The Teachers' Animation Toolkit

Materials:
Sketchbooks, pens, pencils
Resources:
Handout: Writing a Treatment

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Cineliteracy
47
HANDOUT: WRITING A TREATMENT
Once you’ve come up with your basic fi lm idea, prepare a treatment. 
A treatment would normally be given to potential fi nanciers or 
producers to get the fi lm made. It’s a description of the story, 
including atmosphere, style and setting. It tells the audience how 
they will experience the fi lm in images and sounds.
Here is a framework for your treatment:
Title:
This is the working title for your fi lm or fi lm series.
Strap line:
This is one sentence that explains the purpose of your 
fi lm.
Approximate length:
The fi nal edited length in minutes
Synopsis: 
The synopsis should try to answer the following 
questions:
What happens in your story? Describe the main characters, the task 
or quest they are undertaking and how it is resolved.
Who is your audience? Who are you making this fi lm for? (This 
question is very important as it will inform the style and content of 
your fi lm.)
How will the fi lm be structured? Describe the shape and sequence 
of the fi lm. How will the different scenes and sequences be 
organized and relate to each other?
What will the audience see and hear? Describe the location and 
‘world’ of your fi lm. List the different settings in which the action 
takes place. Describe the different types of imagery you plan to 
include in the fi lm. What visual style will you adopt?
Will you use a narrator, and if so what will be the narrator’s role? Will 
the characters use dialogue to help develop the story?
Will you use music and if so, what style?

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