How To Write A Movie Blurb
A movie’s description isn’t just a bit of exposition that you can drop into a blog post if you’re looking to sell your movie to someone, it’s a large sum of text that is the opening to what could be a large sum of money.
Writing a great movie description doesn’t have to be a skill that only the biggest stars in Hollywood possess.
No matter how much money a movie is making, they’ll probably still have issues with a mediocre description of what the movie’s about.
Therefore you might as well learn how to write movie descriptions, so that you can make your own.
Knowing how to write a description of a movie in a way that people will want to buy a ticket for is a skill that no studio will be able to ignore.
So here we will go through all the steps that need to be taken in order to create a movie blurb that will make you look like a movie genius.
Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How
So, what is a movie description anyway?
A movie description is a summary of what the movie is about.
When people go to the theatre they have specific things that they look out for: what’s the plot, what’s the star-studded cast, how much is the movie going to cost, and how many sequels will it get.
We’re going to tackle each of these in turn, and we’ll explain the reasoning behind them. This will help to avoid any misunderstandings later on.
If you want a good movie blurb that’s not too long, this is the best place to start.
What’s The Plot?
A movie plot is one of the most important elements when it comes to writing a movie description. Without a good plot, all your movie description is just going to look like gibberish.
The majority of people will immediately Google a synopsis to get an idea of what they’re about to see, so make sure that you take the time to flesh out this important element in your description.
The ideal movie plot is:
Likeable characters
A plot that has a cast that you would want to watch every week
Clever cinematic arrangements
A plot that makes you think “I wish this was a movie”
Clever realistic explanations
A plot that actually explains the scene, in a way that even non-comics readers can understand
Realistic climaxes
A plot that doesn’t end with a cheesy joke
Now, most movie plots fall into one of the other categories, but that’s a good thing! It means that there’s something for everyone, and there’s a solid synopsis that you can use.
The key to writing a plot is to find a solid connection between each scene and scene from the previous scene.
If the movie has a lot of scenes that have two characters talking, don’t include several more scenes where they talk, just a short scene where they do something else instead.
The same goes for tension. In a horror movie for example, it’s easy to have too many scenes of one character running and screaming.
That’s OK in a horror movie though. As long as it keeps the tension going you’ll be fine.
Not only that, it also makes the movie a lot easier to follow. Instead of looking at how many shots there are in a scene, you can look at what’s happening in each scene.
Here are some examples of movies with plot-lines that work:
10 Cloverfield Lane
This movie is one of the first that you should watch if you want a good movie blurb for your own movie.
A plot-line of family members being trapped underground with a lunatic? It’s got a killer hook!
Gravity
There’s a lot going on in this movie, but the idea is pretty straight forward: man has to lift a woman into space with him.
Men In Black
A young man can’t find his soul. He’s just a guardian to the unknown, but his job is to keep the bad guys out.
The Sixth Sense
This movie works because there are three creepy supernatural things going on: Bruce Willis is possessed, an infant is brought back from the dead, and it’s about a child that can see ghosts.
Out of Sight
A woman escapes from prison, but there’s a catch: she doesn’t know where she’s going.
Batman Begins
Christian Bale plays an idealistic, crusading policeman, Bruce Wayne. He has to defend the innocent against a corrupt government that’s sacrificing them in exchange for profits.
Fight Club
This is a sequel to something that hasn’t even been made yet.
But I’m being a bit hyperbolic here. You don’t need to have a plot that goes like this.
I think that people go about writing movies this way because it’s easier to understand. But don’t get caught up in the plot that you want to make.
That’s what you’ll need to write, but it’s not what you’re writing.
You need to write the story that you want to tell. You’ll probably find out soon enough whether that’s what people want to see. But you also need to keep an eye on your story throughout the process. This is just to make sure that you’re getting to your own story.