Screenplay Coverage

A How-To Guide

INTRODUCTION

Everyyearthousandsofnewscreenplaysandbooksarewritten.Notsurprisingly,fewpeoplehave
thetimetoreadallthematerialsubmittedtothem.Eveniftheworkisbrilliantitmayormaynot
bewhatthefinancier,director,actor,orproducerislookingfor.Hencemostpeoplehirereaders
tovetthemassivemoundsofmaterial.Readerswillreviewthematerial(e.g.
book/screenplay/article/play/treatment)andtypeupa34pagedocumentcalledcoveragethat
summarizesthestoryandoffersanopinion.

Ifareadersaysascreenplayislousy,thereislittlechanceitwillgoontothenextstep.Ifareader
saysascreenplayisgood,thatscripthasonlycrossedthefirstofwhatwillbemanyhurdles.

Becauseascreenplayisonlyablueprinttoafilm,areadermustbeabletovisualizethemoviein
his/hermind.Mostscriptsarentperfect,anditsthereadersjobtorecognizepotential.

Coveragehasaformalstyleandformat.Itconsistsoffivedistinctparts:
1.
Aheaderstatingthebasicssuchastime,setting,whosentthematerial,andwhat
isitspurpose.Eachcompanyandagencywillhavetheirownheader.
2.
Loglineonelinesummaryoftheplot.
3.
CommentSummaryaonelinesummaryofyouropinion.
4.
Synopsissummaryofthemajorplots,charactersandactions.
5.
Commentsanopiniononwhetherornotthismaterialisworthpursuing.

You evaluate the Project and

the Writing separately. You

choose either Pass, Consider or
THEHEADER
Recommend in each category.

Form: screenplay, stage

play, book, treatment.
PGS: number of pages

Status: Either a SPEC (which

means you can purchase this
material) or SAMPLE
(meaning the script is already
taken but the writer is looking
for a new gig with you).

Elements: Mention anything like a director or

Sub: Means submitted so either Submitted to (the executive at

talent being attached, partial financing, etc

your company) or Submitted by (the agent and their agency who
This will be on the cover letter submitted with

sent it).
the screenplay. If you dont know, put N/A

LOGLINE
Theloglinetellsthestoryinoneortwosentences.Itsitsatthetopofthecoveragepageand,
consequently,isthefirstthingonelooksat.Itsonlyafterreadingtheloglinethatanexecutiveor
anagentwilldecidewhetherornothe/shewillreadfurther.Inshort,theloglinecanhelpsellor
buryascreenplay.

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Prepared by Karen Loop

Page 2

Learninghowtowritegoodloglinesisanimportantskill.Notonlyisitcrucialforcoverage,but
alsoitwillhelpyoulearnhowtopitchyourideasquickly.

Whenwritingaloglinedontmentionthecharactersbynameorgivespecificdetails:painttheplot
inonebroadstroke.OnlyusenamesiftheyarerecognizablesuchasBatman,Jesus,MuhammadAli.
Almostanyscreenplay,evenanepic,canbereducedtoonesentence.Forexample:Anegotistic
SoutherngirlsurvivestheCivilWarbutfinallylosestheonlymanforwhomshecareswouldbe
appropriateforGONEWITHTHEWIND.

COMMENTSUMMARY
Thisisthebottomline.Inonesentence,orperhapsjustafewchoicewords,telluswhyyouare
passingorconsideringthematerialathand.Keepitshort&sweetandmakesurethestatementis
supportedinyourcommentssectionatthebottomofthepage.

SYNOPSIS
Theactualsynopsisofascreenplayshouldbefromonetotwopageslongandshouldbrieflyretell
thestory.Editorializingshouldbekepttoanabsoluteminimumhere,justtellthestory.

Beforeyoustartwriting,thinkabouttheauthorstheme,aswellasthemoodandstyleofthepiece.
Makesureyouhavetheentirestorylineinyourmindbeforeyoustartsothatyoudontwindup
writingtoomuch.Manytimesanovicereaderwillspendthreequartersofhis/hersynopsisin
settingupthestory,onlytorealizehe/shehastocoverthesecondandthirdactsinaparagraph.

Evenifthescreenplayisdull,yoursynopsisshouldbelivelyandentertaining.Carefullychoosean
openingsceneforyoursynopsis.Thismaynotalwaysbetheonethatstartsthescreenplay.Use
adjectivesandadverbsthatcapturetheexcitementandthetoneofthepiece.Lively,dynamic
phrasing,variedsentencestructure,andrevelatoryadjectivesarethemarksofagoodsynopsis,as
opposedtotheplodding,colorless,clichriddenstyleofapoorone.

