bible until they are convinced of the concept and core story.

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In film, the concept is expressed in the logline, a one sentence summary

T
of character, story catalyst, story objective, and transformational journey.
A synopsis will not only demonstrate that not only you have a concept, but
there is a full story behind it.
Experienced readers easily identify the story components, and conclude
whether the story works or not. This obviously doesn’t guarantee that the
project (film, novel, web series etc.) that will be a success, but
professionals often eliminate projects at synopsis stage.
This eBook will teach you how to write - and rewrite - your killer synopsis.
Once you are skilled in this technique, it will make your life easier, and
your writer’s career more successful.

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INTRODUCTION
Why you hate it
Writing a synopsis successfully is often deceptively hard. As a consultant,
I have to write synopses for clients and for the Writers’ Guild.
A well-written screenplay can be fairly easily distilled into a one-pager.

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Sadly, more often than not stories are badly structured, which makes it
virtually impossible to write summary that makes sense, and at the same
time satisfies the original writer. We will look into the reasons for this later.
Inexperienced writers often hate writing summaries, because in their view
they don’t do justice to the complexity of their story. The synopsis is no
exception. Yet, for writers, screenwriters and producers, the ability to write
a great synopsis can make a massive difference for your career. If you
struggle with them, you will struggle to market your projects.

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NAMES
Son of a logline
( … or daughter.)
Before you can successfully write a synopsis, you need to fully
understand your concept. This is written down in the logline.
Although it may be possible to write a synopsis without having a logline, it

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will be very difficult, particularly in development.
Writing loglines is a particular skill. If you don’t already master it, you
should learn it. Don’t be mistaken by any examples on the internet. These
loglines rarely convey the core of the concept, leaving out critical
components, such as the inciting incident, character, or mid point.
If you are not already familiar with writing loglines, check out Logline It.

Learn to write loglines: http://logline.it

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NAMES
How to write it
The synopsis opens with the time and place of the story’s setting, e.g.
“Toulouse, France. Present day.” After that, you describe the main events
and actions in the story, roughly proportionate to the screen time.

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1. Tell a story
Writing a great synopsis is nothing different from telling a good story.
Only, you will have to do it in less words than you might like.
If you were to read a synopsis of a proper length, it would take you about
three minutes. To keep the energy, flow, and logic, it is a great practice to
tell the story to yourself or someone else, and record it. See if you can do
it in three minutes, then transcribe it. You should have a solid first draft.
2. Summarise a longer version
Because it is much easier to write a longer summary of a feature length
story or novel, it may be easier to first write the 3-4 page version. Then,
you trim, and trim, and trim… until you have only 1 page left.

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NAMES
When to write it
1. During development
Many professionals expand their stories, starting from a simple concept
expressed in a logline. The next step is the synopsis, then treatment, beat

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sheet or step outline. Finally: the (manu)script.

2. After writing the (manu)script

Some writers hate to lock their story down in a short form before they
have explored the details of the story in the manuscript or screenplay.
These writers will first develop a screenplay until they’re happy with it,
and write the synopsis after.
Both ways work, and you have to figure out for yourself which one you
prefer.

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NAMES
Development hell
You have written a screenplay, and are pitching it to gain interest.
Feedback to the pitch indicates that some parts of the story don’t fully
work. You will need to address this in the subsequent draft of the script.

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Meanwhile, you should change the synopsis, and pitch the new storyline,
even if the script is not there yet.
A good problem to have, may be that the person you are pitching to asks
to read the script. Of course, all you have is the previous draft. In this
case, you promise the next draft, and work fast.
The worst case scenario may be that the changes looked easier than they
are once you sit down to actually write them… and the draft takes forever.
In this case, the interested party may go away, and you are back at Start.
When asked about the status of the project, your producer/agent will sigh,
and admit the project is in development hell.

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2. Process

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NAMES
Iterate
If you build your synopsis before writing the script, you may find that
things change when you start writing scenes. The synopsis will not hold
up forever. At some point, it will need to be rewritten. And this is fine.

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I recommend re-writing it as soon as possible, and definitely after
finishing each draft of your script. Why?
Sometimes we waffle. We write long-winded descriptions, but don’t quite
understand things ourselves. When someone asks “What do you mean”,
we’re lost. It turns out that what we have written, is simply not coherent.
While writing the full text, this may not be instantly clear, as you move
from one moment to the next, with different moods, and different
character perspectives.

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NAMES
Sync it
But once you try to summarise those changes in the synopsis, the
problem will manifest. The changes don’t make sense, and the natural
flow that was there before, is now lost. For this reason, always keep all
your development documents in sync. (See also ‘Causation’, below)

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3. Content

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Content
What needs to be covered in your synopsis?
Everything.
Sometimes you be asked to write a teaser synopsis, but most people

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expect a full synopsis with all key events, including the climax.
You need to write as much as the limitations on length will allow you. In
other words, you describe the story in as much detail as possible. For a
feature film - and even for a one-hour TV episode - this is challenging. 

(For a webisode, or a 5-10mins short film, it should be a breeze.)
If you are wondering what to cut, simply weigh up what is more important
to understand the overall story.

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Essential Ingredients
The more senior the person who will read your synopsis, the better their
understanding of traditional story principles. No matter what their
approach to story (McKee, Truby, Hero’s Journey, Aristotle etc.), they will
be specifically looking for the essential components of a well-told story.

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character introduction
opening situation / ordinary world
catalyst / inciting incident / call to adventure
-

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2nd act challenges
mid point (reversal)
all is lost / ordeal / dark night of the soul
- character response / refusal of the call - break into act 3 / threshold / road home
- mentor - climax
- goal established - aftermath

On the following page, you’ll see how most of these components are
contained in the Nightcrawler synopsis.

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 SETTING
Los Angeles, present day. LouisCHARACTER
Bloom (25) is brazen and smart, but things haven’t quite

NAMES CURRENT SITUATION

worked out for him - yet. He struggles to make a living, as he can’t get a job, so he steals and
pawns, cuts fences, and sells them as scrap. One night he watches how a nightcrawler films

INCITING INCIDENT
a gruesome accident, and he’s intrigued.

He pawns a stolen bike to swap it for a camcorder and a police scanner. Using the ACT 1
RESPONSE
scanner, he races to incidents in the area, and films. After ruining a shot for Loder, a
competing nightcrawler, he overhears Loder’s phone call and learns the value of the video
footage. He sells his footage for a disappointing $250 to Channel 6, where he meets with
GOAL ESTABLISHED
news director Nina Romina, who explains to him exactly what it is they need.

The sale has given Lou a vision. He hires Rick, a young unqualified man, to read
directions, as Lou drives like a maniac to the scene of their next job. Rick makes a mistake,
and they arrive too late. Lou is furious.

ACT 2A
Later, at the scene of a shooting, Lou manipulates images to show bullet holes, and he
films neighbours talking to the police. Nina uses the footage, despite her producer’s
objections.
ACT 2

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As his success increases, Lou coerces Nina into having dinner with him, threatening to
take his material to the competition. Over dinner, he shows that he wants more than a

MID POINT (REVERSAL)

professional relationship, and when Nina rejects him, Lou reiterates his threats.
Soon after, Loder beats Lou to a stabbing incident. In response, Lou cuts the brakes on
Loder’s van, and Loder crashes. At the crash site, Lou films how Loder chokes on his own
blood.

