Creative Treatments
A creative treatment is a written and illustrated pitch document that proposes the concept, narrative, visual direction, and production approach for an animation project.
A winning treatment captures the imagination. It shows the client not just what the animation will look like, but how it will feel and why it will be effective. At Myth Studio, treatments are a key part of our pre-production process across all services.
Related
Related services
Sources
Academic papers, recognised industry standards, and canonical industry texts that back up claims in this entry.
- Workarounds in the production of contemporary animation series in the UK. Oakley, Benjamin Vincent, University of the Arts LondonSupports: production approach in pre-production
- The Animator's Survival Kit. Williams, Richard, Faber & Faber, 2001Supports: visual direction in treatments
- Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life. Thomas, Frank; Johnston, Ollie, Abbeville Press, 1981Supports: narrative and visual pitch
- Computer Animation: Algorithms and Techniques. Parent, Rick, Morgan Kaufmann, 2002Supports: production approach document
- Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal - Production Pipeline Special Issue. et al., Sage, 2015Supports: creative treatments in pre-production
Frequently asked questions
What goes inside a creative treatment?
A short concept statement, a narrative outline (or full script), reference images and clips that point at the intended look and feel, a few rough visual sketches, a proposed technique (2D, 3D, mixed), and an outline of the production approach and timeline. Most treatments run 8 to 20 pages. Longer than that and the idea is usually not clear enough.
Who writes the treatment?
On most jobs, the creative director leads the writing, with input from a producer on schedule and budget and a senior artist on visual references. On pitches we write treatments before we have a contract, on the studio's time, because the treatment is how the client decides whether to commission the work.
How is a treatment different from a full pre-production package?
A treatment is the proposal: it sells the idea before any production happens. A pre-production package is the executed plan: locked script, storyboard, animatic, design frames. The treatment becomes the brief that pre-production then makes real. Often the visual style in the treatment shifts during pre-production as ideas get tested.