The time-consuming writing of a number of weak, incomplete but hopefully at the end a great draft is very helpful for all next steps toward the writing of the film on paper. Usually, at the end, your complete story-treatment will be on 10 to 20 pages for a feature length film.

It’s a semi-dramatized text in prose with the complete action of the film. You should avoid dialog as good as you can. Dialog should be used only in indirect speech. This form of film writing helps you to find cinematic solutions as much as your story and your imagination allows. Usually, your worked-out film-treatment shout be on 30 to 50 pages for a feature length film.

4.1  No technical specifications in master scene scripts apart from the ones in the header of the scene as well as «Fade-in» & «Fade-out», if absolutely essential «Close-up» / «Beat» and a few others. One page of a feature length script usually represents 50 to 60 seconds film if you use the Final Draft layout.

4.2  The final script with technical specifications is established with the writer, the director, the cinematographer and other creative partners. This version of the script is called the “Shooting Script“.

4.3  Completing the script writing process with a detailed «Storyboard» is very helpful and saves money.

4.4  Put your name, the place where you are legally registered and the date on the cover. According to the Berne Copyright Convention (established by ten countries in the Swiss capital Berne in 1886 and ratified by 181 countries until November 2022) your work should be protected for at least until 50 years after your death.

Somewhere between step 1 and 2 or 2 and 3 you should establish a so-called Exposé or Presentation of the project consisting of the following elements:

Cover, logline, synopsis/outline, one or two master scenes, cast & crew, technical sheet, statement of the writer/the producer/and others, budget & financing, etc.