This is a charityware website in aid of Comic Relief. Please make a donation.
Compilation © Robin Kelly 2001 - 2003
Edited and compiled by Robin Kelly exclusively for Writing for Performance
SHOOTING PEOPLE - UK SCREENWRITERS NETWORK
Supported by The Script Factory
To subscribe, e-mail: writers-join@shootingpeople.org
-----------------------------------------------
From: Julian Friedmann, Blake Friedmann Literary Agency
Subject: Treatments
Re writing treatments: look at the chapter in my book HOW TO MAKE MONEY SCRIPTWRITING . There is a chapter on writing treatments which describes the method developed by writers, producers and publishers I have worked with for nearly 30 years. Until producers pay more than 20% of the total writing fee for treatments writers will not spend enough time on them and the treatments, on which scripts are usually based, will often be flawed. The result? A flawed script.
-----------------------------------------------
From: Hyan Thiboutot
Subject: treatments
My name is Hyan Thiboutot, I'm a semi-professional screenwriter that has worked as a scriptdoctor for Frontline Studios in Montreal for three years. I was head staffwriter. Perhaps, I can help you.
Firstly, lets look at what is an American, Canadian industry standard of a screenplay synop and treatment. Believe me, there are a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding out there, even in the best of books.
A synop is one page, 12 courier, 60 characters across. 55 down. Same as a screenplay. Written in prose, first person. If you structure in 3 acts, (which I don't recommend, and has become outdated by the time Shakespeare decided to go 5 acts) then, write three paragraphs.
If five, six, seven or eight acts, then write five, six, seven or eight short paragraphs.
As for a treatment. Industry standard use to be 50 pages. But execs are lazy and this has been shortened to 12 - 15 pages. (Louis B Mayer use to have his writers write 300 pages before going for the screenplay. It's logical, you'll always get a better screenplay from a book then a napkin pencil sketch)
12 to 15 pages? Hmmmm, let see. A screenplay is typically built of 12 to 18 sequences, encompassing 30 to 36 scenes. (depending if you are writing 2 or 3 minute scenes) 12 ten-minute sequences equals 120 minutes (pages).
Each page of the treatment should be a breakdown of one sequence encompassing 3 to 5 scenes (3 to 5 paragraphs ;). This will give you 12 pages of treatment, and always keep your writing focussed, and to the point.
This will also help execs see the overall structure and flaws. In addition, if you can't nail down a treatment, chances are, you have not conquered the beast that is called the "screenplay".
A good example of a treatment is STRANGE DAYS by Cameron. There, his treatment is 40 characters across. I prefer 50. It reads better.
And finally, check out:
http://www.wordplayer.com/under ARCHIVES, and then "Outlines & Treatment"
-----------------------------------------------
From: Alec Bruce, Fresh Paint Pictures
Subject: Re - Treatment examples.
For a guide to story development and story theory refer to the structured and easy to following cyberfilmschool website. Address as follows:
http://www.cyberfilmschool.com/mschool/3_script/story_script.htm
-----------------------------------------------
From: Adam Bromley
Subject: Re the right way to set out a format
There isn't really a set way of presenting a treatment until you get to the formal stage in for example the BBC commissioning structure. A two to three page outline that explains why it's a good idea, why it will find an audience and what groundwork is already in place is probably all you need. Make it a good and interesting read that instantly hooks you and you're halfway there.
I wouldn't recommend cold calling people if you haven't sent something in. If it is a strong idea then one of the indies will pick it up. Once you've sent something in, you've also got a reason to be calling. Plus, remember from the point of the view of the production company, how many people may talk a good game in the pub to their mates. It just looks much more professional to send in a well presented treatment, give it a couple of weeks and then call. Hopefully they'll call you.
If you're unsure of what a treatment looks like, see if you can get hold of successful pitches in the same genre.
-----------------------------------------------
From: Alex Francis
Subject: Re: writing a synopsis, treatment
I thought I might add a couple of ideas to some of the other responses that you received.
Through my day job as the head of development for a production company (Xingu Films), I'm in the position of receiving a large number of spec scripts, proposals etc, and thought I would offer a bit of advice from this perspective (just my personal opinions of course).
First of all, I would forget about writing the 2 page synopsis, unless specifically asked for one. I have received many of these, and to be perfectly honest, they do no favours to the idea. 2 pages is too short to communicate characters, excitement, and passion. If you try to tell the whole story, beginning, middle and end, then I think you will simply spoil it for the reader, and leave a feeling of 'why read the script now'.
So what to do instead?
