Film treatment

Last updated

A film treatment (or simply treatment) is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards (index cards) and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. It is generally longer and more detailed than an outline (or one-page synopsis),[ citation needed ] and it may include details of directorial style that an outline omits. Treatments read like a short story, but are told in the present tense and describe events as they happen. [1] A treatment may also be created in the process of adapting a novel, play, or other pre-existing work into a screenplay.

Contents

Original draft treatment

The original draft treatment is created during the writing process and is generally long and detailed. It consists of full-scene outlines put together. Usually there are between thirty and eighty standard letter size or A4 pages (Courier New 12 point), with an average of about forty pages. [ citation needed ] For example, the draft treatment of The Terminator is forty-eight pages long.

More elaborate forms of the draft treatment are the step outline and the scriptment.

Presentation treatment

The presentation treatment is created as presentation material. Scene descriptions are written out on index cards (or a digital equivalent) and only have the essential and important story events that make up the scenes. The scene cards are arranged and rearranged until the optimum structure is worked out. [2] It is the full story in its simplest form, moving from the concept, to the theme, to the character, to the detailed synopsis of about four to eight pages of master scenes.

Presentation treatments are used to show how the production notes have been incorporated into the screenplay for the director and production executives to look over, or to leave behind as a presentation note after a sales pitch. [3]

The presentation treatment is the appropriate treatment to submit if a script submission requires one. They are usually at least three, but fewer than thirty, pages in length, with most being of seven to twelve pages.

Usage

Treatments are widely used within the motion picture industry as selling documents to outline story and character aspects of a planned screenplay, whereas outlines are generally produced as part of the development process. Screenwriters may use a treatment to initially pitch a screenplay, but may also use a treatment to sell a concept they are pitching without a completed screenplay.

Related Research Articles

In the performing arts, a scenario is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the commedia dell'arte, it was an outline of entrances, exits, and action describing the plot of a play, and was literally pinned to the back of the scenery. It is also known as canovaccio or "that which is pinned to the canvas" of which the scenery was constructed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Screenwriter</span> Person who writes for films, TV shows, comics, and games

A screenwriter is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs, and video games, are based.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Storyboard</span> Form of ordering graphics in media

A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, in the form it is known today, was developed at Walt Disney Productions during the early 1930s, after several years of similar processes being in use at Walt Disney and other animation studios.

A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show, or video game by screenwriters. A screenplay written for television is also known as a teleplay. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. A screenplay is a form of narration in which the movements, actions, expressions and dialogue of the characters are described in a certain format. Visual or cinematographic cues may be given, as well as scene descriptions and scene changes.

A teleplay is a screenplay or script used in the production of a scripted television program or series. In general usage, the term is most commonly seen in reference to a standalone production, such as a television film, a television play, or an episode of an anthology series. In internal industry usage, however, all television scripts are teleplays, although a "teleplay by" credit may be classified into a "written by" credit depending on the circumstances of its creation.

<i>Star Trek: The Motion Picture</i> 1979 American science fiction film

Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film directed by Robert Wise. The Motion Picture is based on and stars the cast of the 1966–1969 television series Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry, who serves as producer. In the film, set in the 2270s, a mysterious and powerful alien cloud known as V'Ger approaches Earth, destroying everything in its path. Admiral James T. Kirk assumes command of the recently refitted Starship Enterprise to lead it on a mission to determine V'Ger's origins and save the planet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Meyer</span> American screenwriter, producer, author, and director

Nicholas Meyer is an American screenwriter, director and author known for his best-selling novel The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, and for directing the films Time After Time, two of the Star Trek feature films, the 1983 television film The Day After, and the 1999 HBO original film Vendetta.

Pre-production is the process of planning some of the elements involved in a film, television show, play, or other performance, as distinct from production and post-production. Pre-production ends when the planning ends and the content starts being produced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Script breakdown</span> Aspect of creating a performance

A script breakdown is an intermediate step in the production of a play, film, comic book, or any other work that is originally planned using a script.

Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screenwriting, casting, pre-production, shooting, sound recording, post-production, and screening the finished product before an audience, which may result in a film release and exhibition. The process is nonlinear, as the director typically shoots the script out of sequence, repeats shots as needed, and puts them together through editing later. Filmmaking occurs in a variety of economic, social, and political contexts around the world, and uses a variety of technologies and cinematic techniques to make theatrical films, episodic films for television and streaming platforms, music videos, and promotional and educational films.

A step outline is a detailed telling of a story with the intention of turning the story into a screenplay for a motion picture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Screenwriting</span> Art and craft of writing screenplays

Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession.

A script supervisor is a member of a film crew who oversees the continuity of the motion picture including wardrobe, props, set dressing, hair, makeup and the actions of the actors during a scene. The notes recorded by the script supervisor during the shooting of a scene are used to help the editor cut the scene. They are also responsible for keeping track of the film production unit's daily progress. The script supervisor credit is typically in the closing credits of a motion picture. Script supervisors are a department head and play a crucial role in the shooting of a film. It is the script supervisor's job to monitor the camera shots, seeking to maintain coherence between the scenes.

A storyboard artist creates storyboards for advertising agencies and film productions.

Script coverage is a filmmaking term for the analysis and grading of screenplays, often within the "script development" department of a production company. While coverage may remain entirely oral, it usually takes the form of a written report, guided by a rubric that varies from company to company. Criteria include, but are not limited to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Arndt</span> American screenwriter

Michael Arndt is an American screenwriter, who has written for the films Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Toy Story 3 (2010), and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).

Screenwriting software are word processors specialized to the task of writing screenplays.

A scriptment is a written work by a movie or television screenwriter that combines elements of a script and treatment, especially the dialogue elements, which are formatted the same as in a screenplay. It is a more elaborate document than a standard draft treatment. Some films have been shot using only a scriptment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophocles (software)</span>

Sophocles was a Windows-based screenwriting software application used for writing feature film and television screenplays. The program first became available on the Internet in 1999. Its distinguishing features included a two window screen setup, showing the script and screenplay outline simultaneously.

This glossary of motion picture terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts related to motion pictures, filmmaking, cinematography, and the film industry in general.

References

  1. "Film Treatments". Lights Film School. Archived from the original on March 6, 2010. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  2. Corey, Melinda; Ochoa, George, eds. (2002), The American Film Institute Desk Reference, London: Dorling Kindersley, p. 173, ISBN   0-7894-8934-1
  3. "Writing Treatments That Sell". FilmMakers.com. Retrieved August 10, 2012.