PLANNING: FILM TREATMENT

A treatment will normally contain:

• A Title that is dynamic and engaging 

• The Top line: An elegant sentence that sums up the action

• The Big Question: What is the cliffhanger? What is the enigma that it will unfold?

• The Synopsis: One or two paragraphs outlining the plot

• Characters: Brief introduction: Adam, 35, a dreamy design engineer... Lucy, 25, a disenchanted doctor... Mart, 18, an idealistic student

Next:

• After writing the treatment, you create a storyboard 

• And then a shortlist

Initial ideas:
Our production team brainstormed ideas about the plot, the soundtrack, our favourite films/ scenes from films, ideas for locations and characters.
- Shortage of food or water, people only have limited amounts of what they can use 
- Suspicious neighbour - looking through window (thriller)
- Pill that makes you super smart 
- Scientist/engineer discovers something that business want, they threaten him 
- Genetic engineering (changing/ mixing DNA) - dangerous 

- Time travel 
- Location ideas: woods, pond, school
- People: Dog, parents, tortoise 

The Plot:

An energy crisis has caused the world to fall into darkness, however a young man finds the key to helping to provide clean, green energy to the world, but finds himself betrayed by his rich friend who takes the glory for himself.

Structure:

Scene 1: EXT – Night, Opens with a man walking, we follow at ground level, his face concealed. However, we do see he is nervous and agitated about something. He turns, we feel the tension, suddenly from behind a man lunges at him, again we cannot see their faces, but we see the struggle. The grunts continue for a while until a gunshot is heard before cutting to black

Scene 2: INT – Night, A match is lit and placed upon a candle; we pan over different newspapers whilst a V.O states the worlds current situation before it is cut off. We begin to focus on the man’s work, seeing he is struggling, shot of a bin full of his equations. Suddenly he jumps up, he has found the solution after a long time, we see on his face realisation, he needs money. Close up to calculations, knock cuts to scene 3.

Scene 3: INT – Night, We cut to a bird’s eye view of the man’s calculations, V.O of the man shouting and saying ‘he took everything from me’, ‘this was my work’ and so on. We zoom slowly into the sheets of equations, whilst lights from either side off screen flash slowly different colours, red, green, blue, over and over. Sometimes money would be thrown over across the sheets, concealing the equations. We then see the fist of the scientist reach down onto the table. Cut to black.

Scene 4: EXT – Night, We cut back to the first scene, this time there is no struggle, we then slowly see a man flop to the floor, before the titles are brought up. Who is the dead man? Did the scientist get revenge? Or was it the man who simply got rid of opposition?

Title of film is shown

Locations:

1st scene: dark outside tunnel at school

2nd scene: science lab at school or office room

3rd scene: living room in house

4th scene: dark room with table

5th scene: dark outside tunnel at school

 Props:

- Candles

- Newspaper 

- Calculations of the solution 

- Coloured lights

PLANNING: TOP LINE AND BIG QUESTION

I watched a presentation by Frank Ash, he has taught storytelling and creativity techniques to teams across the BBC and beyond. From the presentation I learned that it is important to focus on the audience, what will interest the audience and how will the narrative develop. 

For Frank Ash film makers need to think what the top line and the big question are. He calls the top line one elegant sentence that makes up the story. He then says we need to leave to audience wanting to find out more which he calls the big question. 

Having learnt from Frank Ash's presentation on FutureLearn, I decided to sign up for FutureLearn's Film distribution: connecting films with audiences. The course promises to cover how our favourite films make it to our local cinema or television screen, through the film distribution process. 

PRELIMINARY EXERCISE: FILMING AN OPENING SEQUENCE

This week we made a practice film opening using the idea of 'table top' filming. Our brief was to film in one continuous take and to include a small live action element within this. 

Research:

We started by viewing three examples of opening sequences filmed in a similar 'table top' style. Using Art of the Title, we watched Delicatessen and noticed how its inventive and well thought-out camerawork tells a story and sets the theme of the film, it does this by incorporating and embedding the titles within the visuals.

Another excellent title sequence that we watched was that of To Kill A Mockingbird, this uses very close up shots and moving objects to capture the audience's eye. As well as this we also viewed work created by previous students. Following this we then used these film openings as inspiration to create an original opening title sequence in groups by setting up the mise-en-scène using props from the prop collection. 