My advice is to start by writing a good strong log-line (or 2 line pitch). This is simply along the lines of 'X wants Y but Z stands in the way'. Include it in a short, simple cover letter where you say who you are, and why you are approaching that company (it's nice to know the person has at least considered why we might be interested in it). Also, and this really is a personal point, but I hate those 'it's Titanic meets Diner' type pitches. My reaction is always 'I've already seen those films'. Try and stress your idea's originality.
You then want to have a one page pitch for the script. This should establish the characters, the situation they are in, and what it is they will be spending the film trying to achieve (basically a brief synopsis of up to the end of the first act), followed by a very brief summary of what kind of obstacles they will be facing in their attempt to achieve it, without saying how or whether they succeed. Make this writing tight, bright, and as exciting as you can make it. If it's for a comedy, try and demonstrate your comic talent and make the reader laugh. Basically, you want to excite the reader's interest and leave them wanting more, which they will then contact you to get.
What you send next will depend on what stage you are at. If the script isn't written yet, then send in a treatment (other people have offered good advice on how to do that). If it has been written, skip the treatment stage and send in the script.
There are many ways of doing things, and no hard and fast rules out there, but I have seen this approach succeed, so I hope you find these suggestions helpful.
-----------------------------------------------
From: Alex Francis
Subject: re: Selling Treatments
"How does one sell a film treatment (a detailed treatment and plot/synopsis)?"
The simple and most realistic answer here is you don't. That is, assuming you are a beginning screenwriter and you're talking about feature films.
If you haven't had any scripts produced or at least sold/optioned (features rather than shorts), then the best you could probably hope for after sending someone your treatment is for them to say 'that sounds interesting, send it along when you've written it'. The big disadvantage is that when you do finish your script and send it in, you won't be getting a 'fresh read' anymore. If it's a thriller, for example, it will naturally be less thrilling the second time around.
No one is going to fork out serious money without any guarantee that you are capable of delivering the goods. This may sound harsh, but on the plus side, writing is one of the few film professions that you can come up with the completed goods for next to nothing (assuming you have access to a PC), so no need to empty out your bank account as aspiring directors/producers sometimes have to.
Once you're more established in the business then it becomes realistic to sell treatments, but even then it's more likely that any treatments you will write are for commissioned work.
So my advice is to by all means write a treatment if that is part of the writing process that works for you, but forget about hoping you can sell it to pay for you to quit your day job and spend a few months writing your first draft.
-----------------------------------------------
From: Maxamillian Adouro
Subject: Done Deal
RE: How to write treatments. Try this site www.scriptsales.com it's called DONE DEAL and is one of the oldest screenwriter's sites on the web. It's America based but they have full listings of script sales inc info about writer, who the agent was who did the deal, the price and the buyer, independent and studio, giving a good idea on what's selling. Also they have a page called examples showing how to write synopsis' treatments and so on. Give it a bash, great resource site.
-----------------------------------------------
From: Debe Scott
Subject: Writing Treatments
Treatments have been one of the major barriers that I've had to get through so can appreciate your dilemma. Anyway, the first thing to remember that basically with any form of reading you have 30 seconds to grab your readers attention so baring that in mind you want your treatment to be reader friendly. The best examples I have found are at Wordplay.com - the following link will take you direct to the article in question:
http://www.wordplayer.com/columns/wp37.Proper.Treatment.html after that the only book I have found that covers the whole topic is "Writing Treatments That Sell" by Atchity & Wong. Hope this helps. Good luck.
-----------------------------------------------
From: Mary Lou
Subject: treatments
An excellent book is "Writing Treatments that Sell" by Kenneth Atchity & Chi-Li Wong: how to create and market your story ideas to the motion picture and tv industry - Hollywood of course but the only book I've found so far.
-----------------------------------------------
From: Sheila Hayman
Subject: Treatments
This may sound obvious, and certainly should have been to me, but it wasn't, so here it is for the rest of you.
I recently wrote an extremely detailed treatment for a feature film which my agent sent round to a handful of production companies, all of whom liked it more or less but not enough to pay me to write it.
It only occurred to me after this process that, of course, I can now not send it to them as a script.
Given the near-impossibility of expressing tone, feeling, and mood in a treatment (not to mention all the other skills of scriptwriting as opposed to prose writing), and given that this is a script I really want to write anyway, it feels, in retrospect, to have been a mistake to do this. If you really love a story, go ahead and write it on spec - if it's any good you'll be paid eventually, and you're giving it a better shot.
-----------------------------------------------
From: David Cook
Subject: Re: Story Treatments
This is something I tackled a couple of years ago when I wanted to take part in CH4's 'Short & Curlies' season.
Try sending as much material as you can pertaining to your story, but without sending the script itself. The material you can send should include a short story synopsis (1-2 pages should be enough to get the message through), along with one or two character profiles for the main players in your screenplay.
