TREATMENT

PLANNING: OUR TREATMENT

What is a film treatment?

A description in the present tense of what happens in your film. Keep the language simple yet forceful and declarative. The purpose of the treatment is to describe the events of the story so that it can be visualized and brought to life. This should be done using the fewest words possible.

How do I write a treatment?

You need to avoid editorial writing when writing treatments and instead speak in an active and present voice. Similarly, you should avoid using words and phrases like

"Next we see" - Don't start sentences with "we see". Tell the audience what they see without introducing your sentence with "we see". 

Instead say:

"Mr. Bugz B and Mrs DJ Spinna stand toe to toe in front of their microphones. Mr. Bugz rhymes and misogynistic rhyme stating "we don't want no ugly girls in here tonight" to which Mrs DJ Spinna retaliates with a rhyme mocking Mr. Bugs unusually large ears. The crowd goes wild. Mr Bugz continues, but with less steam. The insult has touched on a vulnerable part of his identity."
(Source: Lights Film School link here. 

SAMPLE FILM TREATMENT courtesy of Movie Outline HERE 
Notice that the first time that a character is introduced, their name is in CAPITALS.

What does a film treatment look like?

TIPS HERE For Frank Ash, Creative Consultant who has taught storytelling and creativity techniques to teams across the BBC and beyond, it is important to focus on the audience: what will interest the audience? How will the narrative develop?

"So, if you’re aiming for your film to reach a large audience online, making sure it has universal appeal will be key. We’ll be thinking about this in more practical terms later in the week, but let’s bring Frank Ash’s points together with the last step’s concerns:

• Think about your favourite book or film or any ‘good story’ you recently watched online, could you sum up its narrative into ‘one elegant sentence’ to provide its ‘topline’?
• What was its big story question, and how important was it to your appreciation of the text?"

 Thanks for the presentation to The University of Birmingham and FutureLearn:
Video © BBC, Text © University of Birmingham

We will aim to define in our treatment:

The topline: a young couple, Evie and Adam, appear to be blissfully happy together but the girl starts to become dissatisfied with her lot in life as she is envious of the many possessions and holidays that her wealthier friend, Snakey, boasts about. She pressures her boyfriend to rob a sports shop, having started shoplifting there and finding it easy.

The big question: after the initial euphoria of the successful robbery, will Adam, now troubled by nightmares and a guilty conscience, feel that he should turn them both in? Will their relationship survive?