Screenwriting : Feature Film summary treatment by Diane Kelley

A one sheet, a 3-5 page Treatment, and an approx 35 page Treatment.

To be blunt, the industry standard is to have what they ask for, so have it all. You're probably covered if you have those three things.

If those things aren't easy to write, your script is not ready to show.

Kay:

Here's what industry people are looking for; a compelling story that can be summarized with a high-concept logline. And, if they like that you can get them to read a synopsis of your script. One of my producer colleagues submitted a pitch today and my logline and synopsis are 1 1/2 pages. It also includes a paragraph about the protagonist's character arc. That's what I typically do and have secured options and right to shop deals using that method. Bear in mind we live in a ADD society of texting and high technology. You need to get your reader's attention quickly and I would never submit more than two pages for your first written pitch.

As far a treatment, most folks are not asking for treatments for spec screenplays. Also, a lot of people say treatments when they mean a story synopsis. I've written 35 screenplays and have only written one treatment. I prefer story outlines as a roadmap for where I'm going. And normally, I can do that with four pages and only use them as a writer's road map. IMHO, treatments are completely unnecessary.

Treatments are generally for assignments. Employers want to micromanage

Thanks Kay and Phillip,

The "standard" seems to be completely fluid, on a case by case basis. With Theatrical releases suffering from an ever smaller window of opportunity, where medium to small budget features, as well as Indy's are getting squeezed out, perhaps adding another page to my One Sheet would allow me to indicate my screenplay is a four quadrant, tent pole feature. Or do you think that determination would be represented by a well written logline?

Diane,

Many producers and execs are also requesting "Pitch Decks" these days, so you might want to make one of them, too.

I agree with Kay...I basically should have the appropriate story summaries when someone request it. It seems like "extra work", but it's probably worth it in the long run. One-Pager, Three - Five Page Synopsis, a Ten-Page Treatment, and a Pitch Deck. I also make Scene Lists and Character Lists, because one producer I interact with asks for them, too. Another exec asked me only for a Ten-Page Treatment after hearing my story pitch. That's all he ever wants to read, and he's wired for unexpected consequences; great external and inner struggles; and characters that transform, and wants to see a treatment that highlights those elements. It sure is nice to go from "verbal pitch" to "script request", though!

Also, medium to small budget features are not getting "squeezed out". On the contrary, more and more are getting made than ever before. At all levels of budget ranges, finished films face a lot more competition than in past decades, to be sure, but more films get made every year than the previous year. Writing a marketable screenplay is the most easy part...marketing and selling it, or getting a paid writing assignment based on your sample, is much harder - just like making a marketable film is the easy part, getting it funded, marketing it and making a profit on it are the much harder parts.

Best fortunes to you in your creative and marketing endeavors, Diane!

I don't do indies anymore, and I prefer to pitch face to face, but studio execs have always asked me for a treatment at a story meeting (well, not every time) to see if it was a story they could get behind, I suppose.

But my motivation comes from this:

When my daughter was the receptionist at Morgan Creek they would often meet with expensive Hit Man writers to fix some script they'd bought from somebody like one of us. I read them. Usually, they were solid, but not great, because the writer's craft was weak, I came to learn.

The Hit Man would always get an advance copy of the script and then bring in a short treatment and a long treatment for the meeting. Hit Man is like, The Big Kid Writer's Job, so I took a page from thier book and began to get work living in Hollywood doing uncredited rewrites on indie scripts. I'd read the script, write a treatment, and bingo! I was a working writer.

Hey @Kay Interesting read, I never heard of hit man writers before.

Debbie-- David Ward, writer of the Sting was one of them. He started shopping this Rom Com Caper script (I still have a copy) that is flawless. Can't figure out why it was never made, which tells me something.

But being a Hit Man paid $250,000 a week 10 years ago, so that's the job, and that's why you never hear from so many Oscar winning writers again. Sorkin chooses to remain visible, but it's open to argument who is best.

Dan-- I agree, essentially. I don't write original material off a treatment, Not worth the trouble.

But it is a good tool for selling your take on someone else story, and once a script is finished, I can write a treatment for it in my sleep.