Shooting a film project requires a script or screenplay which details the actions, dialogues and sometimes camera shots and angles.
But writing a screenplay from scratch sometimes seems boring, as well as rob the scriptwriter of the opportunity to be inspired with more iscenes that will make the story more interesting.
Moreover, in the case where the scriptwriter intends to sell his script, potential buyers do not have that much time to sit down and read a 90 to 100 pages of a whole screenplay.
And because of this and several more reasons, scriptwriters have resorted to a short form of summarizing their story by way of a film treatment which goes hand-in-hand with a film proposal.
In this article therefore, I am going to help you understand the difference between a film proposal and treatment as well as how to write each of them.
After showing you the difference between a film proposal and treatment, I will walk through the things that are required in a film proposal and treatment and finally end this article by showing you when to write a film proposal and treatment..
So without any further ado, let’s get started right away.
The difference between a film proposal and treatment.
Basically, the difference between a film proposal and a treatment is that a film proposal is a detailed description of all the aspects of a film project while a film treatment is a short narrative or summary of the entire story.
A film proposal always includes a treatment and is created in the pre-production stage as a means of persuading potential script buyers or producers to either buy off or invest in the film project.
It is however worth mentioning that there is a lot of overlap between both concept of script writing because all scriptwriters tend to use them interchangeably.
What is required in a film proposal.
A film proposal is required to have or contain the following informations:
- Full leght and format of the film project.
- The aim and purpose of the entire film.
- The audience the project is expected to target.
- If there is any other movie on this theme or subject, what makes your own story unique, different, or outstanding from those others.
- Outline any key stylistic elements that could be spitted in the writing, shooting, editing and audio that are going to be used i the film.
- Does the movie require a unique soundtrack? if so, who is going to compose and sing it?
- What is the credibility of the production team? Do they have any successful project(s) already in the movie marketplace?
- The current position or history of the entire project.
- Does the story have any historical background or is it just a fictions story.
- What are the marketing and distribution strategy you have about the finished project?
As a scriptwriter, you need to understand that the aim of a film proposal is to help communicate your entire idea about a film project to anybody or group of persons who do not know anything about your screenwriting career.
Consequently, a film proposal is meant to help the scriptwriter source out for funds that will help him bring his ideas or story into the big screen, and for that reason, the credibility of the entire production team really matters a lot.
What is the treatment of a film proposal?
The treatment of a film proposal is simply a short summary that describes the film or story you are proposing to bring on screen. It’s purpose is to help you give a producer or any movie investor an insight into the movie you are proposing to shoot.
Your film treatment should therefore contain the following:
- Highlights of the main actions that will be central to the whole story.
- Give a perfect introduction and description of your characters as you introduce them one after the other.
Writing a film treatment will help you to see the end from the beginning of your entire story and above all help you to discover more scenes that will make you story more interesting.
Once the producer or movie investor glances at your film treatment, he will know that you perfectly understand what you really need or require for your story.
How film treatments and proposals are used.
Film treatments and proposals are used in the following ways:
- To give a perfect description of a film project so as to help everyone who is going to be involved understand the entire film as well as the approaches that is going to make it successful.
- It will help you to come up with a paper document that is going to help you source for funds to not only shoot your story but ensure it reaches the marketplace and bring a return on the investment.
- It will assist the production team to shoot and edit the entire film project.
When to write a film proposal and treatment.
You should write a film proposal and treatment after you have been able to conduct a thorough research on the steps as well as the funds that will enable you to shoot the story you have in mind.
Even if it is a true life story, you need to be able to figure out additional scenes that will make the story more interesting than how it happened in real life.
For this reason, you can read books, newspapers or conduct interviews with people to dig out their own idea of the subject you have at hand. And when you et down to writing, you can add those ideas to yours and make it more lively and interesting.
Final thoughts.
Filmmaking has a roadmap that you must follow in order to reach the intended destination of any movie project you have at hand.
And because of that, you don’t have to wake up one morning and start writing a script that comes into your head without understanding how or the steps you are going to take in order to become successful in it.
Always learn to start your script development from scratch by employing the methods I have shown you in this article.
I wish you the best of luck.
