Treatments
Present each part of the lesson in the following order:
KEY VOCABULARY (5 min.):
Treatment: A treatment is a simple written description of a proposed project that details what the viewer would see or hear in a given work. In the film industry, treatments are used to describe projects to potential collaborators or producers. A successful treatment will share all key elements of the project including the story and/or goals, the style or feel, and the central characters, if any. For short projects, the treatment need not be extensive (a paragraph will do) but it should be clear, compelling, and persuasive in telling how and why the project should be made as planned. [Adobe Youth Voices] A treatment should answer the “5 W’s” about the film: who, what, where, when, and why. [WikiHow]
Attention-getter (15 min.):
Ensure that students understand the definition of “treatment,” and ask them to guess the famous movie the following treatments go with:
A science-fiction fantasy about a naïve but ambitious farm boy from a backwater desert who discovers powers he never knew he had when he teams up with a feisty princess, a mercenary space pilot and an old wizard warrior to lead a ragtag rebellion against the sinister forces of the evil Galactic Empire [answer: Star Wars].
A young man and woman from different social classes fall in love aboard an ill-fated voyage at sea. [answer: Titanic]
Seventeen year old Bella Swan falls in love with vampire Edward Cullen only to find out he might want to kill her more than love her. [answer: Twilight]
Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. [answer: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone]
Earth’s mightiest heroes must come together and learn to fight as a team if they are to stop the mischievous Loki and his alien army from enslaving humanity. [answer: The Avengers]
Ask them to name out a recent popular movie and what the treatment could be.
Discussion (10 min.):
Ask your students why treatments are important and what their purpose might be in the film industry.
Describe the 5 W’s (Who, What, Where, When, and Why) that should be covered in a treatment and ask students how each of these could affect how successful a PSA is in getting its message across.
Activity (20 min.):
Play students the AT&T PSA “The Unseen – It Can Wait.” Have each student write a treatment for it. Go around the class and have each student read theirs, then have their peers explain what is strong about it and what could use improvement (for example, perhaps one student’s treatment has a catchy phrase, but is too long, or another’s describes the main character perfectly, but doesn’t explain the plot well enough). Based on all the students’ treatments, put together one ideal treatment for the PSA as a class.
Assignment (5 min. in class, 15 min. at home):
Based on the fact sheet he or she compiled for his or her chosen topic, have each student write a treatment for his or her team’s proposed PSA.
∞ End of Lesson ∞