How long a treatment?
I am currently writing my first feature length screenplay and have been asked to send in a treatment to a production company. What is the standard form for a treatment (how many pages, etc)? I have trawled the Internet to no avail.
–DOC
There is no standard. Ask the production company what they mean by a treatment, and they’ll probably tell you what they’re looking for in terms of pages. They may even send a sample.
For example, my assistant Dana is currently writing a treatment for a production company. The treatment will end up being 15-20 pages, single spaced. To me, that’s at the long end of a treatment, but that’s what the company wanted.
A treatment of any length generally describes all of the major scenes or sequences in the movie in prose form, but doesn’t get into specific dialogue. From a treatment, a reader should be able to get a good sense of the movie’s plot, but not necessarily its special flavor. A treatment is never a substitute for a screenplay.
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December 23rd, 2007 at 4:30 pm
My husband and I have written a short one page treatment that is based on a true story. We want to submit it to interested parties in the hopes of it being made into a movie. Can you advise me of resources or the best way to get it to the right people? Thank you!
February 6th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Yes that is true; any production company should give you guidelines on how long they need treatments to be.
Some request script dialogue sample.
Chidino Ndou from Dzhatsha Films, South Africa Producer / Director http://www.dzhatshafilms.wetpaint.com