The  Treatment  §  So  far  we  have  been  through  the  first  two  steps  towards  writing  your  script/screenplay  

§  Your  verbal  ‘Pitch’  §  Short  precise  ‘Outline’  §  And  so  onto…….  

The  Treatment  

§  Treatments!  

The  Treatment  §  Being  asked  to  write  a  Treatment  by  a  Broadcaster  or  Production  Company  means  you  are  really  being  taken  seriously.  

The  Treatment  §  In  some  respects  your  Treatment  will  be  the  single  most  important  document.  

§  It  is  detailed  §  It  is  informed  /  informative  §  It  tells  your  main  story  §  It  tells  all  your  subplots  §  It  tells  your  story  as  it  will  happen  in  your  script  

The  Treatment  §  Most  brilliantly……  §  When  working  with    §  Production  Companies  

§  You  can  get  paid  for    §  writing  the  Treatment!  

The  Treatment  §  But  not  all,  the  BBC  often  §  does  not  pay  until  the    §  script  stage,  same  with  ITV    §  Too  much  is  asked  for    §  ‘on-­‐spec’  in  the  industry  §  Decide  for  yourself  how    §  much  work  you  will  do  §   ‘on-­‐spec  ‘  §  On-­‐spec  =  no  payment  

The  Treatment  §  Again,  like  your  Outline  you  can  write  emotion  into  your  treatment  when  dealing  with  characters  

§  Give  your  characters  life  and  their  experiences  passion…..up  to  a  point  

The  Treatment  §  Every  scene  is  basically  written  out  §  Every  incident  §  Everything…..  

§  Short  of  actual  dialogue  (you  can  actually  put  snippets  in  but  not  a  lot  or  often)  

The  Treatment  §  A  good  and  detailed  Treatment  makes  the  writing  of  the  actual  screenplay  much  easier  

The  Treatment  §  Personally…..  §  I  find  Treatments  incredibly  difficult  to  write  

The  Treatment  §  It  is  just  me,  the  discipline  and  structure  that  I  know  has  to  be  done  but  does  not  come  naturally.  

§  It  is  the  only  part  of  the  process  that  I  dread  but  at  the  same  time  acknowledge  how  important  it  is.  

§  Because……  

The  Treatment  

§  A  (feature)  script  written  without  a  detailed  Treatment  will  be  a  mess.  

§  Full  of  plot  holes  and  missed  opportunities.  §  Spending  time  to  write  a  good  treatment  will  pay  dividends  when  it  comes  to  writing  the  screenplay  

The  Treatment  

§  Spend  time  to  get  it  right.  §  You  will  also  now  generally  be  working  with  a  Producer  or  a  Script  Editor  

§  So  there  will  probably  be  more  than  one  version  you  are  asked  to  write  

§  It  is  only  when  they  are  pleased  with  the  Treatment  you  get  the  go-­‐ahead  to  write  the  script  

The  Treatment  

§  Here  are  some  definitions:  

§  They  vary  in  length  but  a  feature  treatment  can  go  from  20  –  60  or  more  pages  it  is  that  detailed.  

§  Up  to  10  pages  would  be  considered  short  for  a  feature  

§  For  your  short  it  will  be  short.  

The  Treatment  §  You  can  go  right  ahead  and  write  your  screenplay  after  the  outline  

§  But  it  will  generally  mean  more  revisions  and  re-­‐writes  to  your  script.  

§  A  Treatment  simply  makes  writing  the  screenplay  much  more  straightforward  and  enjoyable  as  it  is  already  mapped  out  and  you  wont  forget  important  details.  

The  Treatment  §  And  so  onto  some  definitions  by  others:    

The  Treatment  §  A  treatment  is  a  short  narrative  of  your  story.  The  treatment  explains  what  happens  at  each  step  of  your  story.  The  treatment  is  not  an  outline,  nor  is  it  just  a  script  without  dialogue.    

§  Your  outline  is  the  skeleton  of  your  story.  Your  script  is  the  exterior  with  all  of  the  details  that  other  people  will  see.  The  treatment  is  the  interior,  the  collection  of  internal  organs  that  makes  everything  work  together.  

The  Treatment  §  A  treatment  is  a  valuable  tool  (better  than  a  plain  

outline)  for  helping  you  figure  out  how  your  story  will  flow  and  feel,  and  it  saves  you  time.  If  you  discover  that  you  don't  really  like  the  story  while  writing  the  treatment,  you  can  trash  it  before  you  spend  days  on  a  script.    

§  Likewise,  if  you  have  some  of  your  friends  read  the  treatment,  and  they  say  they  aren't  likely  to  watch  the  movie  /  play  you  described,  then  you  can  completely  rewrite  it  or  trash  it  before  you  invest  all  the  time  and  energy  of  writing  it.  

The  Treatment  

§  The  treatment  isn't  set  in  stone.  Some  people  don't  like  following  a  roadmap  like  a  treatment  because  they  prefer  to  be  more  spontaneous  in  their  writing.    

§  Don't  worry  about  it.  If  you  change  your  story  while  writing  the  script,  you  can  always  go  back  and  change  the  treatment.  

The  Treatment  

§  When  you  want  to  sell  your  story,  your  treatment  is  a  short  story  version  of  your  screenplay  used  to  show  the  movie  executives  what  your  story  is  about,  how  it  progresses,  and  what  your  characters  are  like.  

The  Treatment  §  Your  treatment  is  like  telling  a  friend  about  the  

amazing  movie  you  saw  last  night  scene  by  scene.  Pretend  that  your  friend  won't  get  the  chance  to  see  the  movie,  but  she  wants  to  know  what  it's  all  about.    

§  Explain  briefly  but  vividly  what's  going  on  in  each  scene.  Give  vivid  character  description  as  characters  appear  in  the  story.  Don't  recite  dialog  unless  you're  certain  that  it's  absolutely  necessary.  Don't  talk  about  camera  angles  unless  there  are  one  or  two  that  really  add  to  the  story.  

http://www.lightsfilmschool.com/articles/treatments/index.html  

§  A  film  treatment  states  how  the  audience  will  experience  the  film.  It's  important  to  write  treatments  in  an  active  voice  and  avoid  the  use  of  hyperbole  (such  as  "this  unique  film  will  explore"  etc).  When  writing  treatments  you  want  your  audience  to  be  able  to  visualize  your  film.  You  will  want  to  write  in  present  tense  and  provide  an  overview  of  the  characters,  locations  and  details  of  the  film.    

http://www.lightsfilmschool.com/articles/treatments/index.html  

§  You  can  write  your  treatment  creatively.  The  purpose  of  a  treatment  is  to  allow  your  audience  to  smell,  taste  and  experience  your  environment.  Reading  a  treatment  (second  only  to  reading  a  full  script)  is  the  closest  written  equivalent  to  the  look  of  your  film.    

Treatment  Layouts  

Treatment  Layouts  

The  Treatment