Generalrules:
1. Writeinthethirdperson.
2. Usepresenttense.
3. UseCAPITALLETTERStointroduceacharacter,andthengotolowercase.
4. Introduceacharacterwhenhe/shebecomesrelevant.Ifahomelessbumsitsoutsideofthe
711intheopeningscene,butdoesnttakeactionuntilthethirdact,introducehiminthe
thirdactandthencallattentiontothefactthathewaspreviouslyplanted.(e.g.ABUM,
whowenoticedintheopeningscene,picksupaknifeand).
5. Spendsometimedescribingyourleads(age,appearance,characteristics).
6. Onlyuseonenameforeachcharacter.SoDan,Danny,Mr.BonaduceallbecomesDAN.
7. Avoidlargeblocksoftextusewhitespace.
8. Includeallmajoractionbeats&emotionalturningpoints
9. Spelling&grammarcount!

COMMENTS
Thefinal,perhapsmostimportant,partofscreenplaycoverageisthecommentspage.Itisalsothe
mostfun.Inthissectionthereadergiveshis/heropinionofthescreenplaycovered.Itshouldbe
clear,concise,anddoesntequivocate.

Coverage Guide
Prepared by Karen Loop

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Asageneralrule,beginandendthecommentsummarywithabottomline.Intheheaderwhenit
askedforyouropinionofthescreenplayandthewriter,youhavesaid,Pass,Consider,or
Recommend.Thisisthesectioninwhichyoubackupyourstatements.

(Pass=nooneelseneedstoreadit;Consider=worthasecondlook;Recommend=itshouldgoall
thewaytothetop).

Youareevaluatinghowwellthematerialworksasafeaturefilmandhowwelltheauthorhas
succeededatwhathe/sheattemptedtodo.Commentsshouldaddressthestrengthsand
weaknessesofthematerial,plot,characters,dialogue,structure,toneandpremise.Youarenot
tellingthewriterhowtorewritethematerial,justpointingoutstrengthsandweaknesses!

Specificpointstoconsider:

STORYLINE

Arethedramaticstakeshighenoughforafeaturefilm?

Isthisanoriginalidea?Oratwistonanoldidea?
Isthereconflictandrisingtension?Orisittiredandderivative?

Isthestorylinewelldevelopedw/relatedsubplots?Doesitmaintainitsfocus?

Doesthestoryworkwithinitsgenre?

Doesthestructurecomplementthestory?

CHARACTERIZATIONS

Dothemaincharacterschangeandcompletetheirarcs?
Arethecharacterslivelyandcompelling?Oraretheyclichanddull?

Aretherelationshipsbetweencharactersconsistent?

IsthestorytoldfromtherightPOV?

DIALOGUE

Isthedialoguerealisticandinteresting?Orisitmundane?

Doactionspropelthescenesorlongspeeches?

Dothecharactersspeakwithspecificvoices?

Arethevisualsinterestingordoesitdependtooheavilyondialogue?

Attempttobeginyourcommentswithanoverallstatementaboutthematerialandthenmoveonto
morespecificpoints.

Therearethreetypesofcommentswhichareespeciallynothelpful:

1.TheAllPurpose:Thisiswherethereaderdismissesthestoryinafewstocksuperficial
phraseswhicharesogenerictheymightapplytoanypieceofmaterial.Ittellsusnothing.

2.ThePreJudging:Herethereaderclosesthedooronastory,despiteadmittedmerits,
becausethereaderdecides,withoutsufficientanalysis,thathe/shejustdoesntlikethepremise.
Thisbringsupapointofutmostimportance:everystoryshouldbegiventhebenefitofthedoubt.

3.TheFenceSitting:Thisiswherethereaderisafraidtocommittothematerialoneway
oranotherandwindsupgivingthesameemphasistostrongpointsandweakpoints.Without
expressingafirmopinioneitherway,thereaderhasfailedathis/herjob.Bedecisive!

Coverage Guide
Prepared by Karen Loop

Page 4

Generalrules:
1. Neverwritethecommentsinthefirstperson(e.g.Ithink,Ifeel)!
2. Committoapositionandthenbackitup.
3. Bespecificinyourreview.Avoidgenericphrase.Useexamples!
4. Avoidsuperlativeslikebestorworst.
5. Reviewthematerialathand.Dontlambastethewriterand/ortalentattached.
6. Donttrytofixthescreenplay.
7. Alwaysstartthecommentsonanewpage.(Oftenexeswillripitoffandnotshowthe
author).

Ifyoudontlikethescript,giveconcretereasonswhyyouarepassing.Inalllikelihood,someone
maypassonthematerialhavingonlyreadyourcoverage.Givethemalotofammunition.Whyis
thematerialbad?

Ifyoulikethematerial,becomplimentarybutpointoutsomeobviousflaws.Again,useexamples.

Coveringscreenplaysneednotbeconsideredaheinouschore.Itisoneofthefewjobswherein
peopleofpoweraskforyouropinionandactuallylistentowhatyouhavetosay.Ifyouarelooking
foranIndustryjob,coveragesamplesaremandatory.Itfact,wellwrittensamplescanbemore
powerfulthanyourresume.

STANDARDPRODUCTIONCOMPANYTEMPLATE: