Treatment Feedback

In class we discussed the main parts of our Opening Sequence Treatment Plan with the rest of our class. The class were asked to write something positive, a question and something to improve on.

Positive feedback we got was that our plot was well thought, detailed and all the topics were covered, and that crucially our idea was interesting and intriguing. One particular positive comment was the acknowledgement of our title 'This Life Ain't Fair' which the person thought was well thought out and fitted the themes and genre of our film.

The majority of our questions were based on how will we get hold of a studio which a main part of our opening sequence will be filmed. The answer to these questions is that Oscar his own studio which we are able to use. Another question was how we will get our moving shots to be smooth. The answer to this is that we will record this shots a number of times so we are able to choose the best option and as we are filming to try and find ways to make the movement of the camera as smooth as possible.

Some points in which we could improve on were making sure we really make the storyline and characters clear even though our opening sequence will be Non-Linear. And to make we have asked permission from record labels and owners for any pieces of music we want to use.

Overall the class feedback was important and will help us improve our opening sequence not only from our specific feedback but also from listening to other group's ideas.

Treatment (Opening Sequence)

This Life Ain't Fair

 

Our film is an Action-Drama genre with an underlying theme of crime and music and it is about a group of upcoming music artists who at their recording studio get disturbed by a group of men in balaclavas. At the end of the opening sequence there will be a gunshot sound followed by a black screen and a title showing a flashback of '1 year earlier'. Due to this our film will be Non-Linear as it cuts from the present to the past. Our target audience is 15-22 year old males and will apply to 'The Succeeders', 'The Aspirers' and 'The Strugglers' due to Psychographic Profiling. In our first few shots of the group in the recording studio as the mood as good and high we will make the colours bright to add to this mood. However when the mood changes to the group robbing a corner shop in need of money, the colours will be blander and darker to show this to the audience.  

 

Overview:

A more detailed description of what will happen in our opening sequence is that it will start with the title 'This Life Ain't Fair' then the shot will fade in and move through the door into the studio, to then pan around the whole studio showing an actor in the booth rapping, a producer and some friends chilling on the sofa. The person in the recording studio has just finished a song, an exchange of dialogue occurs with the producer who praises the rapper. Following this the friend on the sofa makes a joke with the rapper about the song, this joke continues between all of the characters and the mood is high until they are disturbed. Suddenly the groups discussion is interrupted by the loud noises of a motorbike. To which there is a close up camera shot tracking the motorbike down a road. A wide shot shows a gang all with balaclavas on running to the front door and banging on it. The friend who was on the sofa gets up and opens the door only to receive a hit to the face with a gun. As the rest of the music artists are standing behind their friend the producer says the line 'This ain't fair, what did we do?'. The man in the balaclava simply replies with 'This Life Ain't Fair', which is the title of the film. The shot then goes black with a loud gunshot noise. Then the titles '1 year earlier' appear and an establishing shot of the same group - the rapper, producer and friend is shown. They proceed to plan and rob a corner shop. The producers voice is talking over this scene about what's happening and why and his feelings at this time. With a soft piano song playing in the background. Other music and sounds we will be using are some low tense music and party music.

 

Synopsis (of the whole film):

A brief plot of what will happen after the opening sequence is that it will continue on from the past until it reaches the Disruption part of our Narrative Structure and Todorov's suggested structure that most films follow -  which is what was shown in our opening scene up until the gunshot. However this time it will be resolved. So, from the beginning another friend of the group gets killed during one of the robberies. This angers the group but inspires them to change their ways and try and make it in the music business. It takes them a while of lots of hardworking and making a lot of music but eventually they get signed and start making money from the music business. So they have reached their goal and dedicate it to their friend who passed away. This is then the part of the film where the opening sequence happens again. As at the end of the scene a man in the balaclava is pointing his gun at the music groups friend who's on the floor; most people watching would have come to the conclusion that the friend would have been killed by the man in balaclava. However what actually happens is that another member of the gang all in balaclavas shoots and kills the leader which will shock the audience as it will not be what they're expecting.

 

Some details of Mise en Scene, themes and equipment:
Overall we will have 7 characters in our opening sequence which will include 4 of the 7 of Vladamir Propp's character types: a hero (the protagonist being the rapper), the villain (the antagonist being the leader of the men in balaclavas), the princess (which would be the music groups wealth and fame that the men in balaclavas are jealous of) and a helper (who turns out to be a member in the team of villains who kills the leader and helps out the rapper). Some of the binary opposites present in our opening are Past vs Future, Good vs Evil and Gang vs Gang. The locations we will be using are Oscar's recording studio and some streets around Raynes Park, we hope that these locations and are opening sequence as a whole will show people a different side of London. Our themes which we think will relate to our target audience are the idea of a normal group making it in the music industry and making money, themes of gangs, crime and violence. In regards with equipment we need to use, all costumes will be supplied by the actors themselves, we will have to rent out a lighting kit from school so our shots look professional, and both myself and Oscar have our own DSLR's which are able for use.

Risks:
Some possible minor risks that my group could expect are trips from loose wires and burns from hot lighting equipment, however we will take the correct precautions necessary to ensure this doesn't happen, such as taping down any loose wires and wearing gloves when handling lighting equipment. In our opening sequence we will also be shooting tracking shots where as we don't have professional equipment it will be hard to get a smooth shot, although we will make sure we shoot this a number of times so can then choose the best ones.