Later, Lou and Rick happen upon an armed break-in at a mansion. Lou sees two men
fleeing, he enters the house and films the bodies, as one victim is gasping for breath. Lou
delivers the graphic footage to Nina, and demands $15,000, as well as a verbal credit in the
news. Lou gets exactly what he asked for. When the police question him about the incident,
Lou withholds important details. ACT 2B
Lou and Rick track the killers, and follow them to a restaurant. When the scene is set, Lou
orchestrates the action by phoning the cops. Soon after, they show up, and the killers start
shooting. The cops respond, but one killer gets away.

Lou and Rick follow in an intense chase, ending in the killer crashing. Lou lies to Rick that
the killer is dead, and asks him to film, but Rick is shot dead by the killer. While Rick is dying,
Lou explains that Rick had compromised the operation before.
ACT 3 CLIMAX
Nina is enchanted by the gruesome imagery, and refuses to surrender the tapes to the
police. When interrogated, Lou remains unmoved by Rick’s death, sticks by his lies, and is ACT 3
free to walk.

AFTERMATH
Later. Lou has established Video Production News with vans and interns, whom he primes to
shoot “what people really want to see”.

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NAMES
Theme
Your story’s theme may be of the utmost important to you. And it should.
Because the theme may be the reason why you want to tell this story.
Often however, people aren’t consciously aware of a story’s theme.
Mostly it is contained in the main character’s journey, and it provides the

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depth that makes a story resonate more than others, even if they seem
similar on the surface.
But theme is rarely what a movie sells on. District 9 may be a statement
about apartheid, but this is not why people go to see it. Nightcrawler may
be critical of what we want to see on television, but this is not what sells it.
When you write the synopsis, you don’t need to explicitly include any
references to the theme.

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NAMES
Flashbacks
Ideally, the story is told in the synopsis in the same way the viewer (or
reader) will experience the full work, be it the movie, the screenplay or
manuscript.

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This means that as much as possible, the chronology of the actual work is
maintained, even if it contains flashbacks. Sometimes however, it is
difficult to insert flashbacks without extensive explanations, and using
large amounts of precious page real estate along the way.
In this case, sometimes it works better to just tell the story by following
the real time chronology (what some call the story time), rather than the
edited, non-linear version in the (manu)script/film.
If repeated flashbacks occur, you can roll them into one mention in the
synopsis (e.g. For weeks, Jasmine suffers nightmares about the event).

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4. Structure

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NAMES
Structure
If your story works structurally, this will be evident in the synopsis.
Conversely, your project may be rejected because the synopsis
demonstrates poor structure.

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Because of the length limit, only include the top structural elements:
acts and sequences (or story beats).
To tell a great story, and write a killer synopsis, you must understand the
principles of story structure. A lucky few writers get this intuitively, but
most of us simply have to learn it.
Once your story has a solid structural foundation, it will be immeasurably
easier to write that synopsis. You simple transfer the organising structure
of your story onto the one page.
The synopsis may be an easier read if these elements are visible.

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NAMES

I won’t go into detail about how screen stories are structured, but on the
following pages, you can see how the acts may be laid out on the page.
In the first example, you see what I believe to be the act structure in

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Nightcrawler.
When I wrote the 1st draft of this synopsis, I was not concerned with its
structure. I just wanted to get the story down in no more than 15 words.
Therefore, it may or may not be coincidence that the acts are
proportioned exactly as 25% - 50% - 25%, which roughly corresponds
with the average proportion of successful feature films.
I am not a big fan of percentages, and as you know averages don’t exist.
That said, most of your synopsis should deal with the heart of the story,
which is located in Act 2.

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 Los Angeles, present day. Louis Bloom (25) is brazen and smart, but things haven’t quite

NAMES
worked out for him - yet. He struggles to make a living, as he can’t get a job, so he steals and
pawns, cuts fences, and sells them as scrap. One night he watches how a nightcrawler films
a gruesome accident, and he’s intrigued.

He pawns a stolen bike to swap it for a camcorder and a police scanner. Using the
scanner, he races to incidents in the area, and films. After ruining a shot for Loder, a
ACT 1
competing nightcrawler, he overhears Loder’s phone call and learns the value of the video
footage. He sells his footage for a disappointing $250 to Channel 6, where he meets with
news director Nina Romina, who explains to him exactly what it is they need.

The sale has given Lou a vision. He hires Rick, a young unqualified man, to read
directions, as Lou drives like a maniac to the scene of their next job. Rick makes a mistake,
and they arrive too late. Lou is furious.

Later, at the scene of a shooting, Lou manipulates images to show bullet holes, and he
films neighbours talking to the police. Nina uses the footage, despite her producer’s
objections.
ACT 2

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As his success increases, Lou coerces Nina into having dinner with him, threatening to
take his material to the competition. Over dinner, he shows that he wants more than a
professional relationship, and when Nina rejects him, Lou reiterates his threats.
Soon after, Loder beats Lou to a stabbing incident. In response, Lou cuts the brakes on
Loder’s van, and Loder crashes. At the crash site, Lou films how Loder chokes on his own
blood.

Later, Lou and Rick happen upon an armed break-in at a mansion. Lou sees two men
fleeing, he enters the house and films the bodies, as one victim is gasping for breath. Lou
delivers the graphic footage to Nina, and demands $15,000, as well as a verbal credit in the
news. Lou gets exactly what he asked for. When the police question him about the incident,
Lou withholds important details.

Lou and Rick track the killers, and follow them to a restaurant. When the scene is set, Lou
orchestrates the action by phoning the cops. Soon after, they show up, and the killers start
shooting. The cops respond, but one killer gets away.

Lou and Rick follow in an intense chase, ending in the killer crashing. Lou lies to Rick that
the killer is dead, and asks him to film, but Rick is shot dead by the killer. While Rick is dying,
Lou explains that Rick had compromised the operation before.

ACT 3
Nina is enchanted by the gruesome imagery, and refuses to surrender the tapes to the
police. When interrogated, Lou remains unmoved by Rick’s death, sticks by his lies, and is
free to walk.

Later. Lou has established Video Production News with vans and interns, whom he primes to
shoot “what people really want to see”.

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NAMES

It may seem tempting to follow this mathematically perfect example, but

the reality of writing synopses is somewhat different.
Before launching into the story, we need to set it up properly. And it’s just

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hellishly difficult to summarise a typical Act 1 in only 25% of the synopsis.
As a result, most synopses of well-told stories will show something closer
to the proportions on the following page, or roughly like this:

• Act 1: 30-40%
• Act 2: 50%
• Act 3: 10-20%

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 Los Angeles, present day. Louis Bloom (25) is brazen and smart, but things haven’t quite

NAMES
worked out for him - yet. He struggles to make a living, as he can’t get a job, so he steals and
pawns, cuts fences, and sells them as scrap. One night he watches how a nightcrawler films
a gruesome accident, and he’s intrigued.

He pawns a stolen bike to swap it for a camcorder and a police scanner. Using the
scanner, he races to incidents in the area, and films. After ruining a shot for Loder, a
ACT 1
competing nightcrawler, he overhears Loder’s phone call and learns the value of the video
footage. He sells his footage for a disappointing $250 to Channel 6, where he meets with
news director Nina Romina, who explains to him exactly what it is they need.

The sale has given Lou a vision. He hires Rick, a young unqualified man, to read
directions, as Lou drives like a maniac to the scene of their next job. Rick makes a mistake,
and they arrive too late. Lou is furious.

