Preliminary Task 1: Treatment

A TREATMENT FOR "SMILE"

Prepared by Samuel

It is proposed that the film will be of 1 to 1.5 minutes duration and will be  filmed at school because it is easily accessible by all cast and crew. It also provides the wide open space of the carpark to film our chase.

Conventions we will use:

Iconography: The murder weapon that will be used is a kitchen knife which shows the more sadistic and unhinged side of the character of the Killer. Blood will be used on the body of the Victim at the end to show what the Killer is leaving behind and to also highlight the cruelty of the Killer's character. The chase scene is a nod to the iconography of typical action thriller films.

Sound: The diegetic sound we will use in our film will be the notification sound of the text arriving to the Victim's phone which will increase tension once he reads it. The music that will be used will be low and unsettling to begin with but will increase in tension as the film escalates. Especially at the end of the film when the Killer has done his deed the music will be very intense until the title card at the end.

Lighting: We will be using the natural light of twilight for the outdoor shots and the same as much as possible for the indoor shots as well. If natural light is not sufficient for the indoor shots we will use a blue hue on the lighting as well as low brightness to create a cold, dark atmosphere.

Narrative: The film begins from the point of view of the Victim so tension is high the moment he reads the text. He is asking himself, as the audience asks themselves, "What's going to happen?"

After watching the following thriller films/thriller openings we have been influenced by:

The Bourne Identity opening scene: Dark setting to add mystery and tension. As mentioned we want to keep lighting natural but we will use a blue hue if necessary to get that atmosphere.

The Dark Knight 'Why so serious' scene: The main inspiration for the Killer and his calling card of the balloon with a smiley face was the Joker from the Dark Knight. This was to have an antagonist with no obvious motive other than his sadistic enjoyment.

Problems Encountered

Possible problems we could encounter could be bad weather in which case we will shift our setting underneath the school block for the chase. Health and safety issues could possibly arise from inappropriate handling of the knife we are using for the murder weapon as well as a lack of care in the fight scene.

The film will include the following

Characters:

Victim: He is an innocent bystander that was in the wrong place at the wrong time and has become a target of the Killer.

Killer: He is a serial killer who's sole motive is to kill for his enjoyment and cause chaos wherever he goes. He leaves a calling card on the body which is the balloon with the smiley face drawn in blood on it.

Ideology:

Mood and Tone: As evident by what I've already written the mood and tone of the film will be dark and unsettling as the base plot is the audience watching some get brutally murdered by a maniac. The atmosphere and themes created will be of death and chaos as intended by the character of the Killer himself. It will also be tense throughout so that the audience is engaged throughout.

Camera shots/movements/angles: The camera shots we will use will be mainly handheld to give the shaky effect with POV shots being used as well. We may use a mounted camera for an establishing if necessary but for the majority of the shots the camera will be handheld.

Themes: The prevailing themes in the film will be darkness, death, destruction and evil. We want the audience to sympathise with the Victim in his death and hate the Killer for what he has done to this innocent man.

Mise-en-scene: Our setting will be at the City Impact Church North Shore campus which also acts as the school's location. This will provide us with the office that the film begins in as well as the carpark where the chase occurs. At the time of day we are filming at (twilight/nighttime) the carpark will be empty and will have the eerie feel about it. 

Symbolism: The Killer will be dressed in black to give the connotation of darkness and evil while the Victim will have a white shirt to display his innocence and the blood on the shirt will show the tarnish in that innocence. The knife will represent the sadistic personality of the Killer and his desire to murder the Victim

Sound and Music: The aim of the overall sound in the film will be to keep the tension high at all times and so the audience does not become disinterested. We aim to have the diegetic sound be as realistic as possible to make the film as a whole more realistic.

Use of credits and logos:

Editing: