The Treatment...and Why You'll be Glad You Did it.

A Treatment consists of paragraphs of double-spaced, present tense, moment by moment description.

You indicate what the characters talk about, eg. 'he wants her to do this, but she refuses',

you never write dialogue in a treatment.

Instead you create the sub-text, the true thoughts and feelings underneath what is said and done.

Why write a treatment,

why not start straight into the script?

Because otherwise you have to try to write whilst keeping the entire emotional journey of the film in your head, as you write.

Now, imagine that the emotional journey of this musical composition is the one that you want to take your audience on

BUT

...you have to write it directly, as a script, which can be made up of ONLY

what we will see on screen &

what we will hear.

Nothing else.

A script CANNOT include descriptions of intentions, motivations, emotions, thoughts, feelings or memories.

These invisible, inaudible things have to be INTERPRETED into

Visual & Aural Symbols

that will be READ by your audience

AND FELT by your audience

and you would have to keep all of that detail, in your head, as you write.

That is why we need to write the treatment.

The treatment CAN contain all of the inner feelings and thoughts, the motivations and inner decisions of your characters.

As well as indications of who things belong to, the mood of a situation or place.

You write a treatment so that you,

and anyone who reads it,

experiences exactly the emotional journey that you intend for your audience, when watching the final film.

From 'Story' by Robert McKee

A treatment should never read like a synopsis, like dull beats of a plot moving forward, trudging toward a predictable outcome. When you’re reading the pages, however simple, the thrill of the story must be captured.

And how do you do that?

You forget that you’re writing a treatment and tell the story like a classic around-the-campfire cliff-hanger – as if every event happened before your very eyes and you can’t wait to share it.

McKee's TREATMENT Example:

"Hungry, he heads for the kitchen, but as he crosses the room he notices a note on the dining- room table. It's one of those damn, annoying notes that she's always leaving around, taped to the bathroom mirror or wherever.

Irritated, he picks it up and tears it open. Reading it he discovers that she has left him for good. As his legs go weak he drops into a chair, a knot twisting in his gut. His head falls into his hands and he starts to cry.

He's surprised by his outburst, pleased that he can still feel some emotion. But his tears are not grief; they're the dam breaking with relief that the relationship is finally over”

Paul's Script interpretation of McKee's Treatment Example

INT. LIVING ROOM, NIGHT

The sound of keys in a door, muttered cursing, a light switched on, a brief case lands under a coat rack. The front door slams, rattling the letter box. TED walks to the bottom of the stairs carrying a brown paper bag and calls up,

TED

Ju, I got Chinese!

TED enters, lit from the hallway and silhouetted against the bay window. He takes in the unlit room and sighs, plonks the bag on the edge of the dining table.

Wrestling his jacket from his shoulders, he casts it onto the sofa, which he leans across and drags the curtains closed. With a grunt he leans down behind the arm of the sofa, a click and an IKEA standard lamp illuminates a sparse room and large print floral curtains.

Another grunt as he hauls himself up, turns and shouts,

TED

Ju!!

Gaunt, creased, shaking his head, he trudges past the dining table, toward the kitchen.

He halts.

He sighs, he takes a step backwards.

On the table is a small envelope with 'Ted' written on it. He snatches it up and tears it open. Chewing on his lips, scowling, his eyes scan the contents.

His mouth relaxes.

He scans again, slower.

He blinks, feels for the chair to his side and drops into it. The letter in his fist, pressed shaking against the highly polished table top. TED's breathing is staggered as tears roll down his face as he stares ahead. Before him the sideboard is covered in framed selfies of TED and JULIE.

Behind him a large black and white 'his and hers' canvas portrait, their faces looming in posed delight, either side of his now flushed, wet face. He gulps. His eyes register something. He slowly flattens out the crumpled note on the table to reveal - 'Ted, I am sorry but I don't feel loved by you anymore, I need more, I deserve more. So do you. Julie x

TED's eyes soften and blink against his tears as he reads.

TED

Uh, uh, huh. Ooh...oh, aha, aha ha ha!

EXT. TERRACED HOUSE, NIGHT

Light shines through floral curtains illuminating two gnomes on the window sill. From inside the sound of TED laughing and against the curtains the shadow of TED dancing.

The point of the treatment is to capture and communicate the

emotional dream-world

that your audience will experience, once you have conceived, designed and created it for them to inhabit.

This stage is, I believe, the MOST crucial aspect of film-making because if you don't imagine your story-world fully, by making it somewhere you, the writer, can go in your head,

where your characters are 3 dimensional, rich and surprising creatures,

that react and respond to each other in a believable way -

and take this opportunity to use creative writing to set that down on paper - in the form of a TREATMENT -

You risk letting the rich, subtle details, themes, poetry and meaning of your story, slip through your fingers.

You may have a functioning narrative but it will be the difference between...

The other use for a Treatment, beyond developing the script -

It can get you the money to write the script and realise it....From Nofilmschool:

"Your treatment can do a lot more than sell a project—it can be your production's guiding light".

"In the ad world, a treatment is used to woo the creatives, account people, and agency producers—convincing the entire gang that the potential director (or production company) is the right person for the job. A treatment is practically used the same way in the Hollywood studio system. “They” are trying to find people who have a unique vision, passion, and understanding of the material.

...as an independent filmmaker, you should have your hands on the wheel the entire time and make building a treatment part of your creative process. Sometimes just drafting a treatment for an idea you have can lead to it coming to fruition.

Developing a solid treatment can prove useful even into the fray of production. Your treatment can serve as a creative compass through the entire process, so it’s important to nail down the mood and atmosphere you’re looking to achieve.

From the actors to the DP, everyone will be on the same page because they’ll be looking at the same book. It’s a lot easier working as a large team when everyone understands the mood and atmosphere that you’re attempting to set.

What is the mood of your film?

What emotions are you trying to put on screen?

And how does all of that shape your atmosphere?"

Know what you’re talking about. Write confidently and passionately about the film you’re setting out to make. Speak to the camera moves*...