As you can appreciate, CH4 is an innovative broadcaster that everyone wants to write for, so their reading dept. must be inundated with scripts for shorts every day. Don't send your script unless it is asked for, let your 'promotional material' do all the talking. If they see potential in your vision, they will contact you to view the script.
You should know that selecting a film crew costs the broadcasting company both time and money - your chances of having your project commissioned is enhanced if you can select, suggest and organise a competent film crew to work on the project.
Best of luck, and if they don't accept your project, don't worry too much - they have a limited budget for short films, and may already have a huge waiting list of projects to commission. If all else fails, try polishing the finer aspects of your script and try them again in 18 months.
-----------------------------------------------
From: Julian Friedmann, Blake Friedmann Literary Agency
Re: Treatments
Getting an initial response to a one page synopsis before submitting a script would save a great deal of time but it isn't a real solution. Firstly some good script writers can't write good synopses. Secondly, producers (and agents) will sometimes reject a script because of the genre or storyline or because it is similar to something they already have, but if they like the writing they may want to work with that writer.
Only submitting a synopsis will not help writers in that situation.
A compromise is to send the synopsis and only the first 10 pages of the script. Generally that gets read more quickly than a document that takes a couple of hours. If those 10 pages are really gripping/captivating (which is extremely rare) then, in my experience, the response is usually fast and positive.
I won't read a script or ms without a synopsis because if I don't know what the writer's intentions are how can I judge whether they have achieved what they set out to. Reading a script should not be a guessing game in which the reader tries to work out what the writer is trying to do. Audiences in cinemas don't do that. They need to know what kind of experience they are paying money for before they shell out.
So treatment and synopsis writing is a short cut to getting read more quickly, but unless you can script write as well, it won't help.
-----------------------------------------------
From: Mike Took
Re: Treatments
So, the question is, is it the 'idea' or is it the ability of the writer that is going to grab the interest of the prodcos? For new writers, I would think that it is 'the idea' in the first instance, as there is such a lot of dross around from people who think they have a 'great' idea for a film. Hence the need for a query letter. Once your idea has got past the initial rejection post, then the ability of the writer becomes paramount. If the reader thinks that the writer does actually have a lot of talent, the question comes full circle and 'the idea' can be considered once again.
The bitter irony is, once you are accepted as being 'a talented writer', it doesn't matter to some extent what you then actually write.
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
From: Chryssy Tintner
Subject: writing a true story in script form
"Could anyone tell me, if when writing a true story whether or not you have to change the names/characters on order to protect them and their true identity. Especially if the nature of the story is implicating corrupt establishments."
This is a very good question, because when you sell your screenplay, you have to sign a contract saying you own all the material in it and none of the rights are owned by another person/s.
OK there are several issues here. One is where you found your "factual" (like versions of history, this is ALWAYS subjective) story. The reason these laws are in place is to protect (a) the copyright of published writers and (b) the privacy of individuals in society.
If you read about the subject of your story in the newspaper, the rights are "in the public domain" and any writer can write about them for free. This also means another writer might be working on the same screenplay and you can do nothing about it.
If you read a significant amount about your story in books, then the rights belong to the author/s of those books, and need to be either purchased for a period of time (called an option) or you can in some cases arrange to have an option and defer payment, or if you are very lucky, get one for free. In any of these cases, you must approach both the publisher/s of the books, and the author's agent/s to obtain permission to use the material in your screenplay. They are usually quite friendly when you say you are a penniless writer, but you do need written permission or a contract from the publisher. It also means you have an exclusive right to the material and no-one else can work on it.
In the case of original research, the rights belong to the individuals and companies in question. You need to be very careful here. In my experience, producers and studios I've work with in LA, Europe and Australia tend to avoid scripts they think may result in their being sued!
If you are talking about individuals, approach them and ask to purchase their rights for a minimal amount, for a set period of time. Again, you need a contract with them. This means you can legally use their perspective of events and people. If for some reason you can't do this (e.g. if your hero is Saddam Hussein) it is advisable for you to change names and some events to protect yourself and future producers from legal action. (e.g. Saddam gets pissed because he sees events differently from you and feels you are slandering his good name and reputation. Bingo, takes you to court).
In the case of companies, a company is considered an individual entity under the law. This means it has just as much right to a good name etc. So, especially if your company is a giant tobacco multinational bent on global destruction, I would change the name and a few events for now. You can always explain to future producers that it is based on fact. They would have the option then of making it real - but that would involve a risk of being sued and this makes the sale of your script less attractive to them. There are examples that have bucked the system like "The Insider" but getting them shot and released is fraught with legal dangers. You are not Michael Mann, so err on the side of caution.
Sadly these complex laws hold true everywhere, except perhaps China!
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------