GlossaryDocuments & drafts
Synopsis
A synopsis is a brief prose summary of a screenplay's story, usually a paragraph to a page, that captures the premise, the main characters, and the arc through to the ending. Unlike a logline it includes the resolution, and unlike a treatment it stays high-level rather than scene-by-scene.
A synopsis sits between the logline and the treatment in length. It gives a reader the full shape of the story (including how it ends) without the scene-level detail of a treatment.
Synopses are requested by contests, agents, and production companies as a quick read to decide whether to request the full script. Because it reveals the ending, a synopsis is an internal sales tool, not marketing copy.
Sam, a diner owner buried in debt, keeps a stranger's abandoned cash. As the owners close in, she uses the money to save the diner, then burns it to the ground rather than hand it over, walking away free and with nothing.