How to Write a Film Synopsis
A synopsis is a one-paragraph (5–8 sentence) prose summary of your film: who, what they want, what's in the way, how the conflict grows. It's written in the present tense and without decoration. It differs from a logline because it lets you feel the direction — it hints at the ending without telling it scene by scene. It's the standard document for competitions, funding applications, festivals and production packages.
Synopsis, logline and treatment
- Logline: one sentence. What you use to tell someone about the film for the first time (who, when what happens, for what, despite what).
- Synopsis: one paragraph (5–8 sentences). It gives the main conflict and the direction; it's the document applications ask for.
- Treatment: scene-by-scene prose (1–3 pages for a short). It shows the whole flow, ending included.
- The three are the same story at different scales — one doesn't replace another.
How to write it
First introduce the hero with a single tag ("the town's only butcher"). Then write the event that starts the story. Next show what the hero wants and what stands in the way; escalate the conflict in a sentence or two. In the last sentence, hint at the ending — don't give the answer, let the direction be felt.
Length and language
- 5–8 sentences, one paragraph. For a feature, keep it under a page.
- Present tense, third person: "Cemal opens his shop", not "had opened".
- Events, not adjectives: not "a heart-wrenching journey" but what actually happens.
- Don't list every supporting character; tell the main fight.
Wrong / Right
"First Cemal opens the shop. Then a customer comes. Then his son comes. Then they argue. Then he closes the shop." — That's a chronology; a synopsis is a dramatic flow: want → obstacle → escalation → confrontation.
Cemal, the town's only butcher, loses his customers one by one to a giant supermarket that opens across the street. As he fills the day behind his empty counter, his son Emre comes to help; Cemal tells him there's no work, but the boy starts cleaning the glass anyway. Late in the afternoon, while Cemal teaches his son to zero the scales, the vest of the supermarket across the road slips out of Emre's bag. Cemal sees it and says nothing; he only asks how much they pay. At night, as the shutter comes down, father and son part without a single word for each other. Cemal goes back into the dark shop and puts the vest his son forgot into the drawer where he keeps his knives.
Checklist
- Is it 5–8 sentences, one paragraph?
- Present tense and third person?
- A dramatic flow rather than a list of scenes?
- Is it telling a single main conflict?
- Is the ending hinted at — without being announced?
- Concrete events instead of fancy adjectives?
Download as Word and PDF
Open the Word version and write straight over it; the PDF looks the same on every device and prints as it is.
Frequently asked questions
A short synopsis is 5–8 sentences, roughly 120–200 words. Some applications also ask for a "long synopsis", which usually stays within a page. If the guidelines set a limit, follow it.
In a short synopsis the ending is hinted at, not spelled out — the reader should stay curious. Some funding and development applications want the ending stated clearly; if it's asked for, write it. A treatment always includes the ending.
Close, but not the same. A summary lists events; a synopsis shows the dramatic structure: the hero's want, the obstacle, the escalation and the confrontation. From a synopsis the reader should understand what kind of film it is.
Prepare a short (one paragraph) and a long (one page) synopsis and keep them in one file. Add your logline, the film's credits and, if you have them, 3–5 stills — that's the package most applications ask for.
You can try it without an account; you'll need one to save and download what you write.
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Last updated: September 27, 2026