Screen writing: The pitch, the treatment, the storyboard

The Pitch: The story ideas should be written out in no longer than four sentences in length, and should demonstrate both the hook and the developmental potential of the idea.

The Treatment: tells the story in detail, tells us what we see, imparts the mood of the screenplay, includes brief character details, avoids camera and music directions, is written in crisp, short paragraphs (one per scene) using active verbs and descriptive nouns. In Hollywood, 90 -100 minute features translates to a 30 page treatment. So our 3-5 minute films should receive treatments of about a page and a half.

The Storyboard: What is a storyboard?

 A storyboard is a visual representation of how a story is to be shot.  It is one of the easiest and most effective script formats.  Although, there are many different types of storyboards, they all feature drawings and sketches which represent all of the shots in the production.  These drawings are placed in frames similar to a comic strip.