Later, at the scene of a shooting, Lou manipulates images to show bullet holes, and he
films neighbours talking to the police. Nina uses the footage, despite her producer’s
objections.
ACT 2

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As his success increases, Lou coerces Nina into having dinner with him, threatening to
take his material to the competition. Over dinner, he shows that he wants more than a
professional relationship, and when Nina rejects him, Lou reiterates his threats.
Soon after, Loder beats Lou to a stabbing incident. In response, Lou cuts the brakes on
Loder’s van, and Loder crashes. At the crash site, Lou films how Loder chokes on his own
blood.

Later, Lou and Rick happen upon an armed break-in at a mansion. Lou sees two men
fleeing, he enters the house and films the bodies, as one victim is gasping for breath. Lou
delivers the graphic footage to Nina, and demands $15,000, as well as a verbal credit in the
news. Lou gets exactly what he asked for. When the police question him about the incident,
Lou withholds important details.

Lou and Rick track the killers, and follow them to a restaurant. When the scene is set, Lou
orchestrates the action by phoning the cops. Soon after, they show up, and the killers start
shooting. The cops respond, but one killer gets away.

Lou and Rick follow in an intense chase, ending in the killer crashing. Lou lies to Rick that
the killer is dead, and asks him to film, but Rick is shot dead by the killer. While Rick is dying,
Lou explains that Rick had compromised the operation before.

ACT 3
Nina is enchanted by the gruesome imagery, and refuses to surrender the tapes to the
police. When interrogated, Lou remains unmoved by Rick’s death, sticks by his lies, and is
free to walk.

Later. Lou has established Video Production News with vans and interns, whom he primes to
shoot “what people really want to see”.

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NAMES
Cliffhangers
A great story evolves through the ebb and flow of setup and climax. Just
like the story has this structure, its acts and sequences function the same.
In other words: in a well-told story, at the end of each act, and at the end

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of each sequence you’ll have something of a cliffhanger.
If you are aware of this during the writing of the synopsis, it will make your
job easier.
Just like writing for TV is all about building from one act-out to the next,
writing a synopsis is essentially connecting the sequence climaxes.
On the next page, I have highlighted the sequence climaxes in
Nightcrawler.
If the text flows logically from climax to climax, you have a great synopsis!

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NAMES LOS ANGELES, PRESENT DAY. LOUIS BLOOM STRUGGLES TO MAKE A LIVING. HE CAN’T GET A JOB, SO HE STEALS AND PAWNS,
CUTS FENCES, AND SELLS THEM AS SCRAP. HE IS BRAZEN AND SMART, BUT THINGS HAVEN’T QUITE WORKED OUT FOR HIM -
YET. ONE NIGHT HE WATCHES HOW A NIGHTCRAWLER FILMS A GRUESOME ACCIDENT, AND HE’S INTRIGUED. HE PAWNS A
STOLEN BIKE TO SWAP IT FOR A CAMCORDER AND A POLICE SCANNER. USING THE SCANNER, HE RACES TO INCIDENTS IN THE
AREA, AND FILMS. AFTER RUINING A SHOT FOR LODER, A COMPETING NIGHTCRAWLER, HE OVERHEARS HIS PHONE CALL AND
LEARNS THE VALUE OF THE FOOTAGE.

HE SELLS HIS FOOTAGE FOR A DISAPPOINTING $250 TO CHANNEL 6, WHERE HE MEETS WITH NEWS DIRECTOR NINA ROMINA.
SHE EXPLAINS TO HIM EXACTLY WHAT IT IS SHE NEEDS.

THE SALE HAS GIVEN LOU A VISION, AND HE HIRES RICK, A YOUNG UNQUALIFIED MAN, TO READ DIRECTIONS, AS HE DRIVES
LIKE A MANIAC TO THE SCENE OF THEIR NEXT JOB. RICK MAKES A MISTAKE, AND THEY ARRIVE TOO LATE. LOU IS FURIOUS.

LATER, AT THE SCENE OF A SHOOTING, LOU MANIPULATES IMAGES TO SHOW BULLET HOLES, AND HE FILMS NEIGHBOURS
TALKING TO THE POLICE. NINA USES THE FOOTAGE, DESPITE HER PRODUCER’S OBJECTIONS.

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AS HIS SUCCESS INCREASES, LOU COERCES NINA INTO HAVING DINNER WITH HIM, THREATENING TO TAKE HIS MATERIAL TO
THE COMPETITION. OVER DINNER, HE SHOWS THAT HE WANTS MORE THAN A PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP, AND WHEN NINA
REJECTS HIM, LOU REITERATES HIS THREATS.

SOON AFTER, LODER BEATS LOU TO A STABBING INCIDENT. IN RESPONSE, LOU CUTS THE BRAKES ON LODER’S VAN, AND LODER
CRASHES. AT THE CRASH SITE, LOU FILMS HOW LODER CHOKES ON HIS OWN BLOOD.

LATER, LOU AND RICK HAPPEN UPON AN ARMED BREAK-IN AT A MANSION. LOU SEES TWO MEN FLEEING, HE ENTERS THE
HOUSE AND FILMS THE BODIES, AS ONE VICTIM IS GASPING FOR BREATH. LOU DELIVERS THE GRAPHIC FOOTAGE TO NINA, AND
DEMANDS $15,000, AS WELL AS A VERBAL CREDIT IN THE NEWS. LOU GETS EXACTLY WHAT HE ASKED FOR. WHEN THE POLICE
QUESTION HIM ABOUT THE INCIDENT, LOU WITHHOLDS IMPORTANT DETAILS.

LOU AND RICK TRACK THE KILLERS, AND FOLLOW THEM TO A RESTAURANT. WHEN THE SCENE IS SET, LOU ORCHESTRATES THE
ACTION BY PHONING THE COPS. SOON AFTER, THEY SHOW UP, AND THE KILLERS START SHOOTING. THE COPS RESPOND, BUT
ONE KILLER GETS AWAY. LOU AND RICK FOLLOW IN AN INTENSE CHASE, ENDING IN THE KILLER CRASHING. LOU LIES TO RICK
THAT THE KILLER IS DEAD, AND ASKS HIM TO FILM, BUT RICK IS SHOT DEAD BY THE KILLER. WHILE RICK IS DYING, LOU
EXPLAINS THAT RICK HAD COMPROMISED THE OPERATION BEFORE.

NINA IS ENCHANTED BY THE GRUESOME IMAGERY, AND REFUSES TO SURRENDER THE TAPES TO THE POLICE. WHEN
INTERROGATED, LOU REMAINS UNMOVED BY RICK’S DEATH, STICKS BY HIS LIES, AND IS FREE TO WALK.

LATER. LOU HAS ESTABLISHED VIDEO PRODUCTION NEWS WITH VANS AND INTERNS, WHOM HE PRIMES TO SHOOT “WHAT
PEOPLE REALLY WANT TO SEE”.

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5. Word count

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NAMES
Word count
A logline counts 25 words or less; a one-page synopsis, 500 words.
These limits are academic; unlike the proportions in the formatting of a
screenplay, there is no strict rule to how many words fit on a page.

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If you are using a standard 12 point font, you won’t be able to squeeze
much more than about 500 words on a page without ruining the layout. Of
course, if there is absolutely no way to convey your story in 500 words,
you use more. After all, clarity is the most important quality of any text.
You will also find that the more a story diverts from the mainstream, the
harder it may be to summarise it in one page.
In the examples, you will see that the synopsis for BE KIND REWIND
counts 553 words. It shows that word count is flexible, as long as you can
keep the text easily legible, while sticking to one page. Can you do this?
Try the exercise at the end of this eBook. The challenge is to reduce the
3-page summary from IMDb to a 1-page synopsis. You should be able to
do this reasonably easily without having seen the movie.

