
If I'm making one for a TV show, it might skew longer. I include act breaks, opener, and closing scene.īut some people do a real quick version all on one page. When I write mine, I usually try to keep them around 10-12 pages. While a script can be 80-120 pages, your treatment’s length will vary. What Are Script Readers Looking For? How long should a script treatment be? If you can get the treatment down, the pitch is a lot easier. A script treatment gets all the details out on the page and entertainingly spins them into a yarn worth retelling. Let’s be honest it’s hard to pitch your idea out-loud to people. It’s your chance to be snarky, emotional, and nail the world of your story before you even open your screenwriting software. They do a lot of the heavy lifting when you’re trying to figure out your movie or TV show’s tone. 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.

Screenwriters find treatments are beneficial when it comes to shopping the work around town. Why do you need a script treatment for your film? Your screenplay treatment will only shine with hard work. This document must be engaging to any agent, assistant, executive, or layperson on the street.

This is your story, broken down into an easy-to-follow document, that anyone who picks it up can grasp immediately. It is a synopsis, with action, sparse dialogue, and works as a roadmap for the reader, producer, and writer. It's a multi-page document written in prose, that tells the story that happens in your screenplay. What is a film treatment, and how do you write one?

Wrapping up script treatments Let's learn how to write a treatment! The Film treatment basics 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. 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? And what if you don't know how to write a treatment for a movie?! Where do you begin to write? I find the best course of action is to start with a script treatment. You're maybe considering writing this on spec, but you have to pump the brakes because you need something first.īefore you even write that movie script, which we can help you with here, you need to get all these great ideas down onto the page.that something is… a script treatment for your film. You want to develop it together, and that's the first step towards your vision, finding its way to the screen.

You just got out of a great general meeting, and the executive you met with loves your latest idea. Start to streamline your writing process with a film script treatment.
