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900 words -- approximately three pages -- on any movie except the ones for class discussion Save this paper with the filename synopsis_yourlastname, and put it into the shared folder at the start of the class when it is due. |
This paper should be a descriptive account of the story shown by your selected movie, scene by scene. This kind of summary is known as a synopsis. It should be understandable by a reader who hasn't seen the movie. Simply describing the characters wouldn't accomplish this, since we learn about them over time as the movie unfolds. Your paper would reproduce what it is like to watch the film in sequence. You do not need to continually say "this scene shows" or "the next shot is", since the reader already knows the story is being delivered by a film. Instead, express the events and sights directly, as they happen.
Leave your own opinions and evaluations out of the account (this isn't a review). Also, don't be concerned about giving away surprises and secrets -- you need to present an accurate view of what happens, and the price of that may be a spoiler or two. A synopsis is not meant for a wide, public audience, and ours will be read only by other writing students. For the sake of perfecting clear and comprehensive descriptive writing, we can sacrifice a secret or two.
Do the best you can. The result will be re-worked for the end of the quarter, and any thoughtful, serious attempt will increase your understanding of how your film was put together.
You can take a look at a sample synopsis, to get a better idea of how to approach this ...
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is maintained by David Sharpe
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Revised November 09, 2008