As an intern or assistant in the entertainment industry, one of your major responsibilities is to read submitted material, synopsize the story, and objectively evaluate the property as a potential motion picture. The goal is clean, readable coverage that gets to the point. Synopses should be good, short fiction – a retelling of the story in present tense. Comments should make an argument for or against the material, and include both its strengths and its weaknesses. In addition, be sure to note the writing capabilities and potential demonstrated in a particular script even if the screenplay is weak.
COVERAGE TOP SHEET:
On the coverage template, fill in any and all information that you know about the script. If you don’t know something, it’s okay to leave it blank.
TITLE:
FORMAT (screenplay, book, treatment, etc.):
AUTHOR:
PAGES:
TIME (that the story takes place):
LOCATION (of the story):
SUBMITTED BY (who gave us the script):
SUBMITTED TO (exec the script was submitted to):
GENRE:
ANALYST (your name):
ELEMENTS (any attached talent):
DATE (that you wrote the coverage):
LOGLINE:
Write a 10-25 word single-spaced sentence, or log-line, describing the basic concept of the material. Example:
A young boy befriends an extra-terrestrial stranded on Earth, and helps him search for a way home.
SHORT SUMMARY:
Write a short, single-spaced summary of the material. This should be no longer than four sentences. Example:
Lonely ELLIOT (12), living in a broken home, finds a strange, but friendly alien, E.T., in his backyard. Elliot takes the stranger in and quickly befriends him, hiding him from his mother, brother, and sister. As Elliot realizes E.T. is stranded on Earth and needs to find a way home before he dies, Earth authorities track the little alien to Elliot’s house. With the help of his siblings and the neighborhood kids, Elliot rescues E.T. from the authorities and ushers him to an awaiting space craft that flies him home after a tearful goodbye.
SYNOPSIS:
Following the coverage top sheet should be a two-page, double-spaced synopsis. With some exceptions (notably long novels or structurally complex screenplays), two pages is fully adequate. You don’t want it to be too lengthy, but you do want to get in everything that you feel is important about the story.
The synopsis should convey the tone of the story as well as include all pertinent facts and incidents. Be certain to write your synopses in the present tense. Remember, you are writing a piece of fiction based on the materials, and must reflect the story as clearly as possible. Pay attention to major plot-points and twists, and leave out minor exchanges and scenes that don’t impact the plot or aren’t necessary in conveying the story.
Please be certain to proofread your work for spelling and grammatical errors.
COMMENTS:
Your analysis/comments should follow the synopsis. Your comments should be single- spaced and range from one half to a full page, depending on what is required for a full, objective evaluation of the material.
While your comments will vary widely in response to the material under analysis, the following points should always be addressed:
CONCEPT – Is this a strong concept? Is the concept strong but its execution weak? Or is the concept uninspired, but the script well-written, with strong dialogue and characters? If the material lacks a strong central conceptual hook, what other elements (action, comedy, hardware and so forth) does it have that indicate it will be a commercially strong movie? Are there any other successful Hollywood movies that have used these elements effectively? And lastly, is the concept right for Imagine? Keep in mind the kind of movies Imagine makes, and the ones we’ve already made (i.e. Imagine probably wouldn’t be interested in another kidnapping thriller, based on RANSOM, but if the script is well-written, the writer may be worth taking at look at.)
CHARACTERS – Is the hero sympathetic and motivated? Does he/she go through an emotional or physical change during the course of the story? Does he/she have courage to overcome obstacles? For whom can we root? From which character’s point of view is the story told? And, if any roles are easily castable, that’s a definite plus to mention.
RELATIONSHIPS – What form do they take (friends, lovers, enemies) and how well do they work and change? Discuss the dynamics (movement) and believability of the relationships.
JEOPARDY – What’s at stake in the story? Is the threat significant and real? Do we care for that which is threatened? Does the jeopardy propel the story forward (how) and does it add suspense?
HUMOR – Humor is always welcome. Discuss its function and effectiveness as well as its source/type (sight gags, one-liners, slapstick, etc.). See special notes on COMEDIES.
DIALOGUE – Does the dialogue match the character’s age and type? Is it stilted, mere exposition and lengthy, or hip, witty and humorous? Do characters talk on- the-nose, or with depth and subtext?
STRUCTURE – Does the pacing of plot events build effectively to one or more climaxes? Do any subplots reflect thematically on the main plot? If there are flashbacks; how successful are they?
COMMERCIALITY – Commercially, what are the weakest aspects of this material? Are these weaknesses significant? When evaluation the potential commercial appeal of material, pay special attention to current or growing fads as well as trends that have peaked.
AUDIENCE – Who is the audience for this film and what segment of the movie- going public will pay to see this movie? Example: Kids under 12, sophisticated adults, teens. Make special note of the materials written for kids, but sophisticated enough for adults to enjoy as well.
WRITER EVALUATION – In your comments, please include an evaluation of the screenwriter’s ability. This will help us to better keep track of emerging talent.
Overall, you must ask yourself if you can visualize the material, and if the screenplay will make a movie you would like to see. Then, it is your job to clearly and concisely convince us of the answer to this question: Why should we or should we not consider making this film?
RECOMMENDATION:
The final piece of the coverage is your recommendation. Please type your rating in capital letters beneath the comments. Use one of the following:
PASS – A pass rating indicates that the property is not recommended for development.
CONSIDER – This rating indicates that, with work, this property has the potential to be developed into a film. When giving a consider rating, be sure to explain in your comments why this is something to be considered for a closer look, and how it may be improved.
**Any desired qualification may be added after the rating code, such as: PASS (but consider concept as a springboard for an action-comedy), or PASS on script, but CONSIDER writer.