In the complex world of digital marketing and video production, wires can often get crossed and breakdowns in communication can happen. Almost every time an instance like this occurs, it can be traced back to a breakdown in communication. The best way to keep your vision clear and concise while avoiding communication breakdowns on your next production is to create a treatment.
Many who are well-versed in video production are very familiar with the treatment-writing process, but it can be intimidating and unclear to first-time writers. Treatments are essentially your way of communicating how you want your video to be treated. These are usually two required written documents written in pre-production; one for use during principle photography, and one for editing in post-production. Creating a treatment will also help you get the most accurate quotes when pricing out your video. Here's some tips for writing your next treatment whether you've done it a million times, or you're writing your first and just need to get your points across.
Inspiration
Send samples of clips and timestamps from projects that inspired your idea. It is also important to give an overview of why you want to produce the project and its goals.
Production Value
Always include references for the level of production value that you're aiming for. Examples include major corporate videos from a company like Coca-Cola, commercial level content, or small business level ads.
Budget
Try your best to have a solid idea of what you want to invest in your project to achieve some level of guaranteed success. Guaranteed success often, but not always, entails more cameras, several sources of audio, larger crew, and paid pre-production and planning. The higher the budget, the more resources your videographers can have at their disposal to create the best piece of content possible.
Logistics
Try to provide details of target date ranges, number of days and hours, and different production specs that you may need. It is important to specify the deliverables, the end platforms/orientations, and any other important technical facts.
Mood and Tone
Include how you want your audience to feel while watching your video or what you want them to gain. Define who your target audience is so that the emotions and content can cater to them.
The more information you can give up front, the more the crew can efficiently execute and provide accurate quotes. When there are miscommunications, the project can fall short of its potential due to loss of interest by the crew or insufficient funds to execute properly. If creatives don't value the work, often they won't put in their top effort to complete it. A thorough treatment resulting in a fair quote will alleviate these problems.