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6. Format

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FORMAT
Format
The synopsis’ format must support its readability.
This means that the font size must be as close as possible to 12 point.
You’ll find that 500 words fit easily on one page, provided you don’t add

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too much white space between paragraphs.
Depending on who you are writing for, you may be able to reduce the font
size a little, and add more white space.
Please note that I did NOT say add more words.
This is about readability, not about adding more detail.
If your synopsis is part of a larger document, you may or may not need a
page title, which gives you a little more room to play with.
In the following pages, I will show how you can vary the layout, depending
on how you structure the synopsis.

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FORMAT
Format examples
12pt - Act indents - In the first example I divided the text in 4, basically
following a 4-act structure (or Act 2 in two parts, if you wish). Each act is
indented, and when you don’t add blank lines, you can have a page title
as well. Swell!

! 12pt - Sequence indents - The second example has a hard line break
and indent for each sequence. This adds so much white space, that there
is no room left for a page title.
11pt - Acts with line breaks - In the third example we reduce the font
size to 11 point, which allows us to add a line break, and have a white line
between the acts. Because I don’t mind reading the smaller font, this is
my favourite layout.
11pt - Six Stages - In the final example, I follow a 6-stage layout. This
gives both sequences of Act 1 their own paragraph, as well as each
sequence in Act 3. The mid paragraphs show the first and second part of
Act 2.

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12 pt
NIGHTCRAWLER – ONE-PAGE SYNOPSIS

Los Angeles, present day. Louis Bloom struggles to make a living. He

can’t get a job, so he steals and pawns, cuts fences, and sells them as scrap.
He is brazen and smart, but things haven’t quite worked out for him - yet. One
night he watches how a nightcrawler films a gruesome accident, and he’s

act indents
intrigued. He pawns a stolen bike to swap it for a camcorder and a police
scanner. Using the scanner, he races to incidents in the area, and films. After
ruining a shot for Loder, a competing nightcrawler, he overhears Loder’s
phone call and learns the value of the video footage. He sells his footage for a
disappointing $250 to Channel 6, where he meets with news director Nina
Romina, who explains to him exactly what it is they need.
The sale has given Lou a vision. He hires Rick, a young unqualified man,
to read directions, as Lou drives like a maniac to the scene of their next job.
Rick makes a mistake, and they arrive too late. Lou is furious. Later, at the
scene of a shooting, Lou manipulates images to show bullet holes, and he
films neighbours talking to the police. Nina uses the footage, despite her
producer’s objections. As his success increases, Lou coerces Nina into
having dinner with him, threatening to take his material to the competition.
Over dinner, he shows that he wants more than a professional relationship,
and when Nina rejects him, Lou reiterates his threats. Soon after, Loder beats
Lou to a stabbing incident. In response, Lou cuts the brakes on Loder’s van,
and Loder crashes. At the crash site, Lou films how Loder chokes on his own
blood.
Later, Lou and Rick happen upon an armed break-in at a mansion. Lou
sees two men fleeing, he enters the house and films the bodies, as one victim
is gasping for breath. Lou delivers the graphic footage to Nina, and demands
$15,000, as well as a verbal credit in the news. Lou gets exactly what he
asked for. When the police question him about the incident, Lou withholds
important details. Lou and Rick track the killers, and follow them to a
restaurant. When the scene is set, Lou orchestrates the action by phoning the
cops. Soon after, they show up, and the killers start shooting. The cops
respond, but one killer gets away.
Lou and Rick follow in an intense chase, ending in the killer crashing. Lou
lies to Rick that the killer is dead, and asks him to film, but Rick is shot dead
by the killer. While Rick is dying, Lou explains that Rick had compromised the
operation before. Nina is enchanted by the gruesome imagery, and refuses to
surrender the tapes to the police. When interrogated, Lou remains unmoved
by Rick’s death, sticks by his lies, and is free to walk. Later. Lou has
established Video Production News with vans and interns, whom he primes to
shoot “what people really want to see”.
 Los Angeles, present day. Louis Bloom struggles to make a living. He

12 pt
can’t get a job, so he steals and pawns, cuts fences, and sells them as scrap.
He is brazen and smart, but things haven’t quite worked out for him - yet. One
night he watches how a nightcrawler films a gruesome accident, and he’s
intrigued.
He pawns a stolen bike to swap it for a camcorder and a police scanner.
Using the scanner, he races to incidents in the area, and films. After ruining a

sequence 
 shot for Loder, a competing nightcrawler, he overhears Loder’s phone call and
learns the value of the video footage. He sells his footage for a disappointing
$250 to Channel 6, where he meets with news director Nina Romina, who

indents explains to him exactly what it is they need.

The sale has given Lou a vision. He hires Rick, a young unqualified man,
to read directions, as Lou drives like a maniac to the scene of their next job.
Rick makes a mistake, and they arrive too late. Lou is furious.
Later, at the scene of a shooting, Lou manipulates images to show bullet
holes, and he films neighbours talking to the police. Nina uses the footage,
despite her producer’s objections.
As his success increases, Lou coerces Nina into having dinner with him,
threatening to take his material to the competition. Over dinner, he shows that
he wants more than a professional relationship, and when Nina rejects him,
Lou reiterates his threats.
Soon after, Loder beats Lou to a stabbing incident. In response, Lou cuts
the brakes on Loder’s van, and Loder crashes. At the crash site, Lou films
how Loder chokes on his own blood.
Later, Lou and Rick happen upon an armed break-in at a mansion. Lou
sees two men fleeing, he enters the house and films the bodies, as one victim
is gasping for breath. Lou delivers the graphic footage to Nina, and demands
$15,000, as well as a verbal credit in the news. Lou gets exactly what he
asked for. When the police question him about the incident, Lou withholds
important details.
Lou and Rick track the killers, and follow them to a restaurant. When the
scene is set, Lou orchestrates the action by phoning the cops. Soon after,
they show up, and the killers start shooting. The cops respond, but one killer
gets away.
Lou and Rick follow in an intense chase, ending in the killer crashing. Lou
lies to Rick that the killer is dead, and asks him to film, but Rick is shot dead
by the killer. While Rick is dying, Lou explains that Rick had compromised the
operation before.
Nina is enchanted by the gruesome imagery, and refuses to surrender the
tapes to the police. When interrogated, Lou remains unmoved by Rick’s
death, sticks by his lies, and is free to walk.
Later. Lou has established Video Production News with vans and interns,
whom he primes to shoot “what people really want to see”.
11 pt
NIGHTCRAWLER – ONE-PAGE SYNOPSIS

Los Angeles, present day. Louis Bloom struggles to make a living. He can’t get a
job, so he steals and pawns, cuts fences, and sells them as scrap. He is brazen and
smart, but things haven’t quite worked out for him - yet. One night he watches how a
nightcrawler films a gruesome accident, and he’s intrigued.

acts with

He pawns a stolen bike to swap it for a camcorder and a police scanner. Using
the scanner, he races to incidents in the area, and films. After ruining a shot for
Loder, a competing nightcrawler, he overhears Loder’s phone call and learns the

line breaks
value of the video footage. He sells his footage for a disappointing $250 to Channel
6, where he meets with news director Nina Romina, who explains to him exactly what
it is they need.

