def form_template_to_dict(formtemplate):
    """
    Initializes a dictionary of form data from the given list-of-dictionaries
    form template, as formatted above.

    Args:
        formtemplate (list of dicts): Tempate for the form to be initialized.

    Returns:
        formdata (dict): Dictionary of initalized form data.
    """
    formdata = {}

    for field in formtemplate:
        # Value is blank by default
        fieldvalue = None
        if "default" in field:
            # Add in default value if present
            fieldvalue = field["default"]
        formdata.update({field["fieldname"]: fieldvalue})

    return formdata