How to write a screenplay treatment
How to write a screenplay treatment that will get more script requests.
In this post, we’re going to not only clear up some of the confusion surrounding the screenplay treatment and also how to write one that’s bound to impress an exec, manager or producer.
We’ll also look at how to write a screenplay treatment for your own personal benefit as you beat out the story during the early writing phase.
Finally, we’ll also lay out seven key mistakes we see aspiring screenwriters make when writing a script treatment, why you should avoid them and what you should do instead. So let’s jump on in.
Just what is a screenplay treatment?
A screenplay treatment is simply the plot of your story written down in prose form.
However, in Hollywood, one person’s screenplay treatment is another person’s “synopsis,” is another person’s “outline.”
However, in Hollywood, one person’s screenplay treatment is another person’s “synopsis,” is another person’s “outline.”
Overall, the terms are pretty interchangeable. In general, though, an outline usually focuses on short bullet point scenes, while a screenplay treatment or synopsis tends to be more prose-focused.
Why write a screenplay treatment?
Screenwriters generally write screenplay treatments for two reasons:
• They want to get their story down in prose form before writing the screenplay to make sure it’s working
• They’ve been asked by a production company to send in a screenplay treatment for a script they may want to purchase
If you fall in the first camp, writing down your story before committing to the script is a great way of ironing out any plot and character issues. You can then show this short story to friends or family for feedback without them having to read a whole 120-page screenplay.
If you’re in the second camp, congratulations—people are interested in your work. The company will generally tell you how long the screenplay treatment should be and any other formatting requirements they may have, but if they don’t, ask them.
What should go in a script treatment?
A screenplay treatment generally consists of the following:
• A working title
• The writer’s name and contact information
• A logline
• Introduction to key characters
• The story in prose form, including all three acts and major turning points
There’s no “correct” length a script treatment/synopsis/outline should be either. It can be anywhere from three to thirty pages in length (or more), but most industry people suggest keeping them short and sweet.
Screenplay treatment examples.
The best way to get a handle on how a screenplay treatment actually works and what it looks like is to check out some real-life examples.
Screenplay treatments can be hard to get hold of, but here are a few you can view online:
• Big Fish by John August. Read this screenplay outline here >>
• Terminator by James Cameron. Read this screenplay treatment example here >>
The 7 most common mistakes we see in screenplay treatments.
Now we’re up to speed on what a screenplay treatment actually is, and when you’ll be writing one, let’s take a look at how not to write one.
1. Too much dialogue.
“Courtney reveals that she is pregnant. Brad asks her if she is sure, and when she knew. She says that she has kept it a secret from him deliberately to see how committed he was to their marriage. Brad then says…”
The problem with this style of writing is that it doesn’t indicate what we’re seeing and hearing. It’s “reported speech” when in fact your revelations should come through action and what we see on screen, not exclusively from the dialogue.
A script treatment full of “she says” and “he retorts” has an uncanny knack of making the most exciting scene labored.
2. All action no character.
“Going back to his apartment, Jack finds Sadie trying to steal the diamonds from the safe. He stops her with a kung-fu kick and knocks the knife out of her hand. He strangles her and dumps the body in the closet. Then a SWAT team bursts through the door with machine guns…”
Action sequences can be great in a screenplay treatment, but if there’s no insight, it’s all plot and no character.
A high body count won’t be dramatic if we know nothing about the characters being killed. Blow-by-blow accounts of fights leave the director and actors no room to be inventive, are quite often impractical and uninteresting on the page.
3. Casting characters.
“The charming middle-aged guy (Sam Rockwell, if we can get him) gets into an argument with the Asian girl (Lucy Liu, hopefully). Then a beautiful, Kirsten Dunst-type blonde walks in.”
Naming who you’d like to see in each character role in a script treatment is not really recommended. Leave this for the casting director.
4. Getting too specific.
“Nick dances manically around the room in his Emporio Armani bathrobe to the James Brown number The Boss.”
Likewise, specifics like these can be left to the costume designer or composer. Always remember: if it’s not important to the story, it can probably be left out.
5. Revealing the twist.
“Kaitlyn, who will later turn out to have been an alien all along who’s designed to mimic human behavior, pours herself a glass of wine.”
If we’re not going to find out until the end of the screenplay treatment that Kaitlyn’s an alien, tell us at the end.
Major twists and reversals should be introduced at the point in the script treatment when characters and/or the audience would encounter them in the film, not before.
6. Lazy character descriptions.
“Vincent, a boring Wall Street broker, meets with Ruby, a typical waitress.”
Describing characters as “typical” or “boring” in a screenplay treatment suggests an unwillingness to think up interesting characters. It’s your job to make sure that none of the characters come across as boring.
