Treating script treatments
By Christopher Saroki
Dec. 1, 2002 9:00 p.m.
A bad treatment can be cured. UCLA Professional Programs
currently accepts applications for “Writing Treatments for
Film and Television,” a class taught by Harrison Reiner,
story analyst for CBS Entertainment.
A treatment summarizes plots and characters in screenplays and
teleplays, putting the basic elements of a story into a bite-size
package.
“Sitting in front of a laptop and a blank ream of writing
paper and coming up with one divinely inspired scene after another
to make up a 100-plus-page screenplay can be pretty
daunting,” Reiner said.
Usually five to 20 pages in length, a treatment serves as a
blueprint for a screenplay or teleplay. When constructing a
skyscraper, a flaw in the blueprints can lead to costly and
dangerous defects. By the same token, to avoid the painful and
time-consuming task of reworking an entire screenplay, a writer can
benefit from a strong outline.
“It’s a way of mapping out the broad strokes of a
story before writing a single page of screenplay,” Reiner
said.
Reiner has had a hand in many aspects of show business, from
production executive at Sovereign Pictures to stage actor. From his
various past, he has culled a knowledge of what works structurally
and supervised the script development of the Stallone film,
“Cliffhanger.”
Reiner currently works as a story analyst for a production
company, where he reads treatments and screenplays, and then writes
a report, usually called coverage. Coverage can make or break a
treatment.
Reiner hopes to give personal attention to writers and to help
them bring out the best version of their vision, unlike
screenwriting gurus who often spew philosophy in weekend
seminars.
“I become intimate with the specific writing styles of
each and every student,” Reiner said.
Reiner’s class is open to anyone with a bachelor’s
degree. However, the class, part of UCLA’s Professional
Programs, is designed for serious writers looking for personalized
guidance.
“(I want) disciplined, highly motivated writers of any age
and any race committed to bettering themselves, (people who are)
unafraid to stumble and take creative risks until they find their
true voice and in their work demonstrate a joy for
storytelling,” Reiner said.
For more info, go to www.filmprograms.ucla.edu. Class begins the
week of Jan. 6, 2003, Tuesday evenings, 7-10:30 pm. Enrollment
costs $750 ($650 for current first-year Professional Program in
Screenwriting students). The deadline for enrollment is Jan. 6,
2003.
