12 Mar 2010, Posted by Asher Emmanuel in Filmmaking,Screenwriting, 0 Comments

Defined: Spec, Treatment, Pitch

With help from John August’s website I’m going to quickly sketch what these commonly used terms are and how they are different.

A “spec script” is a completed screenplay, probably about 120 pages long, that a writer wrote on his own. The “spec” part means that no one paid the writer in advance to write it, just like a house built on spec doesn’t have a buyer until it’s finished. Most writers’ first screenplays would be considered specs, because it’s rare for someone to hire a writer without reading his or her work first.

“Treatment” and “outline” mean different things to different people, and one writer’s treatment might be another’s outline. Regardless, treatments and outlines map out a movie story, often as a precursor to writing the full screenplay. An outline might be one page or might be ten; a treatment could be three pages or could be thirty. James Cameron is known for writing “scriptments” that are 70 pages or more. The length is less important than the function. Treatments are usually written in paragraph rather than screenplay form, but there are no hard and fast rules.

A “pitch” is the oral presentation of a movie idea, where screenwriters explain to studio executives that their movie is “Ghostbusters meets Titanic.” Ideally, a pitch should feel like how you describe a really good movie to a friend who hasn’t seen it yet. Casual but excited.

John August preps for a pitch by writing write every word he is going to say ahead of time, then internalize it so it feels like he is ad-libbing. He doesn’t feel its a skill that can be taught, but like stand-up comedy, must be practiced.