Sometimes the terms “synopsis” and “treatment” are used interchangeably, but a common way to distinguish them is to think of a treatment as a fleshed out outline or expanded synopsis. As such, it features the major story line of a script, but without the dialog, except for when the dialog is occasionally woven into the text to better explain or dramatize the story. A major difference between a synopsis and a treatment is that a synopsis is normally at most 1-2 single spaced pages, and more usually 1 page, while a treatment may often run to 25 to 40 pages. An outline might be 5 to 10 pages.
Commonly an outline is something you prepare for yourself to help you structure the plot of the story and build in the characters against this framework. Some writers also develop an extensive backstory for each character, which helps to create the character’s motivation and personality. Then, the writer uses that character work-up to inform them as they write the script.
Another approach writing a script is to simply start with a synopsis and use this as a guide, which is what I normally do, although some writers prefer to use the outline or treatment as their guide, and they later write the synopsis for pitching the script. There is no one way that works best, so use the approach that is most comfortable for you.
Where a treatment fits into all of this is if you want to create a more detailed outline that isn’t just a barebones listing of the major plot points in the story. Instead, you include a description of the setting along with the action, and you may provide a summary of what the characters will talk about in each scene, without providing all or most of the dialog, except in relating certain key points in the story, where a particular exchange or line of dialog is important. With this exception, the treatment is mostly a description of the story, which sometimes can read like a novel, although it doesn’t include much or any dialog or the interior thoughts, feelings, and intentions of the characters.
Often a treatment is not necessary when you are pitching a script. Besides responding to a short initial query letter or very brief phone or in-person pitch (about 250-400 words for the letter; 10-15 seconds for the pitch, producers, agents, and managers typically ask for a synopsis or if they want to see more, they may ask for the first 5-10 pages or the entire script. Potential investors will commonly ask for a synopsis and business plan in addition to the script. But asking for a treatment is less common. In fact, in my five years of pitching scripts and getting a few scripts in production or under option, no one has asked to see a treatment. They have all asked to initially see the synopsis, both the synopsis and script together, or just the script.
So why write a treatment, and when should you write one? There are a few times when it is good to do this:
– You are producing the script yourself, and you want to work out more specifically what will happen where, what characters will be involved, and what the budget might be given those details.
– You want to more precisely lay out the story line of the script, before you write the dialog.
– You are working with a co-writer or plan to hire a ghost writer, who will use your treatment as a guide to write the script; or a treatment may be a helpful guide if you want a novelist to expand your script idea into a novel and you haven’t yet written the script.
– You only have a synopsis and don’t have the time or ability to write out the script; so you want to protect the story and characters with a copyright.
– A potential partner, producer, production company, investor, or a person writing a budget wants to see more precisely what happens in the story, but you haven’t yet written the script.
– And perhaps you may think of other uses for a treatment.
In sum, while a treatment may often not be necessary, particularly if you are writing the completed script yourself, there are times it may be useful. And just like the synopsis, outline, or script itself, you can feel free to modify or change whatever you write, as you have new ideas, get feedback on ways to improve the story and script, or find that the original version is too costly to film, so you need another version that is less expensive to produce.
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Gini Graham Scott, PhD, is the author of over 50 books with major publishers, including two on the film industry: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO WRITING, PRODUCING, AND DIRECTING A LOW-BUDGET SHORT FILM and FINDING FUNDS FOR YOUR FILM OR TV PROJECT, both published by Hal Leonard. She has written and produced over 50 short films, has written 15 scripts for features, has three other films in preproduction, and has one feature film she wrote and executive produced in post-production for release in November 2014. She also writes scripts for clients, and has several film industry Meetup groups which have meetings to discuss members films.