If they’re that dull, would a manager, producer or exec want to read about them? Also, there’s not really such a thing as a “typical waitress” or any job description, so try to describe the characters as vividly as you can instead.
7. Name dropping.
“Just like in Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors, Mike has a crisis of conscience and becomes racked by guilt. He goes to see his rabbi, but can’t confess his crime.”
If you’re sending the screenplay treatment off to someone in the industry, it’s not a great idea to name-check your favorite writers or directors. People want to feel the story’s in the hands of an original talent, not someone who’s reliant on another filmmaker’s vision.
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Avoid these 7 key mistakes when writing your script treatment and you’ll be head and shoulders above the average aspiring screenwriter. Keep it concise. Keep it story focused. And above all keep it entertaining.
Aim to get the story as tight as you can in your screenplay treatment so that any manager, producer or exec who reads it knows they’re dealing with a serious screenwriter.
Why and How to Write a Screenplay Treatment
As chairperson of my motion picture company Su-City Pictures East, LLC,
since 1990, I have worked as a script consultant and screenplay doctor for the
major studios, as well as independent film companies. The film industry has
changed since the burgeoning of independent films, garnering well-deserved
attention, and the growth of streaming platforms, offering screenwriters more
opportunities to get their movies made.
What hasn’t changed?
You still need to write a brilliant script.
What does this all have to do with writing a treatment?
It means that you must be prepared in the event that a treatment is
requested of you by a film executive, producer or director.
Fine. But what does that really mean for you?
Let’s start with defining what exactly is a treatment.
What is a
treatment?
Like so many elements in the screenwriting and filmmaking process, there
are no hard and fast rules, but here we go:
A treatment is a detailed overview of a screenplay or script idea
written in prose form that is used as a marketing tool for both spec and
for-hire screenwriters to sell their project. It is sometimes referred to as a
written pitch.
Producers, studios, and/or production companies usually request
treatments after you pitch a project idea to them. They will
then tell you how many pages to make your treatment. The average length of a
treatment is usually between ten and thirty pages, but a treatment can also be
as short as one page.
I know what you’re thinking. The treatment
sounds like a synopsis. Is it?
Although a treatment and a synopsis are both considered marketing tools
to sell your script or script idea, they are not the same. A treatment is a
more comprehensive and detailed overview, while a synopsis is generally one
page and includes only the very broad strokes of the main plot of your script.
There are varying opinions as to why
you should write a treatment or not write one, but having one ready to submit
can increase your chances of getting noticed.
Executives, producers, and companies have enormous amounts of material
to plow through, so reading a treatment as opposed to a screenplay takes less
time. Keep in mind that if you write a treatment for the purpose of pitching it
to a company without writing the script, it may lessen your chances of being
hired.
It’s not really necessary to write a treatment unless it assists you in
fleshing out your ideas and developing your screenplay. Many writers write
treatments solely for their own purposes and, like an executive, use their
treatments to determine what’s working and what’s not in their scripts.
Studios, production companies and/or industry folks might request you
submit a treatment to them after you pitch an idea and they are interested in
your project. They will tell you approximately how many pages to write for the
treatment.
A treatment that is written for submission to a company must clearly
reflect your talent as a writer. Executives are looking for unique and marketable subject matter that an
audience can relate to so they can sell it!
Treatments are evaluated on several levels: Is this a good, marketable
story? Does the writer have the talent and ability to translate this into a
great screenplay?
Executives and producers use treatments as both a selling tool to get
your movie made and as a way to identify story, characters, and structural
strengths and weaknesses.
Whether you write a treatment based on your original idea, an adaptation
of a novel, or true story, the reader will evaluate your ability to dramatize
the project into a riveting story complete with captivating characters and a
solid structure.
Like a screenplay, your treatment must immediately grab the reader’s
attention. It must have energy and follow the conventions of the genre. The
reader must get a vivid sense of your story: What the world looks like and how
it feels. Use visual imagery to describe your settings and time periods.
Distinguish your characters so the reader has a clear understanding of who they
are (such as profession or personality) and what motivates their actions.
Readers’ standard questions are: “What sets your story apart from others
about the same subject? What makes both your story and your approach unique?”
Your plot must continue to build momentum from page one line one right
through to the very last sentence. Your treatment must feel immediate to the
reader; each event about to unfold must create interest and excitement.
Follow your protagonist’s journey. Clearly describe your characters and their arcs, their
motivations for their actions, and the obstacles they must overcome. The
story’s point of view must be clear so the reader knows whose story you’re
telling. Your treatment must highlight the main plot points, your major
characters, and your turning points.
Formatting Your
Treatment
As opposed to a screenplay, there is no specific industry format for a
treatment. However, there are some basic guidelines to follow:
● Write your treatment in block
paragraph form, that is, without using indentations. Skipping a space between
paragraphs.
