Treatment (with improvements) (no feedback)

1. Media– Unit 16 Elfie Cheetham 19/09/2018
IdeaTwo: Treatment
The WorkingTitle:
- Made-Up
- BetterBeauty
- ComposedComplexion
- Assets-Assumed.
Length of film:
- We knowis10-15 minuteslong.
Tagline:
- ‘Her eccentricfriendgotthe betterof her, Abbie Marren’slooksgetsnew attention.Abbie’s
reputationistransformed,popularfriends,livingthe ‘ideal’school lifestyle’.
- ‘Newclothes,cool friends,goodlooks,everythingthatdoesn’trepresentAbbie Marren.Can
she take it all back?’
- ‘Changingherlooks,changesherlife.Abbie Marren’smakeoverintroducestoher‘perfect’
life.Whatisshe missing?Anna.
Introduction ofKey characters:
• Abbie Marren:18 year oldgirl,shy,verysmartand longsto be popularand cool,doesn’tlive
inthe lapof luxury. Tomboy
• AnnaBennett18 yearoldgirl,lovesmusicandisone of 3 children,doesn’tcare forbeing
cool,likeslivinginhercurrentworldwith Abbie andspendingqualitytime with her.
• Girls:
• AlissaChambers:18 yearoldgirl,alreadypopularvery wealthy,doesn’tcare aboutgradesor
attendance.
• SafiyaHall:18 yearoldgirl,likessportandhorses,beenfriendswithAlissaforyears,both
girlsequally ashorrible.
• Parent:
• Dad, single dad,mumdoesn’tlivewiththem.Hastwochildren,one Abbie the otherisJohn,
he is inhislast yearat Oxfordstudyinghistoryonascholarships.
• Other:
• School mates(maybe)
• Teacher
• Audience (maybe

2. Synopsis:
Act 1:
Anna,experimentalhairdresseristryingtoimprove herportfoliobytestingoutsome styleson
Abbie.Abbie,ourprotagonistissat reluctantly,gettingherhairdone. Abbie atomboy,doesn’tdo
much withherverystraighthairor use make upor dressup.AnnashowsAbbie whatshe’sdone
withherhair.It’s verycurly. Annapersuadeshertolike itand withmuchreluctance agreestoAnna
givinghercomplete makeovertosuithernew hair.
The nextday we see Abbie walkingintoschool withhernew look.Everyone takesgreatinterestin
heras theyhaven’treallyinthe past. Twogirls,AlissaChambersandSafiyaHall,give Abbie,andnot
Anna,the opportunitytohangout withthemat lunch.Abbie takesthemuponthe idea,leaving
Annaout at lunch.
Abbie startshangingoutwiththe two girlsquite alotand therefore notspendinganytime with
Annagreat? “therefore, thiseffectstheirrelationship”.Abbieisinfluencedbythem, she starts
misbehavinginclass,notcompletinghomeworkandgettingdetentions,whichshe andher‘friends’
thinkiscool. At thispointAbbie isconvertedfromthe A-gradedstudent,withagood(good?)
reputation,toAbbie,apopular,feared,judgemental 18year-old.
Act 2:
Followingfromthatsame day,she getshome tofindher dadincrediblydisappointedwithher.He
had previouslyreceivedaphone call fromschool.Theyargue,whichisunlikethem.She goesupto
herroom.
She goesintoschool the nextday,not ingreat mood.Abbie issatalone andAlissaandSafiyacome
up to herand tell herthisrumourabout Anna,Abbie showsthatshe thinkslittle of Annaandgoes
throughwiththe rumour.She’swalkingdownthe corridorandseesAnnaintearsabout thisrumour.
Abbie explainseverythingandAnnagetsreallyangrywithher.Theyargue and Abbie blamesAnna
for makingherlike this. Theysplit.
She’swalkinghome whenshe realiseswhat’shappened.
Act 3:
The nextday we see Abbie walkintoschool,minimalmakeup,andhairstraightandback inher
normal clothes.She walkspastAlissaandSafiyaastheylookat herin disgrace.She walksuptoAnna
and she looksat Abbie incontemplation.Anna,overexcitedlyshoutsoutinappeal. Theywalkoff
together.
We thenhave an extrascene where AbbieandAnnaare in classand our handedtheirpapersback
where Abbie getsan ‘A’.
Target Audience:Whoare they and how will you reach them?

