treatment for the film the yearning

1. MediaTreatment DavidEdmunds
A WorkingTitle
The workingtitle of myfilmis The Yearning. I have chosenthisname as I feel thatis simple but
strikingwithimpactandwouldmake the film standoutas beingdifferent. Withit onlyhavinga
two-wordtitle itmakesitsoundintriguing like ahorror/ thrillerfilm, asithas a mystery dimension
and feel toit,leavingthe potential viewerwantingtofindoutwhatthe yearningisabout.
Length of the film
The filmisabout 15 to 20 minuteslong,ashortfilmthatwill include three acts.
A short logline/tagline
The tag line of the filmis“knowwhenyouare beingwatched”,thisisbecause the filmisabouthow
social mediaalwaysmeansthatsomeone cansee andmonitoryou at any time.
Introduction to the Keycharacters
Ben Morning:- he is the maincharacter and features atthe start of the filmappearingtobe normal,
but throughoutthe filmyoubegintorealise thatishe notof soundmindandstarts to getdelusional
thoughts,andbelievesthathe isin a relationshipwith Jess,whoactual doesnotevenknow him.
JessTramworthy: - thisisthe girl that Benfallsinlove with. She isaddictedto social mediaand
postseverythingshe does,evenwhere she goes,whatshe does,heropinions,whatshe wears,what
she eats,whoshe is with andis alwaysonher phone. ThismakesitveryeasyforBen to follow and
monitorherand findoutwhere she isalways.
Mrs and Mr Morning:- theyare the parentsof Benand theystart to notice that he isgoingout a lot
more than he usedto, and that whenhe isin, doesn’treallytalktothemanymore and on the odd
occasionhe doeshe talksas if there issomeone elseiswithhim.They begintogetworriedabout
himand following himtosee what or whois meeting, andthisultimatelyleadstotheirdemise.
Heath Bell:- isone of Ben’sclosestfriendsandhasbeenhangingoutwithhimforyearssince they
were young. Heathshowsbe thisgirl he has seen onlineandsays “wow lookhow fitshe is” thisis
where Bensee Jessforthe firsttime andhe alsostarts to follow heronsocial media. Heathnotices
that Benhas stoppedhangingoutwithhimand doesn’tsee himasmuch of himanymore. They
onlytalkon snapchatand whenhe doesits onlybrief andBenonlytalksabout Jess.Thisstarts to
annoy Heath andhe doesn’tsee thatBenhasstartedto become deluded. HeathseesBeninthe
streetandconfrontshimwhilstBenisfollowingJess. ThisangersBenand he losessightof Jessand
pushes Heathaway. He starts to thinkthathe isgettingbetween himandJess,sotheyfall out.
Heatha fewdayslatergoesto checkup on Benas he hasn’t beentoschool andfindsthe messthat
Benhas made.
Act one
We are introducedto Ben andHeath inthe School commonroom and see thattheyare lookingat
girlson Instagram.Thisiswhere HeathshowsBena girlsInstagrampage calledJess.Benlookingat
the firstpicture of her fallsinlove withherandlooksherup onhisphone and triestofollow her,but
heraccount is private.Laterthat daywe see Benand Heathwalkhome talkingabouthow theyboth
wishtheyhada girlfriendandhoweveryoneintheirsix formhasa girlfriend. Heathpullsouthis
phone andshows Benthree or fourboys that theyknow whonow have girlfriends. Benisstill
annoyedas Heath got acceptedbythisgirl and he didn’t.He stormsoff home where itsscene cutsto

