TREATMENT WRITING TRAINING
Want to learn how to write better treatments and win more jobs?
My Treatment Masterclass shares my entire system.
How To Be A Treatment Writer:
A good treatment writer understands the value of pre pro. Probably the most critical step in pre-production is the writing of a treatment. A treatment is the director’s vision: a summary of the work that is going to be shot. A good treatment is not simply a sales tool… it’s your pitch. It must convince your client that you’re absolutely the best person for the job. That’s where the treatment writer comes in.
Agency people and clients are extremely busy and have notoriously short attention spans. They don’t have the time to meet and discuss projects but they’re happy to browse through a 4 to 12 page treatment about the commercial you plan to shoot for them. This is their first glimpse at the material. You’ve got one chance to nail it. If they’re excited by the few pages of the treatment then they’ll be willing to award you the job. If they’re not excited, you’re out of the picture. There’s no standard form to writing a treatment. Every treatment writer has their own style. You just need to make it dynamic enough to pitch your vision, ideas and approach.
Life's A Pitch...
Directing is highly competitive. One of the major factors that determines if you’re going to get the job, is writing a treatment about how you plan to shoot the material you’re pitching for. Whether it’s a feature film, TV pilot, commercial or a music video, the process is very similar. Whoever is paying for the work to be produced goes through a pile of directors reels to arrive at a shortlist. These directors then have to write a treatment about how they plan to shoot the material. The director is the central decision maker in a production and the treatment covers what they plan to do. It goes into detail of the look they’re going for, branding, product use, how the sound design will play out, what kind of music they envisage, which actors they want to cast, wardrobe, locations and post … the list goes on. Everything that is part of the director’s vision should be included in the treatment.
Pitch Perfect
There is no set format for a director’s treatment other than the director should do the very best they can to get the job. Some treatments are a couple of pages, others include photos and still others are all singing and dancing digital extravaganzas chock full with images, visual and mood reels. Anything goes as long as it leads to winning the job. If you’re the producer or the director, it’s a good idea to write a treatment as a way of developing the idea in your head. The more you think and prepare, the more successful you will be. The secret is to treat it as if you’re writing it for someone else. And if you’re in a hurry or need some help, well… now you know who to call.