Sunday, 6 May 2012

Initial Ideas Development

Initially we met up to discus ideas and what route we can see our drama heading down. Bexs could see this long road, framed by rows of trees and a man walking down it, walking away from something. Talking about what he could be walking away from lead to the development of this guy being trapped, be it in his home and boring work life, and finally having enough and leaving.

On Friday the 21st April we had to present and pitch our idea to Dom so Paul wrote up this initial script and treatment in order to portray what we wanted to do:




TREATMENT


Director: Ruby Harman
Producer: Emma Corbett

Programme: Drama Film ‘Journey’

This film charts an ordinary day, in the life of an ordinary man, and the decision he takes to escape his ordinary life forever.

Fed up with the relentless monotony of his humdrum life, and the relentless nagging from his humdrum wife, one man decides enough is enough and decides that the time has come to make a change.

“Today is the first day of the rest of his life.”
 
Duration: 1 X 5 minutes

Independent production suitable for evening screening on BBC4, Channel 4 short films strands, SKY Arts, competitions, festivals and webcast.

Format: Snappy, quick edits (Edgar Wright style), dual cameras, shot on location.  Extensive postproduction.

Audience: Teenagers and adults.

Aim : The aim of the film is to be optimistic and show how a person can alter the course of their life and regain the control of their own destiny that they once thought was lost to them.

Resumé: The film address social issues of repression, and dissatisfaction and show how one man changes his life for the better.

Suggested Elements: The programme will use the depiction of early morning sunlight and the outside world beyond the windows of the character’s home and office to depict the entrapment that he feels.  Use of colour and lighting will highlight the drab interior confined world that he spends the majority of his daily life in and the struggles and monotony that he faces every day.

The end scene will be ultra colourful to highlight his escape and his new journey in life and his new adventure, free from his trappings.

The carefully considered and manipulated use of sound editing will also build up the struggle of his every day life and then a calming soundtrack over the ending will emphasise the freedom he achieves.



Locations
Three locations:
-   Norfolk Park overlooking Sheffield city centre
-   Kitchen of working class home
-   Office interior
-    
Characters
Three characters:
-   man
-   wife
-   boss

Costumes
-   Man: shirt, tie, typical office attire
-   Wife: dowdy wife casual, beige / drab colours
-   Boss: smarter suit and tie

Props
-   Kitchen: cereal, milk bottle, bowl, spoon, clock
-   Hall: mirror, keys, bowl
-   Office: desktop / workstation items, files, pc, keyboard, phone, mug, pens, stapler, paper, office clock



(END OF TREATMENT)


Script


Exterior:  Norfolk Park.  Early morning 
Sunrise over city, city coming to life

Interior:  Ordinary working class kitchen.  Same early morning
Man sat at kitchen table.  Cereal bowl and milk bottle indicate breakfast.

Behind him noises build (kettle, toaster, radio).  Incessant nagging of wife.  Quick cuts from both sides behind his head nagging him.  He is being nagged from all sides.  Man looks forward ignoring wife as best he can.

Close up of kitchen clock hitting 8am.

Man finishes cereal puts down spoon in bowl, stands up, leaves table.

Cut to: (snappy edits)

Int: Home hallway

-   Close up: mirror reflection, man putting on tie
-   CU: putting shoes on
-   CU: hand picking up keys from bowl
-   Wide: house door shuts as he has left for work


Int: Office corridor
Lift doors open, man piles out with numerous other people.

Int: Open plan office
Man walks down middle of office towards his desk

Int: At desk
In set up reminiscent of being sat at kitchen table, man has outside world view from window behind him.  Inside all furniture is grey and artificial lighting harsh and washed out.  Desk top paraphernalia indicates work station.

Around him noises begin to build (tapping typing on keyboards, printers, phones ringing) arms of unidentified person dumps huge bundles of paperwork on his desk with a thud.  Phone rings, sounds of disgruntled client on phone.  Behind him boss is ‘having a go’ at him in the same manner as nagging wife in kitchen.  Same cuts in edit so that man gets verbal abuse from all sides.  Man continues to look forward.

Close up of office clock hitting 5pm.

Man puts down last file on his mountain of paperwork, stands up, leaves desk.

Int: Open plan office
Man walks back down middle of office.

Int: Office corridor
Man gets into lift, doors close.

Int: Home hallway

(Snappy edits)

-   Wide: Door opens as he walks in
-   Close up: hand putting keys in bowl
-   CU: taking shoes off

Int: kitchen
Man sits down at same table that he got up from this morning.
Table set for evening meal: water jug and glasses, place mats, cutlery.

As breakfast, noises build behind him (this time boiling pan, microwave humming, washing machine whirring).  Incessant nagging of wife.  Quick cuts from both sides behind his head nagging him.  He is being nagged from all sides.  Same as breakfast.

Man looks forward ignoring wife.

Calmly gets up and leaves table.

Cut to: (snappy edits)

Int: Home hallway

-   Close up: mirror reflection, calmly, man takes off tie
-   CU: putting shoes on
-   CU: hand over keys in bowl
-   CU: man takes off wedding ring and puts it in bowl with the keys
-   Wide: house door shuts as he has left leaving keys and everything else behind him


Ext: House
Noises, and all other environmental sounds, fade as we follow him walking away from house, onto pavement, and set off down road

Ext: Norfolk Park (same location as beautiful sunrise)
Man walks away.  Camera stays at park gates as he walks off into distance up the park tree lined avenue.  Leaving the city, and his old life, behind.


(END OF SYNOPSIS)

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