Pre-production: Synopsis

After confirming the structure of the doc and what Jemma wanted in it I was able to write a Synopsis about it. In order to do it effectively I researched into Documentary synopsis' and how to write them.

Documentary Synopsis - The synopsis is usually the first section of the proposal. It is a succinct overview of what your story is about, why the story is significant and how you’re going to tell it.  - (Desktop Documentaries)

My original synopsis looked like this

'Rewerked' is a documentary that looks at the stereotypes that the public have about Drag Queens and the community around it. It'll focus on 18 year old Tanya a non-binary Drag Queen who breaks all the rules society has set, as she prepares for one of her first performances. We'll also be hearing from the perspective of other Drag Queens and Kings to see what they think about expectations that have been applied to their community, it'll include personal experiences and what misconceptions they have witnessed in their career. It will also see how they think drag is changing and what they think about it as they watch Tanya's performance.

Some tips from Desktop Documentaries included:

• Use an active voice (don’t say “We may be doing this film”, say “This film is..”). Make the reader believe this film IS happening.


• Write colourfully – avoid generic descriptions like “unique” or “magical”. Explain why something is magical or unique.


• Be specific – Don’t just give a general overview of your story. Describe situations, people and characters in vivid detail to make the story come alive.

From there I've rewritten the synopsis to make it more concise, short and to the point, it only includes information that the reader needs. Your narrative synopsis starts to break down the themes and story arcs of your film — in depth. It demonstrates the framework of your film, and this is where you’ll detail the progression of your story and characters. After reading the synopsis, the reader should understand how the story will play out and how the characters will develop. - Premium beat

'Rewerked' is a documentary that looks at stereotypes within the Drag community created through the media and general public. It focuses on 18 year old Tanya, a non-binary Drag Queen breaking all the rules in society, as she prepares for one of her first performances. It features interviews with Tanya's family and what they think about the Drag community, as well as interviews with other Drag Kings and Queens from a wide age range. It'll include personal anecdotes and misconceptions witnessed and experienced by the interviewees. The documentary will culminate with a performance from Tanya and end with interviews from everyone about their opinions of where Drag is heading and how it's changing.