The story behind script coverage: Synopsis

Continuing with our analysis of the "ICM Story Department -- Coverage Packet," today we look at Character Breakdowns:

1) TELL A STORY -- After reading the script, take a moment to decide what the story was essentially about. Your synopsis should not try to reproduce every detail; just the facts which the reader of your coverage will need to know in order to understand what's going on.
2) PRESENT TENSE -- The action should always be written in the present tense. If some o fhte story takes place in the past, then introduce the action with a phrase like: "Flashback to 1965". Then tell the 1965 action in the present tense. When that action is over, move ahead in time by using a phrase like, "Return to the present."
3) INTRODUCING PEOPLE AND PLACES --When a person or place appears in your synopsis for the first time, put his/her/its name in capital letters. For characters, give a brief physical description and whatever else needs to be said in order to establish his/her relationship to the story or other characters.
4) EXTRA DETAILS -- High quality synopses include key, non-essential details wherever such details will give the reader of the coverage a sense of the script's tone/style. This is not always necessary...but in subtler material, such extras may be essential.

Now we can really begin to see the agency's mindset by holding up a 'mirror' to certain key phrases and considering some of the assumptions in the description above. What can we learn?

* The first thing is to note how many principles we use -- as screenwriters -- script readers are told to use in their coverage: Tell a story; Present tense; Use capitalization when introducing characters; Script's tone/style. What does this suggest? That the script coverage is not merely a litany of story facts, but should reflect the feel of the script being covered. In other words, the coverage should come across like a mini-version of the script being covered.

* You've heard of novelizations, where a writer creates a short prose version of a script in novel form? What if we thought of script coverage as a "scriptilization?" Because that's what this doc is telling the script reader to do: Coverage should tell the script's story, be in present tense, intro and handle key characters, and convey the script's tone and style.

* Doesn't that strike you as a big challenge for the script reader? And this is precisely where your script meets a buzzsaw: Because some script readers are good writers and, therefore, up to the challenge, while other readers are not good writers, so their coverage can be more of a reflection of their writing than yours.

* That is simply a fact of life and on the face of it, it would seem like there's nothing you can do as a counteractive. But there is. It's up to you to supply the key elements of good writing in your screenplay so that even if the script reader isn't the most effective writer around, those core elements of your script are still communicated in the coverage.

* First and foremost, this is yet another good reason to focus on generating a great story concept. Even if reader is not the best at their 'scriptilization' of your screenplay, the underlying story concept -- if it's a strong high concept -- will be almost impossible to miss.

* Another way in which your good writing can cut through the coverage is with compelling characters. In coverage, you can't rely on characters' dialogue; instead you have to make sure that the characters' actions in the story are interesting and surprising. You can also do this: When you introduce your lead characters, provide a memorable one-line description of their core essence. If it's a good description, a script reader is likely to simply copy and paste your description into their coverage. For more on this subject, go here.

* One more way good writing can come through in coverage is through your story's major plot points. If you've crafted a strong story structure with -- again -- interesting and surprising plot shifts / points, then the script reader is likely to capture that in their coverage.

* Finally, if you are cognizant of and make good use of your Narrative Voice, a script reader is much more likely to convey that in the "Extra Details" of the coverage in terms of your script's tone and style. For more information on Narrative Voice, go here for an article I wrote for Screentalk magazine.

Those are some ways you can use good writing to 'control' the coverage of your script. What else can we learn from this part of the ICM doc?

* "After reading the script, take a moment to decide what the story was essentially about." If that sentence doesn't rattle your bones, I don't know what will. A moment? Story essentially about? This is what your 4-6 months of you working your fanny off writing 120 pages comes down to? What that means is two things: You'd better damn well know what your "story is essentially about" and that your story does a clear job articulating that.

* This is a great justification for you to spend time working and re-working your story's logline -- if you can craft a clean, clear logline, then you're likely in good shape in terms of your story's focus.

* It's also a great reason for you to spend time with your story themes -- listing them, thinking about them, how they interweave through the plot, the interplay of themes with and between characters. Again the more you understand how your story works, the more likely that a reader will in that "moment" grasp what your story is "essentially about."

* Another bone-chilling moment: "Just the facts which the reader of your coverage will need to know." This is more than just exposition (where you use dialogue to convey data, information, facts); this is about key aspects of who characters are, key actions they take, key plot points. Yet again, the more you understand what's going on in your story and convey that on the printed page, the more likely those "facts" will emerge in the coverage.

In summary, the key takeaway re this secion on synopsis is -- know your story! Because if you don' t know it and do a good job conveying it on the page, you can't expect a script reader to distill it and its core narrative elements in an effective way.