Reasons For Writing a Script Treatment

by melstampz

Reasons For Writing a Script Treatment

There are reasons for writing a treatment or outline based on your brilliant original movie idea. Simply put a movie idea or concept cannot be copyrighted. Idea theft isn’t widespread in the movie business, but there is always that remote possibility some intellectual property thief hears your movie idea, loves it, and develops their own script or movie based on your idea. Not many aspiring writers, directors, or producers have deep enough pockets to get into a costly court battle over an idea. Writing a treatment and submitting it to the U.S. Copyright Office protects your movie idea.

It is possible to sell a script treatment, but usually that’s reserved for Hollywood insiders or established screenwriters with a proven track record. Not for newcomers on the scene. Hashing out solid a script treatment greatly increases the chances for a tight well written script to be born.

This article is mainly for those aspiring screenwriters that have a movie idea they are going to eventually write themselves.

A treatment is a full narrative description of the story. This happens, this happens, and finally this happens. It can include bits of dialogue or not. Length can vary from 1-25 pages or more depending how involved you want to get. I’m usually able to get a real good handle on my script idea within 6 pages of a treatment.

I myself do not write out scenes on index cards to follow as a road map for my scripts. I heard it works for other screenwriters, but I can’t share with you a technique I personally do not use. I also do not write detailed biographies on characters to get into their heads. If I created them I better know what motivates them and what makes them say or do the things they do in the script. I use a simple script treatment to flesh out my movie idea into a tight story. Writing a shorter treatment is my personal preference. People develop their own preferences when writing a treatment. You’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll find yours as you go through the process.

At this point, if you’ve done a little reading on screenwriting you’ll be looking at your treatment to make sure it follows the Three Act Structure as advised in many books. The First Act (the beginning), the Second Act (the middle), and the Third Act (the end). I respect the principal, but do not apply it as a hard and fast rule to my scripts. All good stories will always have a beginning that hooks people, a middle that keeps people interested in how the whole thing will turn out, and the end where you give the viewer the big payoff.

When you write a script trying to force your idea to conform to the Three Act Structure your story can lose zip. It might be your story has four or five acts to get to the end. When I look at my treatment I ask myself one major question; would I watch this movie? Movies, in my opinion, are for entertainment. If you tell a good story that will keep people entertained and watching you’ll do fine as a filmmaker. With a treatment done I always feel more confident going in to write a full script. Think of a treatment as your road map of where you want the story you script to lead. When you’re done with your treatment you’re one step closer to making your movie, not just talking about it. Good luck and good screenwriting!

Trending: Your basket contains… everything
At this point, original television series are probably the only thing left for Amazon to sell. It now flogs everything from gluten-free pasta to its own range of batteries. So the news that the company is rumoured to be reviving the battered corpse of …
Read more on The Independent

How To Get Started Computer Ebook(r)s.
Logon Scripts, Windows 2003, Exchange 2003.
How To Get Started Computer Ebook(r)s.

Cricut Cartridge, Storybook

• Font cartridge for use with all Cricut machines
• 6 Creative Features: Tall/Border, Shorty/Holes, Fancy/Corner, Accent/Frame, Shadow, and Accent Blackout
• Contains an uppercase alphabet with common punctuation and symbols
• Contains borders, corner accents, and frames
• Cartridge box measures approximately 9-1/2 by 5 by 1-1/2 inches

Recapture the imagination and art of nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and fables. With the Storybook cartridge, it is easy to create flourishes that can be layered onto each letter and add that extra childhood magic to any project. The uppercase alphabet on this cartridge is an elegant addition to almost any project. Other features include decorative corners, borders, frames, and icons all guaranteed to give your project a “happily ever after.” Use the latest Cricut cartridges to create unique a

List Price: $ 69.99

Price: $ 34.99

Find More Selling My Script Articles