3. - For thisfilmIthinkthe target audience isforstudentsages12-18.
- I wouldreachthemby the relatabilityof peoplefallingoutwithfriendsorparents. Alsoin
termsof the school,friends,bullyingsituationandtopics.
- Or evenforthe bystanderwhere youknow of people/studentsthatthismightbe
happening/hashappenedto.
- We alsohave thismoral conceptwhere youdon’thave to change your lookstomake
yourself a‘better’person. Thatpopularityandbeingcool iseverything,andthere isnosuch
thingas perfectschool lifestyle.
- It hopefullyportraysthisideaof ‘be careful whatyouwishfor’.
- From the audience pointwe knew thatshe probablyalreadyhadeverythingshe wanted, a
goodmate,gradesand family.
- Thisfilmissuitable forall classes,lowermiddle touppermiddle. Itismostlyanall-female
cast, so possiblymostappropriateforafemale audience.
- In termsof the 4C’s scale,it’smostlyaroundThe AspirerandThe Reformer,asthese are the
twomain themeswe see withinthe cast.
- Thisshort filmwill reachthe audience throughYouTube, it’sfree towatch.
Form and style: Do you have anything to say about how you will shoot thisfilm?Certain cameras
needed,aparticular style/genre/lookyouare aiming for?
- The way I wantto shoot thisfilm, isbynotusinga tripod but by holdingthe camera.Iknow
to start I wantto camera to focuson what’shappeninginthe scene ratherthanon the faces
of ourcharacters. The characters can be introducedwhenwe reveal what’shappenedto
Abbie’shairinthe mirror. I’ll shootthatby showingAbbie’sface inthe mirrorandthen
panningthe cameraround to see both theirfaces.
- I alsohave the ideaof filmingfollowingshots.Forexamplewhenwe are firstintroducedto
the two girls,AlissaandSafiya.Iwantto follow theirfeettobuildupanticipationof who
theyare.
- I’ll onlyneedthe mediadepartment’sstandardCanonDSLRcameras, and justtake serval
clipsof the same scene whenfilmingamontage.Imightneedtouse a tripodif I decide tobe
init, sothat I am able to filmthe scene aswell.
- In termsof genre,it’smostlyadrama/comedy. Ithas the drama elementswiththe girl’s
hostilityandthe breakupof familyandfriendships.Comedy featuresinclude the makeover
and the eccentricityof Anna’scharactersandpossiblythe othertwogirls. Idon’twantthe
filmtobe intense,Iwanttoit be light-hearted.
- The style of filmingisverystandard.Iwantthe scenestocome across as entertaining.
- The lookI am aimingisto be quite comedic,amusing,aswell asappropriate portrayingmore
serioussubjects,loss,bullying, andappearances.
- The lookwill alsobe,showingAbbie’slifestyle,andhow it’schanged.Itneedstoshow the
contrast fromwhat she usedtobe like towhoshe isnow.This can be done by filmingthe
friendslookonthe situation,asshe knowswhatandhow Abbie haschanged.
- There islittle lightinginvolvedbecause mostof the filmissetinschool, the lightingislimited
to the lightsinthe corridors and classrooms. However, it’spossible touse lightinginthe
scenesat home whereby,itcanbe establishedand significantinthe scene.Italsomeansit
can be movedandadjustedeasier. Also,if anyscenesare shotat home,atnight,the only
lightingavailable are the lightsratherthanusingnatural light.

4. - Colourwill be shownthroughAbbie’snew choice inclothesandmakeup. Itcan contrasther
previousstyle whichwasgreys,blacksandblues.Herfriendcouldswitchto wearingless
colourful clothestoshowher hurtand rejectionfromAbbie, portrayingheremotions.Aswe
wantthe filmtoendlight-hearted,we couldhave Abbie tocontinuingwearinghercolourful
clothesaswell as her friend goingbackto wearingtheirs.
- Propswill include,phones,school bagswith appropriate booksorfolders,hairstyling
equipmentforthe firstscene.Make upandotherclothing.
Market Place: Where doyou see this filmin the market? Will itdo well at festivals?Isthere scope
for a sequel/prequel,spinoffetc?
- In the marketplace,I thinkcouldbe suitable foranything,asitisnot onlyforentertainment
but istryingto share a message. Itcouldbe screenedinlocal cinema/theatres.Orevenbe
appropriate forchainedcinema’s,suchasOdeon.
- It probablywouldn’tbe rightfora festival asitsendsoutquite apersonal message andis
onlyfor12-18year olds.
- I understandthatthe plotline isverygenericbutDisneycouldremake itordevelopthis
story.I mentionDisneybecauseIthinkitfitsintotheircategoriesfortheirshowsonDisney
Channel. Itwouldbe appropriate forDisneyif itwasa longerfilmorevena series.However,
theydo oftenshowshorterfilmsforviewerstoactas an interludeforotherprogrammes
and series.
- I thinkitwouldbe appropriate fora sequel asitis open-endedand allowsforanotherscene
to carry on the story.
- If there was a sequel itcouldpossiblybe the twoprotagonistsinuniversityor the nextstage
of theirlife anddeal withdifferentissuesfortheirtime/age.Possiblyemployment,
relationships,lossorbehaviour.
- It couldhave an additional prequel buttothinkof a subjectthatdevelopsintosomething
relatable atthat stage of school life mightbe difficult.
- If the filmwaselongated,itcouldaffordtobe partof a series,sothat material ineach
episode woulddeal withanothertopic.