Film Treatment

Cameron Payami, Short film Treatment

Section 1
As director of the short film "Hurry" I intend to make a five minute production mixing the two genres comedy and horror. Within these two genres I intend to explore the typical conventions that are regularly used and attempt to recreate them in such a way that both are able to work together, I plan to do this through the use of a misconception or twist. My target audience are people between the age of 14-25 that are interested by 'jumpy','edge of seat' horror and sketch like comedy.
The main concept of my film is to construct a fake reality/situation through the use of conventional signs and codes used in the horror genre and then brake it and convert it into comedy using the method of misconception. I hope once people have viewed my film they are then able to realise how the media can lead you to think a certain way and obscure the reality of a situation.


Section 2

A Man (character 1) is sat on his sofa at home watching TV all is calm, he then receives a text (we do not see the text but we know he has received one)to which his reaction is horrified, anxious and scared. The man then runs out of the house and into his car, turns the engine on and drives away in a "hurry". The car pulls up outside a house as another man (character 2) runs out the house and jumps in the car and tells the driver to " DRIVE! ". The car pulls out and they drive away, as both characters are in a "hurry" to get to the unknown destination the characters are shouting about the emergency but the nature of the emergency is not revealed to the viewer. By now the viewer will be secure in the knowledge that something bad has happened or will (possibly life threatening), it is at this point (The end) that I will reveal the true nature of the "hurry" which is simply to get something from the petrol garage because the 2nd character was hungry and couldn't be bothered to walk to the shop, this is where the comedy comes in as the 2nd character is laughing about what has happened and the 1st character is furious that he has been mislead just so his friend could get some food.

Section 3 (How will I construct the misconception?)

I intend to uphold this fake scenario through the use of short and snappy editing having cuts of no longer than roughly 10 seconds to keep the film at a fast pace and to keep the viewer on edge. I also aim to use a wide variety of different camera angles/techniques such as :

Ground level up
Pan
Tilt
Over shoulder
Close up reaction shot
Still shot (with car wheel zooming past the camera)
Tracking shot
Dolly shot ( Will be filmed from the open boot of a car as it is driving)

This variation of angles keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat and gives them no time to adjust to the characters position. The main typical conventions of the horror genre I aim to use in my production other than fast pace editing are signs and codes such as a high bpm (Beats per minute), unsettling sound track to keep the viewer anxious much like those used in films such as "Fast and furious" and "Need for Speed".I will also use loud and harsh dialogue to keep an aggressive tone in the film.

Section 4

The director of this film is me Cameron Payami I will be in charge of camera, sound, lighting and editing. Staring in "hurry" will be:

Character 1/ Male 18 'average Joe' Dressed Smart
Character 2/ Male 18 'average Joe' Dressed casually

I intend to have Chris Francis as character 1 and Jordan Juniper as character 2, both will have the ability to have an influence on the script as long as it fits with the intentions of the treatment. I intend to have a discussion with both to decide what they feel needs development and what they think of the general concept.

Section 5 (Funding and production planning)

Funding for this product is coming purely from the Director and the two characters staring in the film.

Week 1: Discussion on the plot and realistic filming targets for the weeks to come.
And address any foreseeable issues.

Week 2-5: Acquire all equipment, Get all the needed shots done.

Week 6-7: Analyse shots seek development and improvement through discussion with cast and others.

Week 7-9: If necessary get extra shots.

Week 10-12: Focus purely on editing.

Week 12-13: Group discussions on the improvement that can be done on the editing.

Week 13-14: If needed, make final tweaks and changes to editing.