40 terms. Every one before your first call.

The process of shaping an idea or piece of material into a project that is ready to package, pitch, and produce.

Development is where good ideas become makeable projects.

A one- or two-sentence summary that identifies the protagonist, conflict, stakes, and central hook.

If the logline is muddy, the project usually is too.

A reader’s written evaluation of a script, typically including a synopsis, comments, and a rating.

Coverage informs the room. It does not make the decision.

Specific feedback intended to strengthen a script, pitch, character, structure, or commercial position.

The useful note identifies the problem without prescribing the only solution.

A director, actor, producer, or other meaningful element formally connected to a project.

An attachment matters only when the marketplace cares that they are attached.

Combining material with meaningful creative and producing elements to increase its value and readiness.

The package should answer why this project, with these people, now.

A time-limited agreement giving a buyer the exclusive right to purchase or develop underlying material.

An option buys time and exclusivity, not ownership forever.

A limited agreement allowing a producer to present material to buyers without purchasing an option.

Know who can shop it, where, and for how long.

A script written without a buyer commissioning or paying for it in advance.

A spec is both a project and a sample of what you can do.

A prose document describing the story, characters, tone, and major beats before or alongside a screenplay.

A treatment should feel like the movie, not minutes from a meeting.