Script Proposals and Writing a Synopsis

Introduction

Whether you wish to write scripts for film or television, you will need to produce a script proposal to be pitched to a production company so that they can decide whether they want to turn your script into a media product. Your proposal could be for a feature length film or it could be for a factual or factual entertainment programme. This could be reality TV shows such as I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here or even a quiz show like Family Fortunes. You may also wish to produce a script proposal for a fictional entertainment programme such as a BBC sitcom like Coupling or a drama like Sherlock and Downton Abbey.

When you know what your script proposal is going to be, you need to think about how you are going to present your idea to the people who you want to invest in it. Therefore, it is important to gather relevant research about the people you are pitching to as well as other scripts that are similar to yours. For example, if you are producing a script proposal for a period drama then it would be wise to research currently and previously existing period dramas. You can present your proposal in the form of a written report such as this blog post or perhaps create a verbal presentation backed up by other multimedia such as a PowerPoint. You may then be required to amend your proposal according to the brief you receive or the demands made by your client.
 

Script Proposal

The title of my proposed script is 'Details'. It is a crime drama inspired by the previous BBC drama Sherlock. I was taken by the idea of a character with such attention-to-detail and wanted to flip the dynamic so that the character with this ability was not working with the government but against them instead. I think that this change in dynamic is the unique selling point of the script. I had some concern that this idea could be seen as sensationalising criminals but my main character, John Mason, is a good person who has had his life and family taken away from him by the government and he only commits crimes when necessary in his pursuit of finding his family and taking his revenge. I want John Mason to be in his early 20s so I think that the lower range of the target audience will be of a similar age. The primary audience will therefore be people aged 18- 35 but it could very well appeal to other ages as well. The narrative would begin 6 years before the main story at the event when John’s father and older brother are taken by a government organisation called ‘Neptune’ whilst he watches. Once this has panned out, the story would shift to the present day where the main story takes place but flashbacks would be a feature in this narrative so by no means is this time line set in stone.

I think that my product would be best proposed as a series as the story is too broad to sufficiently fulfil as a one-off and the concept does not offer enough scope for progression into a serial. I think that this narrative will not only be entertaining but I hope that it also offers the potential for thought provocation regarding real issues such as media representation and the emphatic nature that is devoid from our perceptions of people. To communicate my product, I will create my characters based on a relatable level to my target audience including making them young and realistic. This also means that I will not overcomplicate the language of the product. This approach is similar to Sherlock upon which my idea was inspired because in that series, whilst the character is extremely clever, he still speaks in a way that an audience can easily follow. Whilst there is no intended message in this product, I have already mentioned the underlying societal portrayal that would be shown in the narrative. The back story of my main character could also be considered political as it displays government corruption.

The main character is John Mason. He is 22 years old and on the run from a government organisation called 'Neptune'. His mother left when he was young and when he was 16 years old, his father and older brother were taken by 'Neptune'. He has spent the past 6 years of his life, hiding from 'Neptune' whilst simultaneously trying to find out what happened to his family and why. My inspiration for this character came from 2 that I have seen previously on television. One of them is Benedict Cumberpatch's portrayal of the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, as I liked the way that he hid his emotion and shifting his character in dramatic ways whilst maintaining a piercing, interrogative glare. The other is Richard Armitage's portrayal of John Porter in the television action drama adapted from a novel of the same title, Strike Back by Chris Ryan. John Porter is a roguish ex-SAS soldier who goes off-the-rails in order to find out the truth about what happened to his dead friends for which he blames himself.

Another of the key characters in my drama, Matthew Connolly, was based on a concept that I have always been keen on in film and television works that I have seen previously. Matthew Connolly works for 'Neptune' as the personal assistant of the chairman but a later shift in the narrative reveals that he is John's long lost older brother who is trying to protect him whereas, up until this point, the audience would see him as John's enemy. This kind of plot twist has been featured many times in popular culture including the character of Mac in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Synopsis

John Mason is at home eating with his father and older brother until the father hears something outside. He goes to the window and quickly tells John to hide underneath the table. The house is then raided by armed men who take away John’s family as he watches. All he sees is a badge on their uniforms showing they are from ‘Neptune’.

6 years later, John is awoken by his alarm at midnight (Wouldn't it be nice - The Beach Boys). He leaves his ‘hideout’. We then see the title sequence. Afterwards, we hear John’s voice narrating over shots including a terrorism report, riots and people in a public place. He will be talking about the state of the world and introduce himself. We then re-join John as he walks through the streets, checking to make sure no-one sees him. He arrives at an industrial area and hides nearby with a pair of binoculars and a notepad. He takes notes on guards changing shifts and a man (Matthew Connolly) leaving his car and entering.

He thinks that he is seen and backs away so quickly that he stumbles and knocks himself out. We then cut to inside the facility where Matthew Connolly is asking for a progress report from a female scientist working at a computer. She says that it still isn’t working but she can’t do it without him”. Matthew says that they’ll have to find him.

Upon awaking, John finds that he has been lucky enough not to have been discovered. However, he now needs to walk back through the streets in broad daylight. He finds a discarded ‘hoody’ in a large garbage bin nearby and puts it on. He travels back to his ‘hideout’ and arrives to find it has been broken into. He uses his abilities for the first time in the series to notice who has been there before realising their still there. The light turns on and a shady man apparently from ‘Neptune’ says “Welcome back”.