All my attempts at One Pagers simply STINK. I can write a compleling screenplay, but boiling it down to a one pager is (so far) beyond me.
Maybe this is just a scream into the void, but can someone show me a great one pager? The templates don't seem to help at all.
Thanks to anyone with any insights.
Problems turning a 100-page script into a synopsis was a problem for me, too. Worse, the standard of how long a synopsis should be seems to change by the day. Mine ended up long (because an Oscar-winning producer told me he liked 3-5 page ones), but when I pitched everybody else more often than not I was told that a synopsis should be no more than one page or even a half a page.
So, I ventured over to https://chat.openai.com to see what happened if I told them to shrink my material. (Because I was dealing with my own copyrighted material, I am not nervous about using AI. It's everybody who might use AI on my copyrighted material, to get around paying me, who can be nervous.)
Anyway... at chat.openai.com I entered this query:
___________________________________________________
For this series of chats, I will provide you with a story treatment that is
over 1500 words, and I would like that cut in half. Understand?
___________________________________________________
In terms of shrinking the material, it did a pretty good job for about 10 seconds' work.
And I figured out how it did it: The AI shrank what it determined was my first act by 50 percent, the third act by the same, and almost dropped my second act completely by reducing it to just a few sentences. The thing actually read pretty well, and I used that version to one particular producer I was pitching who made the short synopsis requirement. (Never heard back, but what else is new.)
So, presuming you have an existing synopsis (or one-pager) try that trick, with or without AI. After all, you're not some cheater looking to copy somebody else's work; it's using AI (like you would a spell-checker or grammar-checker) to improve your own stuff.
I appreciate it Steve. I wish I wasn't the most anti AI person I know. lol. I might give it a go though.
Thank you. :D
In the hands of rights-holders, AI is just a tool, like a word processing spellchecker.
In the hands of cheaters, or wannabes who don't know how to write a line of dialogue or description, it's another story. The law is clear: You can't "copyright" AI-generated material. And nobody copyrights one-pagers anyway.
In your case, Michael, don't let yourself miss an opportunity just because you're spending days trying to write a one-pager or synopsis.
Interpreting the consequences of using AI is a bugaboo though. Here's my worst scenario:
I publish all of my scripts on Amazon.com as eBooks. Never had any problems. Then Amazon adds a new profile section to their eBook publishing screens, even to existing publications. Where I change a few words in one of my existing published works, when I try to save it Amazon asks if I "used AI in the production of this work".
Well, what's AI, in their definition?
To them, it seems, using Google Translate is AI.
Well, in a few scripts, I used Google Translate to translate my original English dialogues into Italian or German. Bang. I now had to say that "AI was used" in those scripts. Worse, the AI section on the Amazon screen has two other options to be filled in: Graphics and Text Descriptions - along with Translations. The thing is, all I did with my scripts was the Translation part (as if we called Google Translate "AI" in 2010!), but on the Graphics and Text sections there's no "None" option! In admitting the Translation choice, I had to select "One or a few" or "Minor" in the Graphics and Text options. Without picking those, I couldn't save the changes. In other words, they force me to LIE!
Computer programmers, as I am, or CJ Walley who designed this ScriptRevolution site, know exactly what mistake Amazon's programmers made when they concocted this AI section on their publishing pages.
So, this AI thing is a real mess when even big shots like Amazon don't know what they're doing. So at least we should use it on our OWN material if there's some advantage to it. No doubt, we'll be a lot more conscientious about our use of it than the cheaters and unskilled wannabes.
EDITED SECONDS LATER: Sheesh, I just went into one of my eBook profiles on Amazon.com and... they've recently added a "None" option to the lists I mentioned! I guess they were bombarded with complaints, and I now have about a dozen script profiles to go back into to change.
Oh, last point on those few long synopses that I used ChatGPT to massage into something shorter: Of course I had to read every word that it spat out. Some of the decisions it made were pretty funny or stupid. In the end, I probably only used half the time that I'd have taken to do a paragraph by paragraph rewrite though.
They can be a chore. I recommend breaking your story down into its acts and setting a strict character count for each. Switching from trying to fill white space to keeping things concise can be powerful. A great time to write these is right after finishing a screenplay too, when you're at your most motivated and proud of the material.
As above, this is something AI is really useful with. You can generate a draft and then use that as motivation to write your own. Again, this is surprisingly effective. AI shouldn't be used for writing, but it's as remarkable as an assistant.
Thanks Steve and CJ. I know AI can be incredibly helpful. I see this as our collective "going over the waterfall" moment. Stuffs GOING to get broken and there's no way of knowing what yet. I think the demise of Coverfly, etc. is the tip of the iceberg.
However, your advice is solid for anyone without this particular neurosys. lol
One more day of pounding my head against the One Pager and i'll be ready. he he
Given the short attention and time span of those we're usually sending them too, I'd never exceed one page.
