Major Project: Treatment Research

As i had never written a treatment before, i wanted to research what kind of things went in to them in order to make it as professional as possible. I began by searching about treatments on google and found an article on this website:

http://www.charles-harris.co.uk/2013/10/12-essential-tools-for-writing-a-successful-film-or-tv-treatment/

"1. KEEP IT SHORT2. REMEMBER THE PURPOSE OF A TREATMENT3. MAKE IT REFLECT THE BALANCE OF THE SCRIPT4. INCLUDE THE SCRIPT’S ENDING5. MAKE IT READABLE AND MOVING6. SHOW ME AN ACTIVE PROTAGONIST7. AVOID AND THEN… AND THEN…8 CUT NEGATIVES, AVOID IMPERSONALS AND MAKE PASSIVES INTO ACTIVES9. WHILE YOU MAKE YOUR SENTENCES LINK AND FLOW10. STEAL ACTIONING WORDS FROM ACTORS11. STAKE THE FARM12. PUT PICTURES ON THE SCREEN OF MY MIND"

I found the keep it short bit one of the key things. As the script itself is 30 pages, having a concise treatment would help me to sell the idea to potential producers and companies. If i want them to read my script i need them to be interested in the project getting the plot and concept across quickly as in the real world there would be a stack of treatments and scripts and producers don't have time to read them all. I decided writing a 1 page treatment and then writing the entire 6 episode synopsis's as if they get past the treatment it would a good idea for them to see the whole series outline and my vision for where the characters go.

The first thing i had seen from the treatments i had read is to write a logline. This is something that i had practise with from previous years. So i knew that i needed to outline the plot of the show making it seem exciting and in keeping with the tone of the show.

"preparing a log line for your screenplay is a basic marketing tool that I have repurposed for developing treatments. It is similar to the summary given in TV Guide. It is a technique for boiling down a plotline to its essence that has been described as trying to vomit into a thimble. "

http://www.movieoutline.com/articles/how-to-write-a-treatment.html

The next section i thought to include was a premise. This was to outline the idea for the show in further detail. I had already wrote a premise in order to prepare for the pitch session with Simon. I reworked this as i felt it suited the tone of the show well and made it a little more relevant as the script has gone through many edits since the pitch.

http://mikedimartinostory.com/2014/05/21/writing-the-premise/
"The premise discussions are basically a more focused version of the season overview discussions. For me, the episode starts to click when I know the character’s emotional arc for that episode. "
This was something that stuck with me and also in turn had an impact on my episode synopsis's - i tried to show the emotional arc of the characters clearly. I tried to give a snippet of the characters personalities in the premise but in a more comedic way but also tell the drama storyline of the pilot - Nath getting beaten up. 

The final part of the treatment is format. This is vital for professional treatments.

http://www.antonymayfield.com/2012/06/13/how-to-pitch-a-tv-show/

"Your format and pitch to a commissioner need to be clear about what they are… Why you? Why me? Why now?: Sometimes it isn’t the strength of the idea that counts, but its context. One producer said that these three questions that quite often people pitching a format can’t answer."

From this research the why you? why me? part stood out, i wanted to make it clear why the show fitted Tekkers Tv as a platform as it was a sports channel with dramatic and comedy elements. I also wanted to explain why that time of day for releasing the show. It was based on research undertook by the producer. 
I felt having the format of what our show is about would help clarify the platform. As Tekkers Tv is a platform that myself, Chris and Danny founded i sat with them and Aimee to discuss the ideas for why we felt it would suit the channel. As producer Aimee led the discussion and based on feedback we gave to her she decided on the time for show. I also wanted to show the number of episodes and length of the episodes. I decided to create a 6 episode series based on the traditional amount for a UK series and the reason for 30 minutes was because that is roughly the length for sitcoms / drama comedies in the Uk. I could have done the online route where the episodes are usually much shorter but i felt the shorter length of time but more episodes didn't fit my vision for the show. I wanted time to explore the characters. Also this show is something i could see on a channel in the future so although it is currently for Tekkers TV i wanted to keep the format in keeping with what is currently broadcast to be able to potentially use it as a future pitch.

Overall i felt the treatment writing experience was an unusual one but still interesting and helped me to highlight the show concisely for others.