The sale has given Lou a vision. He hires Rick, a young unqualified man, to read
directions, as Lou drives like a maniac to the scene of their next job. Rick makes a
mistake, and they arrive too late. Lou is furious.
Later, at the scene of a shooting, Lou manipulates images to show bullet holes,
and he films neighbours talking to the police. Nina uses the footage, despite her
producer’s objections.
As his success increases, Lou coerces Nina into having dinner with him,
threatening to take his material to the competition. Over dinner, he shows that he
wants more than a professional relationship, and when Nina rejects him, Lou
reiterates his threats.
Soon after, Loder beats Lou to a stabbing incident. In response, Lou cuts the
brakes on Loder’s van, and Loder crashes. At the crash site, Lou films how Loder
chokes on his own blood.

Later, Lou and Rick happen upon an armed break-in at a mansion. Lou sees two
men fleeing, he enters the house and films the bodies, as one victim is gasping for
breath. Lou delivers the graphic footage to Nina, and demands $15,000, as well as a
verbal credit in the news. Lou gets exactly what he asked for. When the police
question him about the incident, Lou withholds important details.
Lou and Rick track the killers, and follow them to a restaurant. When the scene is
set, Lou orchestrates the action by phoning the cops. Soon after, they show up, and
the killers start shooting. The cops respond, but one killer gets away.

Lou and Rick follow in an intense chase, ending in the killer crashing. Lou lies to
Rick that the killer is dead, and asks him to film, but Rick is shot dead by the killer.
While Rick is dying, Lou explains that Rick had compromised the operation before.
Nina is enchanted by the gruesome imagery, and refuses to surrender the tapes
to the police. When interrogated, Lou remains unmoved by Rick’s death, sticks by his
lies, and is free to walk.
Later. Lou has established Video Production News with vans and interns, whom he
primes to shoot “what people really want to see”.
11 pt
NIGHTCRAWLER – ONE-PAGE SYNOPSIS

Los Angeles, present day. Louis Bloom struggles to make a living. He can’t get a
job, so he steals and pawns, cuts fences, and sells them as scrap. He is brazen and
smart, but things haven’t quite worked out for him - yet. One night he watches how a
nightcrawler films a gruesome accident, and he’s intrigued.

6 stages He pawns a stolen bike to swap it for a camcorder and a police scanner. Using
the scanner, he races to incidents in the area, and films. After ruining a shot for
Loder, a competing nightcrawler, he overhears Loder’s phone call and learns the
value of the video footage. He sells his footage for a disappointing $250 to Channel
6, where he meets with news director Nina Romina, who explains to him exactly what
it is they need.

The sale has given Lou a vision. He hires Rick, a young unqualified man, to read
directions, as Lou drives like a maniac to the scene of their next job. Rick makes a
mistake, and they arrive too late. Lou is furious.
Later, at the scene of a shooting, Lou manipulates images to show bullet holes,
and he films neighbours talking to the police. Nina uses the footage, despite her
producer’s objections.
As his success increases, Lou coerces Nina into having dinner with him,
threatening to take his material to the competition. Over dinner, he shows that he
wants more than a professional relationship, and when Nina rejects him, Lou
reiterates his threats.
Soon after, Loder beats Lou to a stabbing incident. In response, Lou cuts the
brakes on Loder’s van, and Loder crashes. At the crash site, Lou films how Loder
chokes on his own blood.

Later, Lou and Rick happen upon an armed break-in at a mansion. Lou sees two
men fleeing, he enters the house and films the bodies, as one victim is gasping for
breath. Lou delivers the graphic footage to Nina, and demands $15,000, as well as a
verbal credit in the news. Lou gets exactly what he asked for. When the police
question him about the incident, Lou withholds important details.
Lou and Rick track the killers, and follow them to a restaurant. When the scene is
set, Lou orchestrates the action by phoning the cops. Soon after, they show up, and
the killers start shooting. The cops respond, but one killer gets away.

Lou and Rick follow in an intense chase, ending in the killer crashing. Lou lies to
Rick that the killer is dead, and asks him to film, but Rick is shot dead by the killer.
While Rick is dying, Lou explains that Rick had compromised the operation before.

Nina is enchanted by the gruesome imagery, and refuses to surrender the tapes
to the police. When interrogated, Lou remains unmoved by Rick’s death, sticks by his
lies, and is free to walk.
Later. Lou has established Video Production News with vans and interns, whom
he primes to shoot “what people really want to see”.
!
7. Names
36
NAMES
Names
If the average screenplay has about 5 main characters and a dozen
supports, the average synopsis will only mention the main characters.
If you have many more than five, you’ll be struggling to keep them apart.

!
Typically they will all be set up in the first act, or the first half of the story.
After that, no new names should be introduced in the synopsis.
Significant characters after the mid point will mostly be named by their
function (e.g. the commander, the head mistress etc.). If you name a
character only once at the beginning of the story, and then again at the
end, it may also help to just use their function rather than their name (e.g.
‘mother’, rather than ‘Laura’).
On the following page, you will see how the Nightcrawler synopsis
mentions just 4 main characters by name (red); the others by function
only (green).

37
NAMES
LOS ANGELES, PRESENT DAY. LOUIS BLOOM (25) IS BRAZEN AND SMART, BUT THINGS HAVEN’T QUITE WORKED OUT
FOR HIM. HE STRUGGLES TO MAKE A LIVING; HE CAN’T GET A JOB, SO HE STEALS AND PAWNS, CUTS FENCES, AND
SELLS THEM AS SCRAP. ONE NIGHT HE WATCHES HOW A NIGHTCRAWLER FILMS A GRUESOME ACCIDENT, AND HE’S
INTRIGUED.
HE PAWNS A STOLEN BIKE TO SWAP IT FOR A CAMCORDER AND A POLICE SCANNER. USING THE SCANNER, HE
RACES TO INCIDENTS IN THE AREA, AND FILMS. AFTER RUINING A SHOT FOR LODER, A COMPETING NIGHTCRAWLER,
HE OVERHEARS LODER’S PHONE CALL, AND LEARNS THE VALUE OF THE VIDEO FOOTAGE. LOU SELLS HIS OWN
FOOTAGE FOR A DISAPPOINTING $250 TO CHANNEL 6, WHERE HE MEETS WITH NEWS DIRECTOR NINA ROMINA. SHE
EXPLAINS TO HIM EXACTLY WHAT SHE NEEDS.
LOU HIRES RICK, AN UNQUALIFIED YOUNG MAN, TO READ DIRECTIONS, AS LOU RACES TO THE SCENE OF THEIR

