gnhnh

1. Idea 1 treatment
Workingtitle
Currentlythe ideafora title whichIam consideringtouse formy filmis‘The Switch’.Ibelieve that
thistitle will be suitable formyfilmbecause itisaboutthe deathof one character switchingto
anotherbodyand livingthe lifeof somebodyelse andthe filmisbasedonpastlives.The title must
be short, snappyandeffectiveinmyopinionbecauseif the title isquite gooditcaninfluence a
produceror readerto like orwant to watchmy shortfilmbecause itcan suggesttothemthe kindof
experience theywill have watchingthe filmorgive themavague ideaof the genre or plotof the film
whichenticesthemtowatchit.
Length of film
Currentlyatthispointintime I believethatthe lengthof thisfilmwill be around8-10minutes.Inmy
opinionthe shorterthe filmisinthe endthe betteritwill be because If Ispendmore time focusing
on a shorterfilmandlessscenesmyfilmwill endupbeingalotmore effective inthe endandof a
much higherquality.
A short longline
In thisfilmthe maincharacterwill be a teenage girl of aroundthe 14-18 age range who at the
beginningof the filmtragicallydiesandawakesinadifferentbodywithanew familyandshe is
confusedanddoesn’tknowwhatisgoingonand has to figure itoutand what happenedtoher.She
endsup findingoutonlinethatshe (herpastlife) died5yearsago in a tragic accident. She now has
to learnhowto live hernewlife witherhernew familyandmove onfromwhathappenedatletgo
the fact that she can nevergo back.
The character is at war withherself asshe wants to govisitherpast life familybutdeepdownshe
knowsitwill onlycause themmore hurtand devastationthanthere alreadyisafterherlosssoonly
she isstandinginthe wayof herself.
The thingthat makesthisparticularstoryline unique isthatthe character staysthe same internally
but the external appearance andname andfamilyetc.changes.Andpersonally Ihaven’tseenany
filmsthathave followedthisideaintheirfilm.
Keepingthiskeyinfoof myfilmideainmind Ibelieve thatagoodand effectivetagline/longline for
my shortfilmwouldbe ‘life canchange inan instant’asI believeitgivesagoodsummaryof the
synopsisof the filmandgivesavague hint to the audience asto whattheycouldexpectinthe film,
whichfurtherenticesthemtowantto watchmy film.
Introduction ofkey characters
The main character inthisshort filmwill be ateenage girl aged14-18 whobeginsthe filmasone
actressand afterthe accidentandthe switchendsup beingthe same characterwhois playedby
anotheractress. She will be introducedinthe firstscene of the filmaswill herfamily,beingher
mum,dad and a sibling(brotherora sisteryetto be decided).She will be dressedasa typical
teenage of thisdayand age wouldincasual dressi.e.ahoodie andjeansandsome trainersas the
beginningof the filmwe be tryingtodepicttypical familylifewithnothingoutof the ordinary
noticeable tothe audience. Bothof the girlsbefore andafterthe switchwill be the mainstreamand/
or the reformeronthe youngandRubicam’s4c’s model and C1 (lowermiddle class) onthe NRS
social grade classificationscale. She willbe introducedprobablyinthe openingscene inafamily

2. settingmaybe inthe livingroomorkitchenthenshe will die inthe followingscene througheithera
tragic accidentor she will justunexpectedlydie inhersleep. ItisimportantthatI introduce the main
character inthe rightwaybecause the momentthata keycharacteris introducedintothe filmit
carriesthe abilitytoinduce emotionsfromthe audience,change the narrative andthe genre of the
filmsoit isveryimportant.
Synopsisbroken down into3 clear acts:
Act 1
It isautumn/winterinthe southof Englandinthe new forest in2015 and the Nelsonfamily(mum,
dad,brotherand sister) are justclearingupthe kitchenfromdinnerandtheirteenage daughteris
off to getready forbed.
The nextscene isinthe bathroomwhere Megan(teenage daughter/maincharacter) isinher
pyjamas,brushingherteeth,wipingmake upoff andwashingherface.She thengoesintoherroom,
plugsherphone in,turnsher lightoff andgetsintobed.Justlike a typical familywithnothingoutof
the ordinary.
The screenthengoesblackand you heara highpitchedbeensound(flatline sound) andyouhear
the parentsfrantically/hystericallyshoutinginthe backgroundforafew seconds“Meganwake up,
wake up…”
Act 2
Thenthe screenwill be a POV shotof eyelidsslowlyopeningandblinkinglike she isjustwakingup
and inthe backgroundin Frenchdifferentparentsare sayingtothe teenage girl “Amélie wake upare
youok”… thenfrom a POV shotshe sitsupand looksat herhands,her pyjamas,parentsandroom
and realisesshe isnotthe same personandit an unknownplace soisveryconfused(thisisshown
visuallynotverbally).
She thenlookstowards herbedside table andpicsupa photoframe to see a familypicture with
writingonit saying“happy birthdayAmélie lovemumanddad”in French.Thisscaresher so she
jumpsoutof bedand rushestowardsa mirrorshe seesonthe otherside of herroom and isscared
whenshe doesn’tsee herself thatshe knows lookingbackather.
Act 3
The parentssoon leave the roomwhentheyrealiseshe isokandsay “well see youinthe kitchen
soonfor breakfastdarling”- inFrench.
As soonas theyclose the doorto her room she rushesout herbedand to herdeskand opens her
laptopand franticallysearchesfor herparentsandfamilyonline,she issoonshockedtodiscover
that the her thatshe knewhaddiedtragicallyandunexpectedlyinhersleep5yearsago. She then
searcheshercurrentlocationingoogle andis shockedtosee she isfar fromhome in southFrance.
She thenhearsin Frenchherparentsshouting“Amélieare youcomingforbreakfast”?Fromanother
room.Then as she hascome to a realisationthatshe hasto accepther new life andwalkstowards
the bedroomdoorshe spotsthe yearon the calendaras 2020. Andthe final shotisher walkingout
of the bedroomandthe door closingbehindher.

3. Target audience- who are theyand how will you reach them
My targetaudience isaimedatteenage boysandgirls(aged14-18) and theywill be will be the
mainstreamand/or the reformeronthe youngand Rubicam’s4c’s model andC1 (lowermiddle
class) on the NRSsocial grade classificationscale. Becausethe main characterisa teenagerthenIam
aimingforthe filmto be relatable tothem. Iwill alsoattract the targetaudience throughposters
and social mediaadverts asall of my target audience are verylikelytobe activelyusingsocial media
so therefore thisisthe bestwaytoget the wordout.
Form and style- do you have anything to say about how you will shoot thisfilm?Certain cameras
needed,aparticular style/genre/lookyouare aiming for?
To shootmy short filmIwill borrowaCanon 700d dslrcamera frommy school alongwitha
microphone andtripodforbetteraudioandsteadyshots.I will alsouse ago pro for the POV shotsas
it iseasiertoshootthese sceneswithasmallercamera.
Marketplace- where do you see this filmin the market? Will it do well at festivals?Is there scope
for a sequel/prequel,spinoff etc.?
I wouldsee thisfilmdoingquitewellfrombeingsharedonsitessuchasYouTube andFacebook.
Howeverif itturnsout as goodas I hope Ithinkit coulddowell ina small local short filmfestival
such as the SouthamptonSolentuniversityshortfilmcompetition.