Your initial step to preparing your next music video for presentation is a well-crafted treatment. Let’s keep it snappy instead of employing the debilitating jargon. This is how you prepare a fantastic music video treatment template that grabs everyone who reads it including the band drummer with the shortest attention span.

Start with a title page first. Whamp! Flash the tune title, artist’s name, and your number. Early impressions are everything. Even before you ever open your mouth, a neat title page brings people leaning in with curiosity.

Start straight away with the idea. Two or three words at most. As if you’d be explaining it to a pal in a rowdy pub. Consider mood, energy, and atmosphere. You get the idea: “Underwater prom meets vintage horror film”. It sets the cogs whirring and is succinct and effective.

Hit the visual references later. Combine images, animation, color swatches, clips from cult movies. Mood boards aren’t just Pinterest utilization. They express something more than plain ordinary text. They also prevent you from having to describe someone who sees things only in grayscale “peach fuzz sunrise”.

Next on deck: sequence or narrative of events broken out.
Reference point bullets
Of course.
The main beats—the who, what, where, and when.
You don’t necessarily have to write a novella.
Turn events and high points on your mind.
Your friend to this is surprise.

Directial method next. Technical, this is your signal. Do you want film grain everywhere, whip pans, one shot shots? Super 8 filming and digital editing? Tell us your concept, but be vague.

Don’t not remember the practicalities either. Where and when would you like the shoot to take place? Is there an auto chase going on? Rain gear? Sixty extras in red noses and white face paint? You outright got it right if granny could do it.

The honest moment is when a budget for production mocks your most brilliant ideas. Put a small gap in your template for stand-ins. Plain background rather than a complex set, for example. It never harmed.

Lastly, references and credits keep things in order. Under whom are you working? Are your friends any of them? Have them know that your go-to DP or editor is a certain one. Put any outdated work samples or inspiration links that you find into order.

Basically, keep it all action-oriented. Every line needs to have great impact. Your template has no need for poetry writing. It is a matter of getting busy people on board in a hurry.

Pro-tip: write in human voice. In a joke, throw in. Give an random comparison. “This scene will have the audience caught in a glitter tornado.” Nobody finds a dull appealing.

Make use of these bones and use them as you see fit the next time you are making a music video treatment template. A proper template saves headache and, maybe, gets you the job everyone’s talking about.