!
NEXT JOB. RICK MAKES A MISTAKE, AND THEY MISS THEIR OPPORTUNITY. LOU IS FURIOUS.
LATER, AT THE SCENE OF A SHOOTING, LOU MANIPULATES IMAGES TO SHOW BULLET HOLES, AND HE FILMS
NEIGHBOURS TALKING TO THE POLICE. NINA USES THE FOOTAGE, DESPITE HER PRODUCER’S OBJECTIONS.
LOU IS GAINING POWER, AND HE COERCES NINA INTO HAVING DINNER WITH HIM, THREATENING TO TAKE HIS
MATERIAL TO THE COMPETITION. OVER DINNER, HE SHOWS THAT HE WANTS MORE THAN A PROFESSIONAL
RELATIONSHIP. WHEN NINA REJECTS HIM, LOU REITERATES HIS THREATS.
LODER BEATS LOU TO A STABBING INCIDENT. IN RESPONSE, LOU CUTS THE BRAKES ON LODER’S VAN, AND LODER
CRASHES. AT THE CRASH SITE, LOU FILMS HOW LODER CHOKES ON HIS OWN BLOOD.
LATER, LOU AND RICK HAPPEN UPON AN ARMED BREAK-IN AT A MANSION. LOU SEES TWO MEN FLEEING, HE ENTERS
THE HOUSE AND FILMS THE BODIES; ONE VICTIM GASPING FOR BREATH. LOU DELIVERS THE GRAPHIC FOOTAGE TO
NINA, AND DEMANDS $15,000, AS WELL AS A VERBAL CREDIT IN THE NEWS. LOU GETS ALL HE ASKED FOR. WHEN THE
POLICE QUESTION HIM ABOUT THE INCIDENT, HE WITHHOLDS IMPORTANT DETAILS.
AFTER AN ARGUMENT ABOUT RICK’S FEE, LOU AND RICK TRACK THE KILLERS DOWN, AND FOLLOW THEM TO A
RESTAURANT. WHEN THE SCENE IS SET, LOU ORCHESTRATES THE ACTION BY PHONING THE COPS. THEY SHOW UP,
AND THE KILLERS START SHOOTING. THE COPS RESPOND, BUT ONE KILLER GETS AWAY.
LOU AND RICK FOLLOW IN AN INTENSE CHASE, ENDING IN THE KILLER CRASHING. LOU LIES TO RICK THAT THE
KILLER IS DEAD, AND ASKS HIM TO FILM, BUT RICK IS SHOT DEAD BY THE KILLER. WHILE RICK IS DYING, LOU
EXPLAINS THAT RICK’S ARGUMENT OVER HIS FEE PROVED THAT HE HAD BECOME UNTRUSTWORTHY.
NINA IS ENCHANTED WITH THE GRUESOME IMAGERY, AND REFUSES TO SURRENDER THE TAPES TO THE POLICE.
WHEN INTERROGATED, LOU REMAINS UNMOVED BY RICK’S DEATH, STICKS BY HIS LIES, AND IS FREE TO WALK.
LATER. LOU HAS ESTABLISHED VIDEO PRODUCTION NEWS WITH VANS AND INTERNS, WHOM HE PRIMES TO SHOOT
“WHAT PEOPLE REALLY WANT TO SEE”.

38
NAMES
Capitals
In a screenplay, capitals are used to flag the first appearance of a
character in description. After that, we use normal (mixed) case.
In the synopsis, there is no need to do this. In fact, it’s frowned upon.

!
Personally I don’t mind it, and if your story has more characters than
average, I would be happy if you capitalise.
But why not be creative. You’ll find other, better ways of making the
character introduction stand out in your synopsis.

39
!
8. Style

40
NAMES
Style
Before we can talk about the style of the synopsis, let me tell you that you
need to master your English properly.
I grew up with English as a third language, yet I dare say that my written

!
skills are better than some of the American, Australian and British writers
whose scripts I have (tried to) read.
Your synopsis must impress.
With only 500 words, there is zero margin for error. No typos. No
grammar malfunctions. No miss-spellings. Perfect punctuation. 

If you think that these things are only secondary to your story, think again.
I have worked with a senior Hollywood producer, who got very annoyed
by the incorrect use of its and it’s.
I would be, too. What use is a great story if the reader stops reading?
Poor language gives the reader an easy way out of your script.
So fix it.

41
NAMES
The 3 C’s
When you write a synopsis, it is paramount to keep in mind the 3 C’s,
which in my book are: clarity, concision, and colour.
The most important objective, is for the reader to ‘get’ it. A well-written

!
synopsis gives us the opportunity to assess the story it summarises. Even
if the story itself is not perfect yet, the synopsis needs to convey clearly
what it is about, so you can get proper feedback. Ideally, you don’t want
feedback on the synopsis itself. It needs to be transparent.
Next, you need to achieve this in the minimum amount of words.
Finally, you need to make their reading experience enjoyable. If you can
give the reader a flavour of the experience the actual project will give
them, you have done your job well.

42
#
9. Examples

43
NAMES
Be Kind Rewind
One Page Synopsis - From Distributor’s Press Kit
1/2
Jerry (JACK BLACK) and Mike (MOS DEF) are childhood friends living in Passaic, New Jersey, trying to make
ends meet. Jerry is the neighborhood mechanic and toes in a trailer near the power plant which he swears is

!
slowly killing him with its `microwaves.. Across the street, Mike lives and works in the local video rental store,
"Be hand Rewind,. struggling to keep the ailing business owned by his boss. Mr. Fletcher (DANNY GLOVER)
financially afloat and, physically, in one piece.
Mr. Fletcher, a huge fan of Jazz legend and local hero, Fats Waller, takes a hip to commemorate Fats' death,
leaving Mike in charge of keeping the store in order, which means keeping the accident-prone Jerry away from
the shop. Later that day, Jerry decides the time has come to once and for all sabotage the town's power plant
but he accidentally gets caught in an electromagnetic field. Jerry returns to the store the next morning,
contused and disoriented, and begins wandering the aides of the video store. Unknowingly, his magnetized
brain erases all the tapes forcing Mike and Jerry to concoct a plan to start "remaking. an the erased films the
townspeople want to rent in an effort for Mr. Fletcher to never find out The duo start by creating their own
version of Ghostbusters ler their loyal customer, Miss Faiewicz (MIA FARROW). The result is a complete and
user mess, but the ragtag filmmakers soon realize that in order for their ruse to work, they have to start
remaking as many films as they can to keep their customers happy.

44
NAMES
Be Kind Rewind
2/2
The next day, Mike and Jerry work at a fever pitch to create 20 minute versions of requested films, enlisting a
worker at the local cleaners, Alma (MELONIE DIAZ), to help them in their quest. Using a few Inventive camera
tricks and some 'special effects; they're movies become Instant town classics. Surprisingly, word of mouth
spreads about their hilarious "remakes" and the films become huge hits. Everyone starts coming in to request

!
their favorite films to be remade. As the demand for their tapes booms, so does the size of their crew. Other
people in the neighborhood start chipping in to re-envision various dramas, comedies, action films and even
animated classics. Mr. Fletcher returns to a store packed with people making their requests. At first, he is
hesitant to continue with the plan, but gives in to the boys and their ridiculous Idea.
Unfortunately, Hollywood hears of Mike and Jerry's "films" and lawyers seize all of their "movies.. Mr. Fletcher
is faced with the harsh reality that the store will shut down unless they think of a new plan to make quick
money. Mike and Jerry realize that instead of remaking other people's films, they should create their own
original movie. They decide on retelling the Ilfe story of their hero, Fats Waller, who was reportedly born in the
location where the shop now stands. Everybody in the neighborhood gets involved in the movie, which is
finished just before bulldozers are to level the shop. At the screening, the entire community cheers the film on
and it is a huge he. Mike, Jerry and Mr. Fletcher realize that the dream of immortalizing their hero had finally
come true and the tiny little store would attempt to continue living.