Planning:

Before we started filming, we laid out all of the props that were elements of our film narrative onto the table in an order that followed the storyline. 

Following this, we also researched and discussed music tracks for the soundtrack to use in our opening sequence, the one we chose was 'What a Wonderful World' by Louis Armstrong. This was due to its contrast to the themes shown in our sequence which included themes of war and violence compared to the happiness talked about in the song. 

Filming:

We then filmed the 'table top' sequence, it  started with a close up of a passport and then a hand opening it. The camera then moves onto a variety of old posters and then pauses on a picture of a baby, then the picture is covered by a communist flag to signify the war. The camera then goes on to show old newspapers, including one that has the word 'War' in bold, it then continues to show themes of war by showing a solider's uniform from war. The hand comes in again to pick up and read a letter, then to finish the sequence by placing a mask onto a piece of paper that says weapon calculations.

Following this we filmed the 'live action' element of the opening sequence, this included filming a close up of someone walking with a briefcase and then taking out to the paper that had the secret calculations to hand over.

Then I uploaded the footage onto the editing software and planned out the titles, credits, editing, special effects and soundtrack. 

RESEARCH: OPENING SEQUENCE OF 'AE FOND KISS'

At the beginning of the opening sequence of 'Ae Fond Kiss' there are 9 titles shown, one important title is Ken Loach's (the director) production company 'Sixteen' films, this provides the pedigree of the film.  This is followed by 'Multi-territory film British Italian German Spanish co-production' which shows that it is a multicultural film, it is typical in the film industry in smaller budget films as it shows the fundings.

The opening scene of the sequence is set in a night club in Glasgow where people of different ethnicities are dancing together, this shows the happy life of the young people. Bhangra music plays in the night club and across the opening sequence which blends to a wide birds eye shot of Glasgow, this suggests the unity between the many different ethnic backgrounds that live in Glasgow and also shows us the modern day Glasgow and what it is like now as a multi-cultural city. 

The images of the opening sequence portray and carry the happiness of the young people who happily get along together despite being from different cultures. A Bollywood movie is also played in the background of the night club which suggests the unity between the cultures, this also implies that the lovers will not fully be together as in Bollywood film there are never any intimate scenes. On the other hand, this is different to the other scenes shown of Tahara's Father at his shop, he is angry at the people for letting their dogs pee on his shop sign. The choice of a bulldog peeing on the sign is symbolic as bulldogs often represent as a symbol of Britain, this shows the encounter between someone who wasn't raised in Britain and stereotypical British.

The genre of the film is a romance, this is reinforced through the lyrics of the song which is sung by a girl towards the end of the opening sequence. The song is a famous poem 'Ae Fond Kiss' which is played while the scenes of Casim's family build a extension for him to live in when he is married, this suggests that his love will only ever be 'Ae Fond Kiss'. The film is also a coming of age film, this is shown when Tahara is making her speech in the school, she says 'I'm a dazzling mixture and I'm proud of it.

From the outset the film establishes an enigma through the love of the two characters. In the opening when Casim looks at the music teacher through the window of the door we see that he is intrigued by her, we then see his family planning their extension for him to live in, this creates a problem as we do not know how they could be together due to their backgrounds. 

Multiple strategies are used to ensure that the film appeals to its targeted audience, for example the film would appeal to younger people as it is a coming of age and romance film. It would also attract Glaswegians as the film is set in their home town and Pakistanis because the film incorporates Bhangra music and also some people might relate to Tahara's speech as they also could have similar experiences. 

Technology has been used effectively by using a variety of different camera angles, transitions between scenes and editing techniques. For example, the POV shot of Casim looking at the teacher thought the window of the music room is effective as it is more impactful as it allows us to see through his eyes. Another effective technique is the use if transitions, for example when the Bhangra music blends in and  continues to play as the birds-eye view of Glasgow is shown. An editing technique that is used is cross-cutting, this is used to put together the scenes of the nigh club and the scenes of Glasgow and the Father's shop. This works effectively as it shows that Glasgow is now a multicultural city.

