Advice — michael halperin

It may seem peculiar in the 21st century to discuss screenwriting in the same breath as anything that had to do with the 19th century. What does one have to do with the other? After all, the only visual representation that remotely resembled a motion picture was Muybridge's zoopraxiscope: a revolving device consisting of a series of still shots photographed in sequence that appeared to move when viewed through a narrow viewing port. It had no story, only the novelty of movement. The imagination of the viewer filled in the rest. Once motion pictures began telling stories, filmmakers looked to...

Question: I have completed my screenplay, but I never wrote a treatment. I met a producer who wants to see a treatment only. Some people say a treatment should be three pages long, some say 12. Any advice? Michael Halperin, author of 'Writing the Killer Treatment,' responds: Before starting out on a treatment based on a completed screenplay, you have to ask questions. Does the producer actually want a treatment, or does he want a synopsis of the screenplay? Some producers continue to confuse one with the other. Writers go off and write their treatments and deliver them. Producers wonder...

It may seem peculiar in the 21st century to discuss screenwriting in the same breath as anything that had to do with the 19th century. What does one have to do with the other? After all, the only visual representation that remotely resembled a motion picture was Muybridge's zoopraxiscope: a revolving device consisting of a series of still shots photographed in sequence that appeared to move when viewed through a narrow viewing port. It had no story, only the novelty of movement. The imagination of the viewer filled in the rest. Once motion pictures began telling stories, filmmakers looked to...