45
NAMES
Nightcrawler
Long Synopsis - From IMDb (for exercise only)
1/5
It's late at night in the city of Los Angeles. Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) has broken into a train yard to try and
break off a chain link fence. An officer approaches him and demands to see some ID. Lou keeps his cool and

!
shows it to him, and then he attacks the man and kills him. Lou later takes the broken up fence to a scrapyard
and sells the fence to the yard's owner while trying to negotiate a higher price. He then asks the owner if he is
hiring, since he can start immediately. He uses his motto, "If you want to win the lottery, you gotta have the
money to buy a ticket." The owner rebuffs him and says he won't hire a thief.
A few cop cars pass Lou on the road. He pulls over to see what they're investigating. A car is on fire, and
people are inside. A van of nightcrawlers - guys who record violent incidents at night for profit - pull up, led by
Joe Loder (Bill Paxton). Lou sees Loder filming while two men pull a woman from the vehicle. Lou approaches
Loder and asks about the job. Loder says it's a "flaming asshole of a job." Lou asks him if they're hiring and
Loder says no.
Lou steals a bike on the beach the next day and goes to pawn it off. The shop owner will only go as far as
$700, but Lou asks for $800 in store credit so he can get a camcorder and a police scanner. Using these, he
listens to reports of incidents in the area. He pulls up to multiple crime scenes and is told to leave by the police.
He manages to get good graphic footage of a man who was shot to death after a carjacking. The police turn
Lou and another nightcrawler away, the latter who angrily curses Lou out for ruining his shot. Lou follows the
man as he calls his employer and overhears how much the man is set to make off the footage.
Lou goes to the Channel 6 news station and meets news director Nina Romina (Rene Russo). He shows her
and another station producer, Frank Kruse (Kevin Rahm) the footage, with good shots of the man dead and
paramedics trying to revive him. Lou only makes $250 off the footage, despite trying to go way higher. He once
again tries asking for a job or an internship position to no avail.

46
NAMES
Nightcrawler
2/5
Lou steals a bike on the beach the next day and goes to pawn it off. The shop owner will only go as far as
$700, but Lou asks for $800 in store credit so he can get a camcorder and a police scanner. Using these, he
listens to reports of incidents in the area. He pulls up to multiple crime scenes and is told to leave by the police.
He manages to get good graphic footage of a man who was shot to death after a carjacking. The police turn

!
Lou and another nightcrawler away, the latter who angrily curses Lou out for ruining his shot. Lou follows the
man as he calls his employer and overhears how much the man is set to make off the footage.
Lou goes to the Channel 6 news station and meets news director Nina Romina (Rene Russo). He shows her
and another station producer, Frank Kruse (Kevin Rahm) the footage, with good shots of the man dead and
paramedics trying to revive him. Lou only makes $250 off the footage, despite trying to go way higher. He once
again tries asking for a job or an internship position to no avail.
Lou interviews a young man named Rick (Riz Ahmed) for an internship position, making it seem like he’s
heading some big news station. Rick is practically homeless and struggling to find work, and he has little
experience in this sort of field. Lou simply asks him if he has a phone with GPS, and Rick says yes. Lou hires
him on the spot and tells him he’ll get paid $30 a night.
Lou makes Rick read off directions to him as they go looking for incidents. Lou drives like a maniac and makes
Rick nervous. He accidentally gives him wrong directions, and they arrive to the scene of a home fire too late,
as paramedics have already wheeled the victim away. Lou is furious with Rick.
People are gathered around a shooting in a suburban home. Lou sneaks in through the back and into the
kitchen where he rearranges pictures on the fridge to focus on the bullet holes and a shot of the neighbours
talking to police. Nina loves the footage but Frank says it looks like Lou broke in. She still uses it.

47
NAMES
Nightcrawler
3/5
Eventually, Lou and Rick are able to get a lot of new footage of horrifying incidents (with headlines like “toddler
stabbed” and “drunk mom hits biker”), which Lou continues to sell to Nina. He gives her an impassioned
speech about how he’s come up with his business plan and how he has hoped to make a name for himself,
which seems to almost move Nina.

!
Lou stands by Nina when two anchors from her station are set to report on one of the incidents that Lou got on
camera. He mentions a Mexican restaurant and invites Nina to go with him. Nina declines, as she doesn’t want
to compromise their professional relationship, but Lou implies that he’ll stop giving her good footage if she says
no.
Loder finds Lou and offers him a spot on his team to deliver them some good footage. Lou turns him down,
even as Loder persists. However, Lou very firmly rejects him, to Loder’s anger.
Nina joins Lou at the Mexican restaurant. He makes it clear he wants more than a professional relationship but
she says this is just a courtesy date. He reminds her that the station is the lowest rated station in the area, and
she needs him just as much as he wants her.
Lou and Rick fail to arrive in time for another incident as Loder and his team beat him to the punch, leaving Lou
with weak footage of a stabbing in Corona. Nina is pissed at him. Loder’s coverage hits Channel 2 in all its
glory. Lou smashes his bathroom mirror in fury. He goes to Loder’s house and cuts the brakes on his van. This
later leads to Loder crashing the van into a pole. Lou and Rick arrive in time for Lou to film Loder being
wheeled away in a gurney, choking on his own blood.

48
NAMES
Nightcrawler
4/5
A big break comes when Lou and Rick happen upon a shooting/break-in at a large mansion. Lou sees two men
fleeing the scene. He enters the house and films the dead bodies in each room. One victim is on the ground
gasping for breath as Lou walks around him. He delivers the graphic footage to Nina, at which point he makes
a demand for $15,000 for the footage, and not a cent lower, and he also wants the anchors to give him credit

!
as Video Production News, and for him to be recognised as a credible news source. He makes it abundantly
clear to Nina that he’s calling the shots now. The anchors at the station report on the footage while Nina tells
them what to say.
Two detectives, Frontieri and Lieberman (Michael Hyatt and Price Carson), arrive at Lou’s door to question him
about the footage and if he saw the two men. He doesn’t give a clear description of the men but he tells them
that they were driving an SUV.
Lou brings Rick to catch the killers and phone the cops. Rick demands a raise if he’s going to keep tagging
along on these sorts of missions. He meekly asks for $75 a night when Lou states he could’ve gone higher.
Together, they find the killers and follow them to a restaurant. Lou phones the cops and says one of them has a
gun. Two cops arrive and enter the place. Two more show up, and the killers begin to shoot at them. The cops
shoot the larger killer dead while the other one gets away. Lou and Rick follow them in an intense chase. The
cop car is hit by another car. Another cop car catches up to the killer and they crash. Lou stops the car and
goes to get his shot. He tells Rick that the killer is dead. Rick goes to film the killer, only to find him alive and
with a gun. He shoots Rick three times before crawling out. The killer aims his gun at the cops and is shot
dead. Lou films his corpse and then films a dying Rick. Rick says Lou knew the killer was alive, and Lou
implies that he did this since Rick threatened to compromise this whole operation. Rick dies.

49
NAMES
Nightcrawler
5/5
Lou brings all of this to Nina, who is enchanted by all the gruesome imagery. Detective Frontieri comes to the
station and demands to have the footage as it is evidence, but Nina refuses to surrender the tapes. Frontier
later interrogates Lou, knowing he withheld information from them since he knew what the killers looked like.
Furthermore, he remains unmoved by Rick’s death, but he sticks by his word without flinching, and he is left

!
free to walk.
Frank approaches Nina and says the break-in at the mansion was really a drug robbery since there were
multiple bags of cocaine found in there. He says this is the real story but Nina is focusing on the car chase and
accident. Frank tells her she sounds like Lou, to which she replies that Lou has inspired them to reach higher.
Now, Lou has established Video Production News with news vans and three interns. He gets then ready with
their tasks, and adds that he won’t make them do anything he won’t do himself. With that, he guides them into
the night to snap more footage of what the people really want to see.

50
NAMES
Nightcrawler
500-Word Synopsis
1/2
Los Angeles, present day. Louis Bloom (25) is brazen and smart, but things haven’t quite worked out for him.
He struggles to make a living; he can’t get a job, so he steals and pawns, cuts fences, and sells them as scrap.

