spoke digital films

For the last several weeks I’ve been trying to put together a proposal for my documentary film, Shielded Brutality. The primary reason for the proposal is to seek funding through grant-lending bodies. Production has already begun because events have unfolded that I didn’t want to miss. Also, I feel I’ll need a solid fundraising trailer to show my abilities given that this is my first feature length production. But the written proposal will be hugely important. For the most part I enjoy writing and even feel it’s one of my stronger assets. In fact, I’ve enjoyed writing the other parts of the proposal: a project description, distribution plans, intended audience summaries, a history of involvement, etc. The one element I thought I would enjoy the most and would come most easily is the treatment. I was wrong…

documentary proposal cover page

The treatment, of course, is where you describe how you will “treat” the material in your documentary (or any film). It’s an opportunity to describe the look, feel, and tone of your project including descriptions of imagery, specific shots, etc. Sounds like the fun, creative part, right? To some degree that’s true, but for some reason it’s proven a bit maddening as well. I don’t think the problem is that I don’t have good grip on the film I want to make. I’ve actually outlined the film numerous times and feel good about my ability to craft a logical and interesting narrative. The bigger problem, I think, has been finding the right balance between a taut, compelling description and a bloated one that bogs down in unnecessary details. Another problem may be that writing the treatment feels so concrete and “definite”, whereas one of the things I love most about documentary filmmaking is the necessity of improvisation. I need to remind myself what I read recently in a book on the subject: your treatment should describe a film but not necessarily the finished film. In other words, it should be written so that if nothing interesting or extraordinary happens during production, you still have a blueprint for a decent film. The problem with that, of course, is that you want your treatment to sound extraordinary from the start!

The length of the treatment is another source of worry. I’ve read suggestions that a documentary treatment should be no longer than two single-spaced pages, others say five to ten pages, and others still say as many as necessary with no limitations. I’m shooting for five to eight pages myself. If anyone out there in the blogosphere has any suggestions on this matter (or any matter regarding documentary proposals), I would appreciate the advice.

Speaking of advice for new filmmakers, I think my next post will outline some of the books I’ve found invaluable in working on this project. Even though I’m having a tough time writing my treatment, I would really be in trouble without the wisdom found in a handful of books I’ve been reading. For now though, it’s back to writing!

One last thought… I was expecting the writing of my treatment to be a pleasurable breeze, and it’s proving to be anything but. Does that mean that writing my budget, which I have been dreading, will be a walk in the park? I’m keeping my fingers crossed (but not holding my breath…)