Even though you might not have a clear idea of what it means, the word 'treatment' will still be familiar to you.
No doubt that it gets bounced around a lot in the creative industries.
In fact when put very simply, it's just a pitch to a client (company or artist) to win them over so you can go ahead with the production.
Normally a client can get many treatments as proposal, and he will pick one that he likes.
If you are the only one pitching for business, you would have two or three variants of the treatment to give the client some options.
It is a creative on a document that has a clear concept and a precise summary.
Why should you present a treatment? Ideas can be communicated in different ways, and the same is true for how they are understood.
When you write a treatment for your client, it makes it that much easier for him to understand your thoughts and what you want to do with them.
Even though they can't get the idea of how it's planned out in your mind, it still makes sense.
Try to have all the relevant information in your treatment.
You don't want your client to hold you to it when you bring in some creative fervour later, do you? But don't overdo it.
It's all about selling your idea after all.
Options vs Competition When it's just you sending the treatments to your client, it's options for him; when there are many others sending in their treatment, it's competition for you! As simple as that.
When you are giving options to your client, normally it's a good idea to provide three different treatments - one simple, other technical, and the third between the two.
You can also ask different people to make the treatments just so you know what the client likes.
On the contrary, when competing against others, you need to play on your strengths.
Chances are that the client approached you because he had already seen and likes your past work.
Now you wouldn't want to be too different, will you? Also, if you haven't met the client in person, you'd normally not have an idea about their expectations, but if you are fortunate to meet one, you can easily learn about their likes and not.
Remember, it doesn't matter how well your treatment is written, but how good the idea is.
The making Even though all who write it, have different approaches, the most important part of treatment is information.
Normally, it's either of three - Video references, Textual breakdowns or mood boards.
Video references can let the client know of what he should expect as a final result.
It can be inspired or influenced, but you should always explain what exactly to look for in there - the lighting, the pace, the editing or something else.
You could put two or three video references together to make your point, as long as the client can understand it easily.
Textual breakdowns is just a quick peek into what will happen in the video.
You would use them when images can't make do.
It may be some lyrics, an act or a (step by step) description.
Your style and tone of writing is something important here, it should match that of the video.
Mood boards are a fun way to present your idea.
They are a collection of images that would depict some relevant shots, colour schemes, locations, costumes, etc.
Layout is important when designing a mood board.
Just throwing images onto a sheet of paper will not make your layout stand out, so think it through carefully about how you want the client to feel your video.
A treatment could be on just an A4 sheet of paper written in Word or Powerpoint or a Photoshop document.
It really doesn't matter how you do it, but what matters is the idea behind it and how clear it is.