!
One night he watches how a nightcrawler films a gruesome accident, and he’s intrigued.
He pawns a stolen bike to swap it for a camcorder and a police scanner. Using the scanner, he races to
incidents in the area, and films. After ruining a shot for Loder, a competing nightcrawler, he overhears Loder’s
phone call, and learns the value of the video footage. Lou sells his own footage for a disappointing $250 to
Channel 6, where he meets with news director Nina Romina. She explains to him exactly what she needs.
Lou hires Rick, an unqualified young man, to read directions, as Lou races to the scene of their next job. Rick
makes a mistake, and they miss their opportunity. Lou is furious.
Later, at the scene of a shooting, Lou manipulates images to show bullet holes, and he films neighbours talking
to the police. Nina uses the footage, despite her producer’s objections.
Lou is gaining power, and he coerces Nina into having dinner with him, threatening to take his material to the
competition. Over dinner, he shows that he wants more than a professional relationship. When Nina rejects
him, Lou reiterates his threats.

51
NAMES
Nightcrawler
2/2
Loder beats Lou to a stabbing incident. In response, Lou cuts the brakes on Loder’s van, and Loder crashes.
At the crash site, Lou films how Loder chokes on his own blood.
Later, Lou and Rick happen upon an armed break-in at a mansion. Lou sees two men fleeing, he enters the

!
house and films the bodies; one victim gasping for breath. Lou delivers the graphic footage to Nina, and
demands $15,000, as well as a verbal credit in the news. Lou gets all he asked for. When the police question
him about the incident, he withholds important details.
After an argument about Rick’s fee, Lou and Rick track the killers down, and follow them to a restaurant. When
the scene is set, Lou orchestrates the action by phoning the cops. They show up, and the killers start shooting.
The cops respond, but one killer gets away.
Lou and Rick follow in an intense chase, ending in the killer crashing. Lou lies to Rick that the killer is dead,
and asks him to film, but Rick is shot dead by the killer. While Rick is dying, Lou explains that Rick’s argument
over his fee proved that he had become untrustworthy.
Nina is enchanted with the gruesome imagery, and refuses to surrender the tapes to the police. When
interrogated, Lou remains unmoved by Rick’s death, sticks by his lies, and is free to walk.
Later. Lou has established Video Production News with vans and interns, whom he primes to shoot “what
people really want to see”.

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The Hurt Locker
Baghdad, post-invasion. Staff Sergeant Thompson is killed by a remote-detonated improvised explosive device
(IED) and Sergeant William James (28) takes his place as the leader of an Explosive Ordnance Disposal
(EOD) unit. James joins Sunburn and Eldridge, who cover him while he works on dismantling an IED. During
their first mission, James refuses to send in a robot, and Sunburn and Eldridge are mad over his recklessness.
Despite his cold and distant attitude, James befriends a young Iraqi boy who sells DVD’s at the base. When

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the team is called to the United Nations building where a car is parked with a large bomb in the trunk, James
works on the bomb, ignoring Sunburn’s warnings about a few suspicious onlookers on the roof of a nearby
minaret. On the way back from a mission in the desert, the team come under enemy attack during a
conversation with British mercenaries, three of which are killed. Sunburn and James manage to shoot and kill
all of the snipers responsible for the attack.
On the next mission, at a warehouse, James discovers the dead body of the DVD boy. A bomb has been
planted inside the boy’s body. After completing the job, James forces the boy’s employer to drive him to the
boy’s house. There, he asks an Iraqi professor who killed the boy and planted the bomb but the man’s wife
kicks him out of the house and James returns to the camp, where he narrowly avoids repercussions.

James has become even more reckless, and during an impulsive mission, Eldridge is shot in the leg but the
team manages to kill two Iraqi bombing experts. The next day the DVD boy seems alive and well and James
was clearly mistaken. Eldridge is angry at James for his leg wound and he criticises James’ decisions.
With their tour of duty coming to an end, James has to remove a time-bomb strapped to the chest of an Iraqi
father who was sent to a checkpoint by the insurgents. James fails and runs before the bomb goes off. 

Back at home with his wife and little boy, James is bored. One night he confesses to the baby boy that there is
only “one thing” he really loves. James returns to Iraq for another year as part of an EOD team.

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10. Questions

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Questions from the webinar
1/2

Why not end the synopsis with an air of mystery?

Synopses are written for people who don’t have the time to read the full work before they form an opinion. You

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must include as much information as possible. The ending is a critical part of the work, so you must include it.
Can I write a new synopsis if I feel the script deviates from what I originally wanted?
You have to. Always make sure the synopsis reflects what you’ve written in the script, so keep them in sync.
What if I feel the synopsis can be better by changing the story? Should I rewrite the script?
Absolutely. See above: Always keep synopsis and script in sync. (See also above: “Development hell”)
Where do we read the synopsis of produced films?
The best source is the publicist, as a one-page synopsis is often part of the Press Kit.
Is there a different approach to a development synopsis vs. one for a script you’ve already written?
In the development synopsis, style is not so important. Once you are going to send it out, it’s got to rock!
What’s your attitude towards adjectives in a synopsis?
For the sake of brevity, you’ll naturally trim adjectives. But you can’t cut them all, as some are critical to the
character and/or story. Adverbs may be a bigger problem…

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2/2

What do you mean by character psychology? Can you give an example in a synopsis?
In the synopsis you must include three essential character aspects: their physicality, function/role, and

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psychology. If the latter contains a character weakness/flaw/need, this may relate to the theme. In the
“Nightcrawler” synopsis, I call Louis ‘brazen’, because he is bold and shameless. This quality determines
important actions.
You mentioned “thresholds” before. Can you please elaborate what that is?
These are the moments in the story where the character moves from one story stages into the next. Usually
this happens at the same time the character moves on psychologically.
What if you have written a surprise ending, do you include it in the synopsis?
Absolutely. If the surprise ending is strong, it will help sell the project/screenplay.
In TV writing, should we write a synopsis for the whole series and then another one for the episode?
It may be impossible - and unnecessary - to write a synopsis for the whole series. What matters more for a
series to work, is the characters that form the core cast. But yes, you do write a synopsis for each episode.
Do you know of any resources or authors that deal with non-linear stories?
You may want to check out Linda Aronson’s book Scriptwriting Updated.

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11. Finally

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Finally
I hope this eBook will continue to be a useful guide on your journey to
developing your projects, and marketing them.
I’f you’re still struggling with a question, it will be tempting google it.

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Instead, consider the problem yourself critically first. Can you get the
answer from looking at great synopsis examples? Ask yourself who you
are writing for, and what that person is looking for. This may solve it.
The best way of moving forward on your path is to practice, and listen to
feedback. Fail, and learn. As you gain experience, you will find your own
best way of summarising stories in different formats.
Until that point, follow the guidance of those who have gone successfully
before you. Read great synopses, ask yourself why they work.
I’m keen to hear your feedback. What did you think was useful in this
book, and what do you feel can be improved. Send me an email
([email protected]), and I will do my best to respond.
- Karel Segers

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Resources
• Logline It
• The Story Department
• Writers’ Development Kit

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• Writing the Novel Synopsis
• Nightcrawler ‘Plot Synopsis’ on IMDb

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ABOUT

KAREL SEGERS
Karel Segers wrote his first produced screenplay at age 17, and
has since worked in radio, television and film. Today he is a
consultant, writer and teacher. His lectures have inspired students
in Australia, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. His clients include
artists, corporations, as well as three Oscar-nominees. 

Karel is the founder of The Story Department and Logline It! and
he ranks among the most influential people for screenwriting on
social media.

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