I think the key is not to summarize but to sell: appealing characters, twists, unique takes, powerful scenes and so on...
Yeah, a one-pager is typically more sales-like.
"I think the key is not to summarize but to sell: appealing characters, twists, unique takes, powerful scenes and so on..."
"Yeah, a one-pager is typically more sales-like."
Thanks y'all. I believe I have been taking the synopsis advice too seriously. The sales concept seems like the way to go.
I appreciate it.
I managed to get my one pager down to three, then bit the bullet and let ChatGPT have a crack at it. the results weren't awful, but it'll take some massaging.
Thanks for y'all's help.
Michael,
Care to share your one pager?
Sure Douglas.
I'll post the synpsis "one-pager" and the results of squishing it through the AI.
Act 1. SMOKE sacrifices a brother to a Tsgili (great horned owl) for supernatural power during the days of the Indian Territory. Another brother, KINEESA, flees, vows to oppose him. RICHARD (Kineesa’s Ggrandson, and secondary hero) wakes to this dream, puzzled.
He attends an AA meeting to celebrate his old friend BURL’s (primary hero) sobriety. We meet Burl’s family;Junie (daughter), Zane (her son), and NATE (scrawny grandson of another daughter, and secondary opponent). The men reminisce about a Billy Jack marathon and a fight over Richard’s BJ hat, Burl cryptically reluctant.
A Tsgili, and Burl watch as Nate strikes out. SCOTT, a team mate/nemesis and jock, threaten Nate. Burl and ANTHONY (Scott’s father) recognize each other and there’s bad blood.
Richard receives a warning from Kineesa.
Nate and Burl find a wrapped bundle at the base of a Lightning Struck Tree. Burl tells Nate the little he knows about the bundle and the holy nature of the tree. They put it back.
Smoke visits Nate in the middle of the night.
Act 2. At breakfast, Burl worries about Nate’s lack of appetite. Nate describes an old Indian in his dream. Burl recognizes him, but shrugs off the possibility.
At school Martin chides Nate about his crush NANCY and the kegger she’ll be attending. Nate laments her preference for jocks like Scott, says he’s not going. Embarrassed, Nancy joins her friends as they snicker at Nate.
Nate dreams of flying, hunting children, possibly Nancy. Wakes fully aroused as Burl pounds on the door, awakened by the weird noise. He finds his senses sharpened, his scrawny body more muscular.
Burl fixes Nate’s birthday meal. Nate arrives, strangely disconnected from the celebration. Storms off to his room. Burl; baffled.
At the kegger Scott is attacked by an owl, disappears.
Burl wakes in the middle of the night, spots Nate lurking outside in the bushes. He checks Nate’s room, but he’s in bed.
Early in the morning Margie WALDROP is taken by an owl while walking her dog.
Nancy finds an owl feather where they saw the Tsgili attack Scott.
At dinner CLARK Waldrop badgers his family about Margie, despite the dog being home.
Burl has a bloody nightmare about Margie, Nate, and the Tsgili. Nate wakes him, tells him about his dream of being an owl.
Nancy goes to GARLAND, her father, about Scott’s disappearance. He’s furious about the unsupervised party. He spots the feather, realizes this might be a much bigger problem.
Nate is repulsed when he finds some hidden viscera. Shocked when he eats it.
Nancy finds Nate researching witchcraft at the library. She’s stunned/pleased by his physical transformation but he’s cold when she asks for help. She runs off. Nate doesn’t understand his own actions.
Garland reaches out to Clark about Scott and Magie’s disappearance. Clark doesn’t understand why he should care about Anthony’s son. Garland brings up the night Clark wrecked his truck; a night they agreed never to talk about. Livid, Clark reminds Garland “they are all in this together”. Garland brings up Burl’s drunken threat “Smokes gonna make you pay!” Clark is incredulous that Garland is afraid of “some old Indian bullshit”. Doubt creeps in when Garland shows him the feather. Clark gets a call, they’ve found Margie’s bloody coat. Flashback to the gang rape of Wilma, Nate’s mother.
Nate interrupts the report of Margie being found with a flippant remark, horrifying Burl. Nate explains that he dreamed the same scenario.
Nate easily beats formerly dominant Martin in a race. Martin is impressed. Nate tells him his disturbing dream about Smoke, and how it mixes with his new power. Martin leaves, scared.
Burl drinks. Garland confronts him about the threats he made about Smoke long ago. Flashback to Burl’s deal with Smoke. Garland apologies about Wilma. It just enrages Burl.
Burl goes to Junie in desperation, confesses he thinks Nate killed Scott and Margie.
Disheveled Burl drinks, calls Richard. Flashback to the rest of the Billy Jack marathon, when they witnessed the work of Smoke/Tsgili, a dead young Cherokee boy. Richard agrees to come help, packs tobacco, his Ggrandfather’s medicine bundle, and some other power items.
Smoke and Nate confer over the corpse of a child. Smoke tells Nate he can have more power if he brings him Richard’s medicine bundle, that he can expand his attacks to anyone.
