5 Essentials for Writing a Video Treatment

A video treatment is a standard part of the initial creative process for most video or film projects, and it keeps everyone involved in your project on the same page. A good treatment is the foundation for a good, finished product and is essential for clearly sharing your vision and keeping the production process moving along smoothly in the right direction. The more time you take to write it, the better your video will be.

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Whether you’re creating a wedding video for a friend, a fundraising video for your kid’s school band, or a TikTok promo for your business, this should be the first step. Here are five tips on how to write and present a video treatment in a clear, compelling way:

1. Give it a good title. The title should be something that captures the essence of your video. Avoid the impulse to choose something abstract. Challenge yourself to brainstorm 50 potential titles, and then choose the one that’s the most clear and concise. Keep in mind that the title of your video treatment doesn’t need to be the same as the title of your film, so choose clarity over creativity and save your most clever or mysterious title for the video itself.

2. Write a clear logline. The logline is a one-to-two sentence summary that describes your story as concisely as possible while building interest. Reference the characters and give a brief synopsis of their story arc and the conclusion. The title and logline go together, so when you’re creating your logline make sure that it makes sense when read alongside your title. Like the title, clarity is key so avoid language that overdramatizes your story. Write your logline to be as straightforward as possible.

3. Introduce the main characters. A character breakdown lists your main characters with a description of who they are, including their personalities, their tie to the story, and any backstory that will help provide context. This helps narrow down who will be featured in your video, in what context, and to what extent. It defines who the narrative will be centered around and who will have a supporting role. Introducing the main characters early on helps your video treatment readers picture the story unfolding while they read the synopsis.

4. Write the story synopsis. The summary is the heart of your video treatment. It’s a chance to share the story beats as concisely as possible. Write in present tense using the active vs. passive voice, and only describe what you can see on screen. If dialog is essential to the storyline itself you can include it. If not, leave it out. Be sure that the roles you give your characters in the story line match the way you described those characters earlier.

5. Make it visual. Since the video itself will be visual, help your readers paint a mental picture by presenting your video treatment visually, as well. Big blocks of text are a real attention killer, so add sketches, images, illustrations, and diagrams to break up text and bring it to life. (This is especially important when writing a treatment for a music video.) Use presentation software to present your treatment piece by piece, visually walking through the story beats of your video and balancing text and images.

Learning how to write a video treatment will not only help you keep the production on track—it will help you present a clearer idea to others so you can gain the support you need to create a high-quality finished video.