Film treatment template and example
Copy the template, fill the first two sections in ten minutes, then paste the finished treatment into a new project and compare the cast it finds with your own list.
Treatment, logline, outline, script
| Document | Typical length | Written as | Use it to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logline | One sentence | Who wants what, and what stands in the way | Hook a reader |
| Synopsis | A paragraph | A short summary of the whole story | Introduce the project |
| Treatment | One to ten pages | Present-tense prose, start to finish | Tell the whole story before writing the script |
| Outline | A list | Scene-by-scene or beat-by-beat | Plan the structure |
| Script | Many pages | Scenes, action lines and dialogue | Make the film |
Lengths are conventions, not rules. Logline examples · Screenplay template · Story bible template.
The template
| Section | Write | Keep it to |
|---|---|---|
| Title and format | THE TITLE, then format and length (a short, about 8 minutes) | One line |
| Logline | Who wants what, and what stands in the way | One sentence |
| Tone and look | Three adjectives and what the pictures feel like | Two lines |
| Characters | Name, age, role and one want each | One sentence per person |
| Setting | Where and when, and how many places | Two lines |
| Setup | The world, the person, the first disturbance | A short paragraph |
| Confrontation | The want is tested; things get worse | One to two paragraphs |
| Resolution | The choice, the cost and the last image | A short paragraph |
A filled example
THE LAST FERRY — a short film, about 8 minutes.
Logline. On the last night before the island ferry line closes for good, a retiring captain agrees to carry one final passenger, a boy with a locked suitcase and no ticket, and must decide whether to open it.
Tone and look. Quiet, wintry, a little uncanny. Cold blues and one warm cabin light; slow shots, no music until the end.
Characters. MARTA VOSS, 61, ferry captain for thirty years, who has refused to be anyone's keeper. OTTO, 24, her deckhand, practical and anxious. ELI, about 10, a boy with a locked suitcase and a story that does not quite add up.
Setting. The Kessel Island ferry, one night in late November: a pier, a wheelhouse, a deck in fog.
Setup. The town has voted to replace the ferry with a bridge, and tonight is the last crossing. Marta counts the last ropes. One passenger waits on the pier: Eli, with a suitcase, no ticket and no parents. He says someone is waiting for him on the island. Otto wants to call the harbour office. Marta casts off instead.
Confrontation. Mid-crossing, fog closes in and the radio dies. The suitcase begins to tick. Otto wants it thrown overboard. Marta tests the boy's story by asking the name of the island's lighthouse; Eli gets it wrong, then right. She opens the case: it is full of small clocks, each stopped at a different time. Eli says they belong to people who never made the last boat, and that he has carried them across for years. Otto retreats to the wheelhouse. Marta realises the boy has stood at the rail on every crossing she remembers.
Resolution. At the island pier the clocks start, one by one, as the fog lifts. Eli steps off and does not look back. Marta looks at her own watch, stopped at the minute she first took the wheel, and winds it. Final image: the ferry's lights go out, the pier lights come on and the new bridge glows in the distance.
What to leave out
- Pages of dialogue. One line that sells a scene is enough; the script carries the rest.
- Camera directions. Say what happens, not how it is shot.
- The past tense. A treatment is told as it happens: she casts off, the fog closes in.
- Withholding the ending. A treatment gives the ending, because it is a plan, not a teaser.
- Backstory the film never shows. If it will not be on screen, it does not belong here.
From the treatment to a first episode
SceneMixer does not output a treatment document, and it does not read one differently from a script. Paste or upload yours as the script: .txt, .docx or .md, at least about a paragraph, and up to 300,000 characters of English per project. The read costs 4 credits per 1,000 characters.
| In the treatment | In SceneMixer |
|---|---|
| Characters | A character card each, with a written look and a voice |
| Setting | Locations drawn once and reused |
| Setup, Confrontation, Resolution | An outline of episodes or sequences you can read before anything is drawn |
| Tone and look | Not read from the text: you choose the Visual Style, Scene Style and Costume Style in Step 1 |
| A line you want spoken | Write it as a quoted line with the speaker so it is picked up |
Upload a script and read it · Check the summary · Writing dialogue so it is picked up · Episode outline generator · AI script breakdown · Story to movie.
Make it in SceneMixer, start to finish
- Script: paste your own on Upload Script, or write the brief above in AI Create and let it draft the episodes.
- Step 1: Type Film; Scene Style Nordic Minimal, Frozen Wilderness; Costume Style Outdoor Gear; Visual Style Shot on Film; Target Region; dialogue language; 16:9 Landscape. Then read the script.
- Step 2: Draw Marta, Otto and Eli and the ferry as the one main location; the pier and the wheelhouse are two more. The first 15 setup images on an account are free.
- Storyboard: generate episode 1 first (free on your first drama) and read it before you render anything. One place per segment.
- Video: render on the default tier at 10 credits a second, fix single shots instead of whole episodes, then put the episode together and post.
| Treatment length | Typical use |
|---|---|
| One page | A pitch email, a festival form or a first read |
| Three to five pages | A producer's read; enough to show the shape of the whole film |
| Six to ten pages | A detailed plan before the script, with key scenes |
FAQ
What is a film treatment?
A prose telling of the whole film in the present tense, from the first image to the last, with little or no dialogue.
How long is a treatment?
From one page to about ten. Short films usually need one to three.
How is a treatment different from an outline?
A treatment is prose that reads like the story; an outline is a list of scenes or beats.
Does a treatment include the ending?
Yes. It is a plan, not a teaser.
Can SceneMixer write a treatment?
No. It does not produce a treatment document. It reads yours as a script and finds the cast, places and an outline.
Can I paste a treatment into SceneMixer?
Yes. Paste it or upload a .txt, .docx or .md file. Prose works as a script.
Do I need dialogue in the treatment?
No, but any line you want spoken in the video is best written as a quoted line with the speaker's name.
How much does the read cost?
Reading costs 4 credits per 1,000 characters; new accounts start with 50 credits.
Paste the treatment, read the cast
See the cast, the places and the outline before you render.
Updated November 2, 2026