Act 3. Richard cleanses himself with tobacco pre-dawn at a doughnut shop. Burl arrives. Richard; shocked by his friend’s unraveling. Implores Burl to quit drinking, have faith. He shows him the power objects, offers him tobacco to cleanse himself. They make a plan to try and find Smoke via the river.
They travel up river as a storm blows in. Change coats. Richard remembers a warning from his Ggrandfather when he spots an “owl rock”. They continue on foot. Burl notices the bundle in Richard’s coat. Pulls it out. Richard warns him to keep it wrapped. Burl notices a pulse of energy from the bundle, Richard misses it.
The storm breaks loose. They flee to a rock shelter Burl knows, decorated with pictographs. Richard’s in awe of the secret lair. Burl confesses he never told Richard about his deal with Smoke because he felt guilty he wanted the rapist’s families dead. The storm continues into the night. They decide to proceed, Burl in Richard’s coat and hat.
A Tsgili revealed as Nate by lightning attacks Burl. Nate/Tsgili recognizes Burl, drops him to the ground.
Richard shoots at the creature, rushes to his friend. Burl squeaks out Nate’s name, dies. Richard promises his friend he’ll protect Nate. Goes back to the shelter. He concentrates on what his next right action could be. Remembers his Ggrandfather’s words about the power of lightning struck wood.
His fire goes out. He runs out of lighter fluid.
He goes to where Richard fell, he’s gone. He smells burning wood, and gets some hope. Breaks an arm trying to get to the splinters. He gets to the splinters, sets down his medicine bundle so he can bind them. The wrapping gets dislodged, he sees the power emanate. He’s stunned by this. He sets it down to pack the shards. The Tsgili swoops down, takes the bundle.
He realizes he needs fire, goes back to the smoldering tree. With great pain he makes it back to the shelter, starts a fire. The storm intensifies outside.
Lightning casts a shadow onto the glyphs at the back of the cave. The Tsgili enters small, grows exponentially once inside. It hops to Richard, grabs a leg with a talon, breaks it with a squeeze. It lets go, Richard pulls himself away with his good arm. It grabs his other ankle, flails him around, bashes him on the ground as he grasps wildly. He grabs a shard, hurls it in the monster's eye. Light shoots from the socket. The wail of a thousand souls fills the cave. It falls dead as Nate.
Richard, fireside, now ancient, relates this story to a disbelieving acolyte. The student claims he’s trying to scare them. An owl hoots. Richard tells the student it’s good to be afraid.
Here are the results from ChatGPT:
Summary of Three-Act Story (One Page)
In Act 1, during the days of the Indian Territory, a man named Smoke sacrifices his brother to a supernatural owl-like entity called a Tsgili in exchange for dark power. His surviving brother, Kineesa, flees and vows to stop him. Generations later, Richard, Kineesa’s great-grandson, dreams of this event and wakes disturbed. He attends an AA meeting for his friend Burl, a recovering alcoholic, where we meet Burl’s extended family including his grandson Nate, an awkward teen. Supernatural signs begin to stir: a Tsgili watches as Nate is bullied, and strange dreams and omens begin to surface. Burl and Nate find a mysterious bundle at a lightning-struck tree, which hints at sacred power. That night, Smoke visits Nate in a dream.
In Act 2, Nate begins changing—dreaming of hunting as an owl, gaining muscle overnight, and growing emotionally detached. At a party, a bully named Scott is attacked and vanishes. Later, a woman named Margie disappears after a similar owl attack. Burl, haunted by dreams and memories, suspects a dark force has returned. Meanwhile, Nancy, Nate’s crush, grows alarmed by his transformation. Garland, Nancy’s father, and Clark Waldrop, a man with a dark past, realize the old evils they buried may be returning. Flashbacks reveal a history of violence, including the rape of Nate’s mother, Wilma. As Nate embraces his growing powers under Smoke’s influence, Burl becomes convinced that Nate is responsible for the recent horrors. Desperate, he calls Richard for help. Richard prepares traditional Cherokee medicine and travels to confront the threat. Smoke tempts Nate with promises of greater power—if he steals Richard’s medicine bundle.
In Act 3, Richard and Burl travel upriver into the wilderness, seeking to find and confront Smoke. A storm hits, and they shelter in a sacred cave. Burl confesses his past deal with Smoke and dons Richard’s coat and hat to serve as bait. The Tsgili, now revealed to be Nate, attacks and kills Burl. Richard, devastated, vows to save Nate. He tries to harness the power of lightning-struck wood and his grandfather’s medicine bundle. In a final showdown inside the cave, the Tsgili returns and viciously attacks Richard. As it mauls him, Richard manages to stab it with a sacred shard, killing it and revealing Nate’s broken body.
In the aftermath, an aged Richard tells this tale to a skeptical student. An owl hoots. Richard warns: “It’s good to be afraid.”