Story Development

Our first conversation will be a story development conference during which we will discuss and clarify the basic idea you have submitted. Once we have completed this conversation, agreed on fees and signed a contract, we will write and deliver the synopsis.

The synopsis serves many purposes and contains many elements. Most importantly it sets the tone for the entire project. The body of the synopsis will create the setting, establish the major characters and chart the general story. Additionally, the synopsis will contain a logline whose purpose is to clarify direction and tone in one or two lines. A logline for the Godfather might read: The youngest son of a Mafia family revenges the “hit” on his father and becomes the new Godfather.

With the delivery of the synopsis, we will now have completed phase one. You may choose to continue or stop at this point.

Phase two is in effect a detailed map of where and when the story takes place and of course how the characters develop. At the end of this process, the narrative will be defined. Together we will have made crucial adjustments that will be reflected in the completed and delivered story outline. The length of the outline will depend on the complexity of the piece.

Remember at this juncture - before we move on to the step outline - you may again choose to continue or to abort the process.

The step outline is key to the success of the screenplay. The step outline contains a concise description of every scene in the movie. A typical movie has about 40-60 scenes. This is the last stage before we write the screenplay.

The screenwriter will use the step outline as a guide. However, some changes are possible during the process because screenwriting is a creative act. Consultations with the client will precede any major changes. In The Screenplay ,Ghostscribes has created for your information a complimentary introduction to the characteristics of a screenplay.

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