:: Treatment ::

19th January 2009 :: Treatment Hand-in Date ::

Today I handed in my first version of the treatment, if you want to see what my outline for my idea is then read on. Just so you know I’ve decided to go for the mask image.

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The short film will be portraying how facial expressions can solely reveal a person’s reaction and feelings to what is going on around them. The sequence will be using a set of masks with a range of facial expressions and take place on Brighton’s amusement pier. There will be a main character that will interact with an array of different scenarios and will focus largely on the face to revile the characters feelings. It will be a comic look into how, without words, you can tell exactly how the character is feeling.
The piece will start with shots of people holding hands, after a short time the camera will cut to a man on the beach wearing a mask with a sad expression. The scene will be moody and feature both close up and long shots. It will be a relatively slow scene as the opening will be trying to pull focus on the mask and his loneliness. Next the man will look up to the pier; the mask will have changed to a puzzled look. He will continue onto the pier and play various arcade games and ride the rollercoaster’s in an attempt to cheer himself up. It will be a comic scene as the masks expressions will be quite over the top and the way it will be filmed will be in a humorous way. To end the short film the man will sit down to play, ‘Dolphin Derby’ and just before the game starts a girl, with the same mask on, sits next to him. It ends with him winning the game and giving her the prize and they walk off hand in hand with the camera zooming in on their hands.
In regards to the sound I want the opening scene to feature sad violin music. The violin music will cut in and out of hardcore music when he’s on the rides. I also want the film to be largely filmed in sepia but, like the music, when he’s on the rides the shooting mode returns to regular shooting mode.
The film will be shot using a Canon mini DV camcorder. The footage will be shot in a regular shooting mode, with no effects or filters. All effects will be added in Final Cut Pro afterwards.
The short film will be targeted at a vast audience as the subject is so light hearted and is based on how our mind processes facial expressions to determine how others are feeling.