RESEARCH: ART OF THE TITLE 'TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD'

In the opening sequence of To Kill A Mockingbird, the company logo of ‘Universal International’ is shown as well as the name of the person in charge of production, followed by the name Gregory Peck; this would support the audience’s choice in seeing the film as well as reaching out to the targeted audience and encouraging people to watch it. The title of the film is then shown in a very creative and unique way, where the child rubs a crayon onto paper to reveal the film name; this creates a visual appeal to the audience. The font choice is a key element in creating visual appeal to the audience; in the opening of To Kill a Mockingbird the font is simple and plain, however this works effectively as it is clear and does not distract the audience from what is going on.

From the opening sequence we do not know much about the genre of the film as we do not see any faces of the characters and we do not learn much about the narrative instead the opening sequence relies on the props to tell the story, however this works effectively as it creates mystery and establishes enigma as it is unknown what we are going to see in the film. We do not get to see much of the setting in the opening sequence as all of the shots are close ups of the objects, however from the images seen we can guess that the child is sitting at home with all of these objects while drawing a picture of a bird. The lighting and colour reinforces this mysteriousness as the film has been purposely put into black and white as it reinforces the idea in which the time period of the film is set, as well as this it takes the audience back to what it would have been like when the film was set to give them a realistic experience. The choice of no colour also makes the film more serious and draws the audience’s attention towards the important information and action in the film and prevents them from getting distracted by the bright colours; although this effective it also may disinterest certain viewers as it is less captivating to them.

The soundtrack is an important part of the opening because it entices the audience into continuing to watch the film. Before we see the first scene music starts to play, it sounds like a child playing random notes on a piano. This idea is reinforced as the music disappears that it is a child in the opening, as well as this we hear the child humming which suggest to the audience that the child is one of the main characters as well as them representing the innocence to the audience. The humming also intrigues the audience as it is slightly eerie and it establishes an enigma. The main part of the soundtrack begins when two marble hit each other and the child says “ding”, the music sounds magical and enchanting which could relate to the child’s mind that anything is possible.

In the opening, technology has been used effectively using different camera angles and transitions. The camera angle in the first scene is a birds eye view of all the objects which are in the box, these objects are then individually shown throughout the opening sequence. Most of the camera angles are close up shots of a variety of objects and different items which works well as it limits what the audience are able to see which maintains enigma and mystery. The camera mainly pans across as it shows the objects, in addition the camera occasionally changes focus to suttley move the viewer’s focus point onto the next object, for example the focus changes form a marble to a whistle which is effective as it leads the audience and is more continuous. The different shots (as well as the credits) are combined together, as the second shot is fading in the first shot is fading out. The moving objects also help with the smooth transitions between scenes as when each one moves it leads onto the next without multiple pauses, this makes the opening more enjoyable for the audience as there is less of a wait between scenes.

RESEARCH: ART OF THE TITLE 'SHERLOCK HOLMES'

In the opening of Sherlock Holmes the action starts straight away by showing the well known cast in small clips of the film, this is because it provides the pedigree of the film and supports the audience’s choice and encourages viewers to watch the film as they want to see the famous actors that they like. The name of the director (Guy Ritchie) appears twice during the opening sequence, ones at the begging and again at the very end; this because it supports the audience decision in watching the film as it is made a well known director. 

Font choices are important elements of the visual appeal and contribute to graphical cohesion, the swirly calligraphy font in Sherlock Holmes is effective as it fits the time period in which the film is set. The font is dark which stands out from the background which is a tea stained/ vintage looking paper. The actors are shown by freeze-framing certain scenes that their character is in and then the tea stained colour background covers them, followed by the name of the actor appearing by their picture. 

The film opening of Sherlock Holmes signals the genre of the film which seems to be a mystery. It does this in a number of ways, such as throughout the opening line “Case reopened” which implies there is a mystery to solve. The genre is also signalled through the soundtrack, such as the music which is dramatic and fast paced. In the film opening of Sherlock Holmes the soundtrack establishes the mood of the story as well as creating suspense and establishing enigma, it also fits the time of 1890 in which is the year that the film is set in. The overall setting, lighting and colour of the film is dark and mysterious to engage the audience and to also imply the genre of the film and give them a sense of what kind of film it is going to be. 

A lot of film openings introduce the main narrative elements to launch the film but do not give away too much in order to retain enigma. In the opening of Sherlock Holmes hardly any of the narrative is set up apart from the fact that a case has been reopened. However, this works effectively as the dramatic effects of the soundtrack and scenes of the characters is enough to intrigue the audience as well as retaining the enigma.