Directors treatment template may either make or ruin your pitch, really. Though your ideal project will pass through your fingers faster than a greased pig at a county fair without a great presentation, your head may be full of whiz-bang ideas.

So where do you begin? Not simply a dusty, outdated PDF grabbed from someone else; you need a directors treatment template that really does the heavy work for you. See it as the skeleton that keeps your creative storytelling straight yet allows you space to dance.

Open fiercely. Not hesitant. Right at the top drop your elevator pitch or logline. Consider it as bait; hook whoever reads in the first line. Set aboard a floating junkyard, “A dystopian love story.” That’s there. lively, graphic, direct, and straight forward.

Tone and mood then come next. Not only say “dark and gritty.” Using lines like “as bleak as Tuesday after a three-day weekend” or “sunbeams that slice through smog like tiny spotlights,” envision something. Use similes and metaphors to splatter color over the page, as Raymond Chandler did.

Slide into a visual reference system. This bit can be like swiping right on a dating app—choose pictures that make your heart skip a beat and match your desired intensity. Desaturated city scenes? Bright, candy-colored suburbia? If you are courageous, use film stills, pictures, even your own sketches. Clearly mark them. Provide them context. State clearly why you chose them.

Now structure. List the beats in your story. Bullet points are really good. People ignore text’s walls. Stop drone on. Rather, move from one scene to the next snapping. See your reader as a goldfish with a marketing degree—short attention span, wants to know what’s next.

Cast and sites: who and where? If you have drop names, let me know. I envision someone with the passionate intensity of Idris Elba combined with the awkward charm of a young Bill Murray. “Location? Somewhere that feels as cramped as my cousin’s garage during Thanksgiving dinner.” Get intimate and get them laughing.

After style and technique comes is Are you using film for your shots? Drone views Like Wes Anderson or handheld chaos like Paul Greengrass, static cameras like this one Please feel free to drop references. “Think the hyperreal color of ‘Drive’ collided with the jagged energy of ‘Uncut Gems.'” Good mash-ups are loved by people.