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 A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

for a

motion picture A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

, television program, or radio play. It is generally longer and more detailed than an outline (or one-page synopsis), 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. A treatment may also be created in the process of adapting a novel, play, or other pre-existing work into a screenplay.

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 Letter (officially ANSI A) is a paper size standard defined in ANSI/ASME Y14.1 by the American National Standards Institute, commonly used as home or office stationery primarily in the United States, Canada, and the Philippines, and variably ...

or A4 pages (

Courier A courier is a person or organization that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...

New 12 point), with an average of about forty pages. For example, the draft treatment of ''

The Terminator ''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, written by Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd and produced by Hurd. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cybernetic assassin sent back in t ...

'' is forty-eight pages long. More elaborate forms of the draft treatment are the

step outline A step outline (also informally called a beat sheet or scene-by-scene) is a detailed telling of a story with the intention of turning the story into a screenplay for a motion picture. The step outline briefly details every scene of the screenpla ...

and the

scriptment 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 standa ...

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. It is the full story in its simplest form, moving from the

concept A concept is an abstract idea that serves as a foundation for more concrete principles, thoughts, and beliefs. Concepts play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied within such disciplines as linguistics, ...

, to the

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...

, to the

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to Theoph ...

, 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 Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and production executives to look over, or to leave behind as a presentation note after a sales pitch. 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.

References

{{Authority control Treatment Film production Screenwriting de:Drehbuch#Treatment