2. MediaTreatment DavidEdmunds
himin bedgoingthroughInstagramand he seesthathe has finally beenacceptedby Jess. He starts
goingthroughher Instagramandthis iswhere he believes he hasfalleninlove withher.He is
hesitanttomessage her,buteventual he doessendheraDM (directmessage) saying ‘hey’.We then
see the screenglitchesand she respond with‘hey’andthe screenthen fadestoblack.The nextday
we see BentalkingtoHeath aboutthisgirl and the conversation he hadhad withherthe night
before. Heathsaidthat’ssounds weird, likewhy wouldshe replytoyouandnotme or like anyone
else.ThisannoyedBenandHeaththensaid,‘well she didok’. We thensee Benlookingather
Instagrampage in his room,and thenhisparents call himdownfor dinne. He getsup and walks
downgrabs hisdinnerwithoutlookingupfromhisphone andgoes back upstairs withouttalkingto
them.
Act Two
Benbeginstogo earlierinthe morningthanhe usuallydoesforschool,thisiswhere hisparents
begintobecome suspicious. We see Benwalkingalongtowardsthe busstation,where he getsona
bustowards Bournemouth. The film thencutsto Jessgoingintoa coffee shop,thisiswhere we
see Bensittinginthe coffee shopandwaitingforherand iswhere he seesherforthe firsttime in
actual person. Bensitsmesmerisedstaringatherandwondersif he shouldgoand talkto her. He
thinksof the all thingsthat he couldsay and playsthemoff inhis head.Eventually he getsupand
leavesthe coffee shopwithouttalkingtoher. Whenhe returns home, he seesthathe hasmessages
fromHeath,as he has forgottentogo to hishouse astheyhad agreedthe day before.Benisnot
concernedbythis and instantlyopens InstagramtolookatJess’sInstagrampage. We thencut to a
weeklaterandsee Benand Jesswalkingdownthe streettowardsthe coffeeshopthatJessusually
goesto. There issomethingwrongthoughasthe people aroundhimare actingodd andthisis the
onlytime inthe filmthatBensmilesandhas a happydemeanour. Thisisdone toshow that thisis a
fantasysequence,andthisisnotactuallyhappening. We thenhear Jesssay,‘I needtoshoot off
reallyquick’,Hessthenleavesthisistoshow the endof the fantasysequence asHeathentersand
starts talkingtoBen,thisisnow reality. TalkingtoBen,HeathbeginstogetenragedseeingthatBen
isnot focusingon what he issayingand isjustgenuinelyignoringhim;Benfinallysnapsandtellshim
to go and leave himalone andnevertalktohimagain. Heath withtearsinhiseyeswalksoff
confused,butmainlyangry. Jessthencomesbackintothe scene andwe cut to see themwalkoff.
Act Three
Thisis where we see the deterioration inBen’smindand psyche,he beingstospiral outof control
and triestoshowhis fantasiestoreal people. ThisisshownbyBen’smothercleaninghisroomand
findingpictures,dates,times, locationsof Jess’swhereabouts,whatshe does,how she eats –
genuinelycreepythings. Ben’smotherandfatherconfronthimaboutthisone night,whichinfuriates
Benas he startsto thinkabout howtheyare tryingto get inthe way of himandJess. Eventuallyhe
boilsoverandgrabs the nearestitem,abluntcandlestickandbasheshisfather’sheadandkillshis
mother. We thensee Benwalkingdownthe street,andcheckinghiswatchfrequently,we cansee
thisisrealityandnot a fantasyfrom peoplesreactiontohim, eventuallyBenwalksroundthe street
corner andis confrontedwithJess,where he stopsherandtriesto speaktoher. She askswho he is
and as Bensays nothing,he getsflusteredandgrabsher. We thencut to Heathwalking Ben’sstreet
towardshishouse witha concernedlookonhisface as he hascome to try andreconcile the
differencesandapologise toBen. EventuallyHeathopenthe doorof the house and findsBeninhis
room talkingtoJesswhoistiedup andhis mother andfatherdeadon the floor. The End.

3. MediaTreatment DavidEdmunds
Target Audience
The target audience forthisfilmare teensfromthe age 15 upwardsand youngadultsfrom18 to 30.
The filmisn’treallyaimedtowardsagenderas the message of the filmappliestoall genders. We
will be able toreach the targetaudience through the charactersinthe filmandthe use of social
media.Thisfilmwill hopefullyplaymore asa devil’sadvocate asitishighlightingthatsharing
everythingyoudoand have couldleadto unwanted attention.
Form and style.
The mediaformis a short filmwiththe aimof makingthe audience uneasywiththe fact thatpeople
can viewthemat anytime throughtheirsocial media. The factthat the thingwe use everyday
couldbe turnedagainstus and used ina maliciousway,whichisaveryunsettlingthought. us.The
genre of thisfilmisa psychological thriller/ horrorwith the violencekepttoa minimumasthisisnot
the keyfocusof the film,it isalwaysmore aboutthe audience constantconnectionto random
people throughtheirsocial media. Therefore, the tagline is ‘know whenyouare beingwatched’,
because evenwhenyouare noton yourphone your social mediaisbeingwatchedandthat can be
an unsettlingthoughttosome people.
Marketplace
In society today, Ifeel thatthisshortfilm hasthe potential tomake animpactwiththe intended
target audience,as itshowshowdangerous social mediacanbe ina way that hasn’tbeendisplayed
before.Thisisbecause Benisa typical teen, andthiscan be unsettlingashe wouldnot be a bad
personor describedasa social mediastalker.
Draft Script
Ben- you wouldnotbelieve thisbutwhenIfirstsaw yourInstagramI was nervous topop up as I was
toldyoudon’t replaytoanyone.
Jess– Really,that’s sowiredbecause you’re reallynice andfunnywhywouldn’tIreplay.
Jesslooksforwardsandthengetsherphone out andgoessays
Jess– I reallyneedtoshootI will talktoyou later
Jessturnsdowna road andshe is gone
Heaththenis inthe scene
Heath– heymate I haven’tseentoinages
Benis noticeably unhappyinhisface
Ben- yearI have beenverybusyandhaven’thadtime to see you, wasthere anythingyouwanted
Heath– to see mymate, sorry
Ben- well Ihave beenbusywithjesssoIhaven’treallyhadtime foranyone

4. MediaTreatment DavidEdmunds
Heath- whose jessIhave neverheardof her,can I meether
Ben- notstay away fromher
Heath– what’swrongmate
Ben– youjust getawayfrom me
Heath– ok I guessI will see youaround
Heathwalksoff
As thathappens jesscomesbackintoshot
Jess– who wasthat?
Ben–just someone Iusedtoknow