These days, attention spans feel shorter than ever. People scroll past faster than we can grab them. For directors, this creates a relentless chase to keep the audience engaged until the final frame. And along with that chase comes the inevitable question - how can one stand out amid this race? In addressing this, many films drift toward over-treatment rather than conveying their message directly.

However, here’s the thing: simplifying is far more challenging than it appears. It’s a double-edged sword.

Every time a script lands on a director’s desk, they know they are not the only ones pitching. There are two, maybe three, other treatments in the mix. In the effort to distinguish and impress, it is common to add layers of style or effects. Yet these additions risk diluting the central message.

That’s where the dilemma lives. Does one simplify? But if they do, will it look like just another ad? Or push harder, making it louder, more elaborate, only to watch it tip into something over-treated and hollow?

The irony is, when we look back at the films that really worked, the ones that stayed with people weren't the ones that were weighed down with technique. They were the ones who hit on something honest. A moment, a look, a single line delivered just right. Sometimes, a subtle stylistic touch elevates the telling without overwhelming it.

Of course, that doesn’t mean one stops experimenting. Style and craft matter; they’re part of why they’re here. But the style has to serve the story, not suffocate it. And maybe that’s the real challenge for directors today - not how to grab attention, but how to hold back. How to trust that sometimes the simplest choice is the boldest one.

So yes, the battle between simplifying and over-treating will always exist. Directors live it with every script. But maybe the idea isn’t in how much one can add. It’s in knowing when to stop.

Shachi Malhotra is a freelance advertising and film director.