OK, let’s face it, it can be tough writing a good treatment, cramming all the important events in a 99-120 page screenplay into a fraction of that length.
But the point of a treatment is to get someone to read the script. That’s all.
So take this maxim to heart:
It’s not a matter of how much you need to write in order to get them to read the script but how little!
Focus your efforts on the minimum essential to hook your reader.
That means the high points, the main dramatic question, the emotional journey, a few stand-out moments.. and finish.
Like a good trailer, a successful treatment gives the essence of the film (or TV drama or series) in broad but evocative brush strokes.
Leave them wanting more.
Excellent advice as usual. The approach to writing a treatment could also be applied to pitching a feature idea to a journalist or for that matter writing a press release.