Writing a Documentary Film Treatment

[@coachjohnlucas7451]

I’m about 3 weeks in to my first documentary and this was one of the most helpful videos I’ve seen yet! Thank you for giving us real examples of how you do the pre-production!

[@IraGardner]

I'm so glad you found it helpful. Thank you! I'd love to see your project when you complete it!

[@kentintarantino7469]

how to please a person to document his story, should i offer something to him or get him paid?

[@MadCatLady28]

I came here to get tips on how to pitch a documentary I want to make as an amateur and now desperately want to see YOUR documentary.

[@ashishlohra]

Same to same!

[@OrphikMovies]

Thanks! for the Self-check guide. Truly awesome!

[@BrianDeanHoff]

Thank you Ira, this is just what I needed to help me collect my thoughts.

[@ishmaelmakwaeba3717]

Same to me. I just wish he provided his sample as a template document to refer from.

[@ismaelcruz5840]

Very underrated channel, so glad I found it!!

[@IraGardner]

Thank you so much! I will have a lot of new content coming out in the next two months!

[@RodneyKimbangu]

Thank you, Ira. You gave more torch lamp! God bless you!

[@ivonna.tinkle]

Thank you for this information, I'm almost done with my treatment....

[@jasonlight8813]

Writing my first documentary, this has been very helpful. I'll be returning to this resource many times. Excellent insight and example doc

[@ohyoubastarrrd]

Thank you very much Ira! In the past year, I have read through countless documents explaining the ways to write a treatment and finding your video now, I'm finally getting the answers I've looked for.

[@IraGardner]

I'm so glad to hear that it is helpful!

[@kelleythorrington4820]

What a wonderful resource this video has proven to be - thank you!!!

[@laurynrowland7309]

I'm so happy I found this. I was so frustrated.

[@makanakamultimedia]

Thanks for the detailed explanation...Years of learning packed into a 30 - min lecture

[@LivingstonGina]

Very well explained thank you! I’m working on my very first film documentary

[@alpha_asibor]

Gina Livingston, please, what is a documentary film?

[@mickaeldocouto]

This is a real gold mine of informations !! Thank you !!! 🙏

[@pathwithin1519]

This was so helpful, I will watch this many times!👍

[@ericnov]

hey Mr. Ira Gardner, this was insightful, I have watched a turn of documentary film treatment videos, this one, in particular, has taught me so much, am into the initial stages of my award-winning film. thank you, sir.

[@moonproduction8834]

Thank you very much for that tutorial. I appreciate it.

[@chuchuone]

Ira Gardner you are a saviour! loved every little bit of this. I write and was wondering how to put together some ideas I have but you have mapped the whole thing for me. Its like I was blind and you gave me my sight! Thanks so much and I hope many more will happen on this the way I happened on it...

[@IraGardner]

Thanks so much!

[@juliomontero5692]

Thank you Ira for putting the time and effort to share this useful presentation. Coming across this video is really making a positive difference in the development of my upcoming documentary. All the best to you!

[@markharris5771]

No idea how I ended up watching this, I take photographs and have no intention of ever making any videos or films. Having said that I’m really pleased I did watch it, it was fascinating and you kept the viewers interest all the way through. Very well done indeed.

[@IraGardner]

Mark Harris thank you so much!

[@GoFarAway5338]

Thanks. Would you be able to point us to a PDF sample of one of these treatments...esp. one that has already been produced ...to use as a guide?

[@bolokada1]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. Its help greatly 💕

[@roslynwilliams4917]

Thank you so much for sharing this video, it was really helpful!

[@ricardomiranda7737]

Wow, powerful. At 18:30 "Things are not like they used to be in American news media...the work he was doing from behind the iron curtain was more objective and truthful than the work he sees being done here in the American news media."

[@MatthewEncina]

Thanks for such great info!

[@ericnov]

When I see people like you on this channel, its a guarantee for me. am consuming the right content for my work... big follower on all your socials✌

[@thewanderess]

Thanks Ira! This helped me very much.

[@Harshitsinghtomar18]

this was really amazing ,can you please upload more where experts do the breakdown of their own work. A nd thanks once again for this video .

[@southernroseproductionsllc9049]

Thank you, you have provided great information. I am making some changes to my treatment.

[@davidpaa-kwasiable3756]

Impressive presentation. very helpful content, thank you

[@IraGardner]

Thank you David!

[@reelreverb9742]

This video is great! Thank you!

[@joshuadg5758]

Very very good guide, thank for your share. I'm not native English and your example very hard to read because the Video just at 480px. Can you make it bigger or can you share the scripts's doc file. Thank you very much.

[@anganatiluthando8594]

@Ira Gardner Thank you so much for sharing this information with us, it has helped me so much in creating a proper synopsis for my documentary.

[@ashishlohra]

Great video, thanks for putting it out there; I am using it to structure my first documentary's Treatment ... where can I watch your documentary?

[@rayvegan8587]

Thanks for the insightful and well shared module on this topic.. Is there any way you can post the PDF for your treatment?

[@sidshadow]

Thank you for ur efforts! Very helpful

[@rockgrant869]

Really good stuff Ira!

[@IraGardner]

Thank you!

[@elyssametissa4115]

Thanks a million for this!

[@RoeePeretz]

This is so helpful! thanks! Is it possible to get the presentation? It's better then most of my courses...

[@ishmaelmakwaeba3717]

Hi Ira, Good work indeed on what I am urgently looking for. I wish you provided a sample document as a template. Are you willing to share, please?

[@beauty3hd]

this is very helpful

[@sandrakavee4972]

Very helpful. Thank you

[@IraGardner]

Thank you Sandra!

