by

Mary Case

Writer and President/CEO of Audacious Productions LLC

I came across this process quite by accident, tried it out, and have been receiving such positive feedback and so many responses from writers, other producers, and even those elusive agents, that I have been asked to write an article on what exactly it is, how to achieve it and how to introduce it when used as a marketing tool. By the same token, I have been advised that the minute I share, I give away some of the exclusivity of the tool and may lose credit for it. I believe just the opposite. The exclusivity may have some value in some corners, but a new tool doesn’t become as great a tool, like a treatment, a logline, a tagline, etc., unless it achieves the status of common usage, so I believe I help myself as well as those who are interested by sharing. As for credit for it, heck, I’m a writer, of course I want credit, so this article should be sure that I get it. Right?

The process of creating and using a "Trailerized Script" for marketing came to me as I was completing yet another funding request package, and the funder asked if there might possibly be an easier way to get a feel for a script under consideration without having to take the time to absorb all the substance. A good question, one worth pondering. A logline, tagline or short synopsis is normally used for that, but it is a taste, not necessarily a feel. Not only that, it is meant to entice the reader into wanting more. They want more, so what do we give the interested party who wants more but really probably doesn’t want a whole script to try to absorb. Let’s face it, we are not dealing with director or actor and they are really the ones who will understand all the wonder and magic of the whole thing. We have someone who wants a FEEL for it.

Traditionally, of course, what comes next is a TREATMENT. But I’ve been hanging around this town for over 15 years now, and I still can’t accurately tell you what a treatment is. Can you? There are as many forms of treatment as there are people creating them. I have seen 20 page synopses, which is enough to make you just ask for the damned script. I have seen sliced and diced dialog without descriptor, scenes mixed in with synopsis, and the one that I recently and successfully sent to a well-known actor who now wants a whole script was a five page blatant and total pitch. (Hooray for our side!!) But that still is not a "FEEL" it is a TASTE. So, at the request of said original funder with a request, I put on the old thinking cap and gave it some serious, serious thinking time.

What I have come up with I feel very good about, so let me tell you what I do, it’s a pretty formulized thing, and if we want it to become an industry standard, we should try to stick with the formula. It will be easier to become generally accepted that way. And I will tell as I go, exactly WHY I did what I did and why I think it works so well.

The first step is to remember what makes a script magic. That’s following the basic rules of script writing, even if we modify them somewhat for our individual scripts. So for a quick refresher, here are some of those well-known rules.

• Sell hard on the first page. It used to be the first ten, then the first two, but with the surfeit of scripts out there, and the busy-ness of all readers, agents, producers, and other greenlighters, we now MUST hard sell the first page. Put the most potent scene in the entire script in front no matter what jig you have to dance to do so. Otherwise they may NOT read past that first page. Important to remember that.
• Introduce all characters in some way in the first ten pages, the audience doesn’t really like surprises even in they say they do. This one is hard sometimes and we have to be very creative to be sure we do it, when there are going to be surprise characters, but remember it is a hard and fast rule of screenwriting.
• Introduce (at the very least hint at) all conflicts in the first ten pages. Otherwise, no matter how exciting the concept, your reader or agent or prodco won’t know it’s there at the beginning and may not be willing to look further. Fickle, but true.
• Involve the reader/audience personally. To do that, you have to make characters that they want to like, be, or hate. Or all of the above, but they must feel a personal involvement.

There’s even more on the first ten pages of course, but you know that. So I start my TRAILORIZED SCRIPT by putting the entire first ten pages right behind a creative and colorful, even with graphics, cover page. You can’t do graphics and so forth in a script, but this isn’t really a script, so rule two is to be as creative as you want to on the cover page. Attention and feel is what we are after, so use that cover page. So to summarize thus far:

A. Creative Cover

B. First ten pages, exactly as written.

The next step is to write a one line connector. To let them know that the next scene is out of context, and not meant to fully satisfy the storyline, but to let them know you are giving them ONE of your most exciting scenes. Then do just exactly that. Be it love scene, action scene, death scene, surprise scene, horror scene, courtroom, back alley, or bed. Put in one of your most exciting scenes, especially if it further defines either a conflict, a character or two, or both. And as scenes are normally only ½ page to 2 pages, we will say this portion should be no more than three pages. The DEFINING SCENE goes in here. So, to further summarize the TRAILERIZED SCRIPT:

A. Creative Cover

B. First ten pages

C. Connector line (one line only, caps are fine)

D. Defining scene

The next step is to do another connector line, again just to let them know that they are now proceeding to the closing. These lines don’t have to be as if they are part of the script, they can be blatantly telling the person the next portion is… So we put another one of those here, and then put in the last five pages. As you know that is the second place where it really has to follow certain formulaic patterns. You have to wrap up any plot points not already covered. No loose ends. NO PLOT HOLES!! Audiences hate that. Even if you are leaving room for a sequel, you have to make the ending satisfying to the viewer and the reader. You also have to wrap the conflicts in resolution of some kind, even if that resolution is that it started a war, created a divorce, or the hero dies. It must be satisfying and it must feel complete. If you are really good, it will leave the reader wanting to read it again to be sure they didn’t miss anything because it is hauntingly on their mind and they want to know everything there is to know about it. And the viewer the same. In fact, think about what it is about some movies you own and watch over and over. Why do you? Can you somehow translate that to this script? If you can, do. So the final summary of the TRAILERIZED SCRIPT is as follows:

A. Creative Cover

B. First ten pages

C. Connector line

D. Defining scene

E. Connector line

F. Last five pages

Stop there, don’t add or subtract anything. If you send bio, logline, tagline, synopsis, treatment, letter, that’s fine, but they are a separate entity. This is your TRAILERIZED SCRIPT. So far, my reactions to it have been phenomenal. It has streamlined the funding process, and friends have told me it has streamlined and enhanced the marketing process where they have tried it with prodcos, readers, and agents. If they still want more… Hooray!!! If not, they may just go for that. The fact that your own actual script pieces are there is part of the validity factor. They have seen your actual script writing, felt the characters, absorbed the conflict, and seen the resolution. Everything you hope for with a full script, but with tender caring for their precious time. A win-win-win situation

Hope it works for you as well as it seems to be working for me.