Introduction: 

Bernardo Marentes is head of creative & partner at Caravan: an award winning creative production company based in Charlotte, NC. He's created video treatments and been awarded projects for brands like: Facebook, Barings, Bridgestone, Seagate, Boars Head, Lending Tree, and more. As a director Bernardo has created countless commercial treatments. With that in mind; our team sat down to ask him about his process, specifically around writing a commercial treatment.

1. What is a commercial treatment?

Treatments are an essential element in making commercials. It’s my chance to begin to understand the needs of the project, both my creative approach and the client messaging, and start to develop a vision for how and why I’m going to tackle this particular commercial. It generally takes the shape of a PDF presentation. Think Powerpoint, but hopefully a bit cooler.

2. Why does writing a great commercial treatment matter?

Treatments accomplish two things for me and my process. First, they force me to think deeply on what it is that I’m setting out to make. A treatment then serves as a reservoir for all those ideas. Hopefully, it's a clear articulation of my ideas and it allows the client ( and collaborators, later on) to see my vision, in a tangible format with very specific language and imagery, and make sure it matches what they envisioned. A good treatment will either serve as a confirmation for a client and best case scenario, it expands the clients vision of what is possible or what it is that they need. In a much more practical sense, the best treatment usually wins the job."

3. How many commercial treatments have you written this week?

As is the case in most commercial work, things change week by week. This particular one has been a heavy production week for me and much lighter on the writing side. I don’t think I’ve ever been writing more than two or three at a time (thank god). So to answer your question, none, but it’s usually a handful a month.

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4. How do you begin writing a commercial treatment?

Generally speaking, I get a brief from an agency or brand. After they (client) or my EP answers some question and I feel like I have a grasp on what they need the spot to accomplish I put it away and go on with whatever else I’m working on at the moment.  Time dependent, I'll try to schedule some writing in time a couple of days out. That gives me some time to live with their ideas, direction or general request. Then I sit down and write it."

I don't think any treatment I’ve written, or the process for that matter, has been identical to the last. It’s a constant exploration of what has worked and what could be better. Sometimes I’ll write an outline, with clearly defined bullet points, other times I’ll start with a strong thesis paragraph to guide me through it, other times I just look through images to draw inspiration. Most of the time I’ll start writing and as the copy comes together, the images follow."

5. What's an essential part of your writing process?

Know what you’re making. It's a lot easier to write a treatment if you have a clear understanding of what the spot you’re writing for is going to be, what it's going to look like, how it's going to move, what it's going to sound like, etc. Sometimes you have boards or fully fleshed out scripts that makes it easier, but other times it’s taking a bunch of scattered ideas or bullet points from conversations and you have to put all those pieces together by yourself. If I’m able to “see” the commercial before I’m writing a treatment (not always the case unfortunately), it makes communicating my vision that much easier and the writing and image curation flows effortlessly. Once you’re confident in what the final product is going to be, you’re good to go. That vision will inform every part of the process from the tone of your writing to the reference images you need to include to help your client see what you see.

6. How do you balance creating a commercial treatment that "sparks joy" for you, but also serves the needs of your client?

That’s the question. Making commercials is a balance of telling a client’s story, whether that’s promoting a new product or showcasing a service, and using your experience, taste, artistry and personality to make that story both the client’s and yours as a director. At the end of the day, no client (with rare exceptions) is paying you to make a 30 second personal art project with full creative freedom to sell their product. That’s not to say you can’t inject some art and heart into a commercial. You strike a balance by working within a client’s objectives. Making a commercial is just creative problem solving. Find a creative approach that makes you excited but that also conveys the client’s message. That’s not an easy thing to do. Once you find that in, everything starts to click into place.

I write treatments for commercials that I want to make. If you’re purely writing out of an obligation to a client, not injecting your point of view or heart, or whatever you want to call it, if you hate it, the process of writing a treatment will be miserable, but that’s nothing compared to the shit show you’re goig to live through if you get that commercial and then have to make the thing you hate (that you wrote, like an idiot)." Listen to your client and listen to yourself. You can have it all, it just takes more work.

7. How crucial is it to find great frames or visual references for a specific commercial treatment?

Crucial. Crucial. A treatment is only helpful when it allows your client to see what you see. Words are great, but words and pictures 😙👌. The right images will not only convey thematic elements you’re exploring, we’re talking about kitchen scenes and seeing kitchen scenes, but they can also help the client start to understand the tone and feel that you’re going for, we didn’t picture this as a black and white noir, but it works. Pictures will communicate on their own and expand your copy.

8. What tools / applications are you using to create commercial treatments?

Frame Set. Love it. Finding commercial references has been a constant headache. There simply are no resources with big libraries of images in this sector. Film grabs are rarely helpful in my writing process. It’s hard to pitch to a baby food company with images from Blade Runner or the Assassination of Jesse James. Beautiful images, but not very helpful in my case.  Sometimes it works, but 99% of the time my references either come from photography, art or commercial stills. I’ve typically written in Dropbox Paper. It's a simple writing tool that automatically saves as I work. I can also access it remotely from any device, so that helps if I need to add images or change a copy at the last minute. All copies and images will live here and then go to a designer.

9. What advice do you have for someone who is writing their first commercial treatment?

Learn to lose. You’re going to write a lot. You’re going to love a lot of what you write. You’re not going to get everything. Sometimes they’ll pass. Maybe it was your idea, or maybe it was a budget thing, or maybe it was the fact that their cousin got the job. It happens. Learn to enjoy the process. If you hate writing treatments, it’ll show. Find a rhythm and process that works for you and you’ll have a much better time. It's never easy, you still have to get it out and on paper (Dropbox paper for me), but if you’re able to find joy in there somewhere, that joy will show up in that treatment. Learn to verbalize your ideas. Talk through your ideas with other people before you write. Think about it. Share your approach with anyone that will listen. The more you think about it, the more you hear yourself talk about your ideas, the more you’ll hear what is working and what needs work. Learn to trust yourself. It’ll take a while, but you’ll find your “voice”. You’ll figure out what type of commercial is exciting to you, what you love to do. There are thousands of directors out there that can “do” what you do. Most are probably better and cooler than you.  Make sure your client can see you in the treatment. Your commercial with them will be different, because it’s you that’s making it. Also, get a mechanical keyboard."

10. Any final thoughts?

To the makers of Frame Set, keep up the good work. I love seeing the dedication to quality through image curation and constant feature and experience upgrades. Every time I check in I find that things are getting better. Excited to see it grow. Frame Set is Frame-tastic (you can use that, free of charge). To those who are writing treatments,  want to gather some inspiration for a shoot, or just want to look through great images, check out Frame Set."

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