● Suggested fonts are: Courier New 12
or Times New Roman 12.
● Using separate Act 1, Act 2, and Act
3 headings to delineate each act is recommended.
Your Treatment
Must:
● Excite the reader to want to read
your screenplay;
● Be a clear and accurate reflection
of your screenplay (if you’ve already written it);
● Illustrate your hook—what makes this different from other
stories about the same subject matter;
● Be easy, interesting, and enjoyable
to read;
● Contain short rather than long
paragraphs;
● Be written in visual prose;
● Be written in the present tense;
● Have precise and simple sentences,
since each word counts;
● Have a strong opening to hook the
reader;
● Have a compelling and satisfying
climax;
● Have a clear structure;
● Establish what’s at stake in your story;
● Have an intriguing and empathetic
protagonist the reader will root for;
● Follow your protagonist’s journey and arc;
● Include the central conflict and
obstacles your protagonist must overcome;
● Establish your antagonist and his or
her goals;
● Include the main and supporting
characters;
● Include the major plot points and
turning points;
● Illustrate action and description;
● Include minimal or no back story;
● Include snippets of dialogue, using
quotation marks, but only to illustrate a poignant or critical moment that
further defines the character and/or story.
Your Treatment Must
Not:
● Use screenplay format;
● Use flowery language;
● Include unnecessary details;
● Include author’s editorial comments;
● Include characters’ inner thoughts;
● Include phrases like “It’s a story about….” or “What happens next is…” Just tell the story.
Start to streamline your writing process with a film script treatment.
Tell me if this sounds familiar to you...You just got out of a great general meeting, and the executive you met with loves your latest idea. You want to develop it together, and that's the first step towards your vision, finding its way to the screen. But you have to pump the brakes because you need something first.
Before you even write. Something to get all these great ideas down onto the page...That something is… a script treatment for your film.
Where do you begin to write? I find the best course of action is to start with a script treatment. And what if you don't know how to write a treatment for a movie?!
What’s a script treatment, screenplay treatment or film treatment (we’ll use those terms interchangeably)? And more importantly, how can you write one that helps seal the deal, or even sells the movie?
In this post, I'm not only going to show you how to write an amazing treatment that will aid in the development process, but how that treatment process can also be super useful to you when you sit down to write the screenplay itself.
Let's learn how to write a treatment!
The Film treatment basics
What is a film treatment, and how do you write one?
It's a multi-page document written in prose, that tells the story that happens in your screenplay. It is a synopsis, with action, sparse dialogue, and works as a roadmap for the reader, producer, and writer.
This is your story, broken down into an easy-to-follow document, that anyone who picks it up can grasp immediately.
And get excited about.
This document must be engaging to any agent, assistant, executive, or layperson on the street. Your screenplay treatment will only shine with hard work.
Why do you need a script treatment for your film?
Screenwriters find treatments are beneficial when it comes to shopping the work around town.
They’re also great for hashing out ideas before entering a draft, and to see if that kernel of inspiration is worth pursuing as your next project.
Another thing I love about them?
They do a lot of the heavy lifting when you’re trying to figure out your movie or TV show’s tone.
It’s your chance to be snarky, emotional, and nail the world of your story before you even open your screenwriting software.
It’s like a dry-run. And it can be fun to do it, too.
Let’s be honest; it’s hard to pitch your idea out-loud to people. A script treatment gets all the details out on the page and entertainingly spins them into a yarn worth retelling.
If you can get the treatment down, the pitch is a lot easier.
How long should a script treatment be?
While a script can be 80-120 pages, your treatment’s length will vary.
When I write mine, I usually try to keep them around 10-12 pages. I include act breaks, opener, and closing scene.
But some people do a real quick version all on one page.
If I'm making one for a TV show, it might skew longer. But you don’t want to confuse a script treatment with a show bible, or even a pitch deck. This treatment should cover the pilot and probably will become a section in the bible.
Lots of people don’t add dialogue to their treatments, but sometimes I’ll add one or two lines to evoke emotions or even some jokes.
You certainly don’t want to go overboard on the dialogue here. The dialogue will likely change, and you don’t want someone to bump on the idea because the lines you include don't radiate off the page.
Still, there are no definitive rules about how you do this, so make rules that work for you.
This is your chance to convey your story the best way possible. Maybe that means outlining characters, spending time on paragraphs describing the world, or even just giving a state of the union on why you NEED to write this movie.
Let this synopsis speak for you and spark more ideas.
Sample screenplay treatment
This is the outline I use when I start this process. It’s not perfect, but it prompts me and starts getting me going.
Use it as a leaping off point and customize it for your needs.
So without further ado, check out our film treatment template.
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