

Thus, the synopsis tends to come much later in the screenwriting process.

Since your synopsis needs to cover your script from beginning to end, you can’t really write it until your script is finished. Then, by the time you write your script, you’ll feel much more confident in your story. 13 NBC, 1990-2011, the longest running legal drama to date. You can also strengthen that weak middle act and remove any lingering plot holes. 12 Law & Order (NBC 1997-2011), Ally McBeal (Fox 1997-2002), or Shark (CBS 2006-2008) for example. By the time you’re done writing it, you can determine if you should keep some characters or cut some out. Your treatment can, at least initially, be a good chance to throw some ideas at the wall and see what sticks. As I said before, you might craft the treatment before your script is even done. The third big difference between a script synopsis and treatment is when you write them. In the synopsis, each act–if you even write the synopsis by act–needs to be short and tied neatly together with a bow.ģ.) The Treatment Comes Before the Script Is Done, the Synopsis After If you end up adding dozens of pages to your treatment talking about each act, so be it. You can also segment your script into acts, starting with the opening scene and writing act by act until you reach the end. You can explore your story concept to the fullest, whereas with a synopsis, you get a few paragraphs, maybe a whole page, that can be dedicated to your concept. The reason for that is due to the level of detail you get to use in a treatment. Some treatments are only a page long, which would put them right on par with synopses.įor the most part though, it’s more common for your treatment to far out-lengthen your synopsis.Ģ.) You Can Go into a Lot More Detail with Your Treatment
TV PILOT TREATMENT EXAMPLE MOVIE
If your script is for a TV show rather than a movie, or if your movie is made-for-TV and shorter than average, then your treatment maybe 5 or 10 pages. That said, don’t feel like you have to write a 40-page treatment just because that’s what some other screenwriters do. Treatments give you more room to write, so they’re naturally longer.

It tells the whole story from beginning to end but in a breezy, brief, easy-to-read sort of way.
TV PILOT TREATMENT EXAMPLE SERIES
Remember, a synopsis is a short but succinct description of your plot, main characters, and fictional world. With every TV series pitch deck I work on, I have to get into the world of the show and live there for a bit. The synopsis is somewhere in between, as it’s longer than the sentence or two afforded to you by a logline, but it’s not 40 or 80 pages like a treatment. Okay, so now that I’ve laid out what a script synopsis and treatment are, I want to dive into the differences between these two pieces of writing.Īfter all, those differences are quite important, as knowing them will help you write stronger synopses and treatments.Ī logline is your shortest piece of writing related to your script, and the treatment is potentially the longest.