[@damianoparravano7022]

Hi, thank you so much for this really informative video. Is there any possibility to get a finalized version of the documentary film treatment of "Sitting between two chairs" for educational purposes? If not, any other similar document would be extremely appreciated. Best from Italy. D.

[@MissFawlty]

Thank you so much for this, it's illuminating! One question: on the first page of your treatment, there is an indication of copyright. I was wondering if you could give a few pointers about protecting treatments from a legal standpoint...

[@IraGardner]

I will try to post something for you in the next couple of days. I do have a lecture about copyright but it is geared more towards photographs and visual art but the law applies equally towards writing.

[@poetslanefilmhk7012]

Thank you so much🙏🏾

[@TristypoozOA]

Hi there, what font would you recomend for the treatment? Thanks

[@AngellaMunchiluePhillips]

Thank you very much!

[@nateperaccini8912]

Thank you kindly for taking the time to produce this video. Are the documents you referenced available online?

[@iqris8383]

Very good very very good

[@JBorda]

Hey Ira this is great info! ANy advice on historical documentary writing. I mean I'd like to talk about the evolution of Street dancing but I'm having issues connecting that to specicifc characters or a normal storytelling A- B - C. Any leads would be great!

[@IraGardner]

Thank you! Do you know any current street dancers to use as your main character? Do any of the current street dancers have any historic influences? There are a lot of ways to go with a documentary on street dancing. An expository approach would allow you to have a narrator introduce the history (not my favorite approach) whereas interviewing a current street dancer(s) as someone that represents the genre and then diving into the history could be worthwhile. I'd love to see what you come up with. email me at [e-mail] if you'd like to chat about it.

[@JBorda]

Hey Ira. Great lights here.I've been debating between those two options and your opinion makes me lean on to the latter ;) I will put more ideas together and I'd love to share them with you for your feedback. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@Trainofthought73]

Do you have a link to your treatment as I find it hard to see

[@MrWingoTube]

This helped so much

[@thewanderess]

Hi Ira, where can I watch your documentary?

[@laurynrowland7309]

is that Miike Snow at the end sir 😁?

[@allareypictures7208]

thankyou for sharing 😊

[@amandineguerre5409]

thank you for such a detailed and comprehensive. did you publish any book about making documentary films?

[@IraGardner]

Thank you so much! I teach documentary video production but have yet to publish a book on the topic.

[@AdeszkoArtur]

fantastic ! thanks alot !! aaa lot :))

[@marycobra]

thanks for sharing!!!!!!!!!

[@kentintarantino7469]

Hi thank you for sharing, one question.. how to please a person to document his story, should i offer something to him or get him paid? how much

[@victorbouveron89]

Thanks for this video. What is the difference between the "overview" and the "logline"?

[@IraGardner]

A logline is like a quick pitch and is most often a single sentence with a hook to make you want to know more and is focused on the story you are telling whereas the overview addresses the the overall topic of your film that is illustrated by your story. It's like setting the background for your story and why the issue you're presenting is relevant and important to your audience.

[@victorbouveron89]

I see. Thanks so much Ira.

[@LubaLuba1]

Can you send me a link to see sample treatments?

[@lonniesfilmmaking333]

Thanks heaps but I need real life examples ad in show us one of yours on a pice of paper of what you actually wrote

[@Hexarmin]

Thank you. This was really helpful. I am from Germany. I was asked to make a documentary for native people and their project-to open a school that teaches their native culture, traditions and forest medicine-. Could I get in touch with you. Could you help me with my treatment. I have all the ideas and angles, just have difficulty putting them into a clean format like your treatment. Thank you. Regards, Hermann

[@IraGardner]

I'd be happy to help! Just email me at [e-mail]

[@IraGardner]

Let me know if I missed your email. I haven't seen one from you yet.

[@janetogonda7956]

i need this information more, can we connect?

[@mikkelhansen6302]

Do you have to make a film treatment for documentaries which is 5 minuts long? Im about to make a short documentary myself and I need an overview at the project.

[@IraGardner]

I recommend doing a treatment. The extra time spent planning will make production go so much faster.

[@mikkelhansen6302]

Thanks!

[@gavnoah1]

Ira Gardner did you create your documents after you finished the documentary?

[@IraGardner]

No I developed the treatment in pre-production. I did end up re-writing the treatment AFTER I had gathered footage and reviewed what I had and what was missing as I got more clarity on what the real story was. Essentially in pre-production I had a rough idea of who the characters were but then after I had filmed the interviews I had much better clarity and rewrote the treatment and used it as a guide during the editing process. Having reviewed it yet again to make this presentation made me want to go back and re-edit this film and bring in footage from another project that I hadn't realized related so well to this story. Alas, a film is never finished!

[@alpha_asibor]

What is a documentary film?

[@moonproduction8834]

The documentary film is when you providing the audience with information about a specific subject that letting them understand every thing about it. I hope that I have exeplained it well

[@hootenaneeproductions3040]

He says a logline should be 2 lines then does a 5 paragraph logline as an example lol

[@IraGardner]

The logline needs to capture the essence of the entire story in one or two sentences which is what I have demonstrated in this example. The rest is secondary support information that is optional. A logline is like an elevator pitch. If after reading the logline someone is interested in more information then the additional paragraphs are there. I see why you made this comment but I hope you understand that the logline us about making sure you get the story across in the first two sentences which I did in this example.

[@hootenaneeproductions3040]

@@IraGardner ah it's all good my friend. Honestly your video really helped me out a lot today when I was writing my own treatment so thank you for that :)

[@TheGratty]

Thank you!!!