The three friends get lost in the dark forest while taking a shortcut home from a party. As they argue about being lost, they hear strange noises that scare them. While trying to quickly leave the forest, all three tumble into a hidden hole and fall unconscious. One of the friends is injured in the fall.

1. ElizabethFord FilmIdea2
IDEA TWO
TREATMENT
‘5 YEARS TIME’
‘WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 5 YEARS?’
RUN TIME: 5-15 MINUTES

2. ElizabethFord FilmIdea2
Key Characters
Jenny
Jennyisaround17 (age can differentiate eachwaybutnoyoungerthan14 andno olderthan21).
She isthe loudestmostproblematicone of the groupand frequentlycausesargumentsor
complains.She hasbrownhairand isof an average heightandbuild.She dressesformallydue toher
privilegedlifestyle.She isfriendswiththe othercharactersandknowsthemthroughschool.
Charlie
Charlie isthe onlyboyand isslightlytallerthanthe girls,andinthe same age bracket as the girls
(due tothembeinginthe same year group). He hasdark blonde shorthair.Charlie isconfidentbut
not overbearing.He findsthe wayoutthe forestaftergettinglostandisa helpful characterdue to
himhelpinghisinjuredfriendAlex.
Alex
Alex issimilartojennyintermsof heightandbuildbutwithblonde hair.She isthe same age as the
others(17). She isthe smartestas she noticesthe detailsaroundthemconducive tothembeingina
future year.Howevershe isquietandshyanddoesnot say much.She getsinjuredbuttriestonot
letit stopher. She is friendsandknowsthe othersfromschool.

3. ElizabethFord FilmIdea2
Synopsis
Act 1
Three friend’s jennyCharlie and Alex are walkinghome fromapartyas Alex isstayingatJenny’s
house andCharlie livesclose by. The streetsare slightlydarkbutstill lit,asitarounddusk.The three
friendsare chattingandlaughingaboutthe night.SuddenlyCharlie sayshe knowsashortcutthrough
the forestto theirstreet,asitsgettingcoldnow. The girlsare resistantbutCharlie insistssayingits
quickhe’sdone itbefore.Theystartwalkingthroughthe forestbutbecause it’sdarkCharlie doesn’t
rememberthe exactwayandit all starts to lookthe same. The three of themstart to get scaredas
jennystartscomplainingaboutitbeingtoodarkcoldand scary. Theychecktheirphonesandjenny’s
isdeadwhile CharliesandAlex’shave nosignal andtheyknow people are startingtoworryabout
them.
Act 2
As they’re stumblingthroughthe forestnow lostthe panicbeginstosetin.theythinktheysee lights
and start to run towardsthemthinkingthey’ve figuredawayout.SuddenlyAlex tripsandtakes
themall downwithherand all 3of of themare knockedunconscious.Afterwhatisassumedtobe a
nightinthe forestasits nowlighter(dawn) the three wake upandare all unharmed if a bitbruised
and cold.HoweverAlex hasatwistedswollenankle andCharlie has tohelpherlimpout.They realise
theywentinone bigcircle last nightan easilyheadbacktothe street. Charlie checkshisphone
whichnowhas one bar of signal andhundredsof missedcalls. Astheyemergeintothe street
everythinglooksmore orless the same.A car drivespastandCharlie remarksonhow he’snever
seenthatmodel.Theysetoff home andare all stunnedtofindtheirchildhoodplaygroundnotthere
anymore.Justa filedorconstructionsite isinitsplace.Theyare confusedbutknow it’sprobably
fromtheirfall.
Act 3
Alex checksherphone andisconfusedasto whythe date lookssoweird(it’snow the 15th
). She tells
themand swearsonher life the date wasthe 23rd whentheyleftbecause itwasthe dayof the big
mathstest.All the friends are nowworriedtheywere inthatforestforlongerthantheythoughtand
now wonderif the needtogo to hospital. Theydon’thave muchtime tothinkas Alex’s ankle starts
to hurt.They hurryhome and justbefore theygethome theypassa newspaperon the floor. Jenny
stopsto pickit up and the othersare frustratedas theyneedtogethome.She the revealstothem
the date onthe newspaperis5yearsin the future anddetailsof theirsurroundingsstarttobecome
apparent.The headline showsthe 3of themand a story of theirparents’frustrationandmiseryat
theirdisappearance.A womanroundsthe cornerandisshockedbefore exclaimingtothemthatthey
are the childrenwhowentmissing5years ago.

4. ElizabethFord FilmIdea2
Target audience
Target audience isyoungadults/late teenagersbetweenagesof 13-24. Thisisbecause the main
characters are around theirage so theygeta sense of personal relationshipandrelate tothemthe
most. Due to this I wouldexpectthemtofall undersocial bracket Eas thisincludesunemployed
people forexamplestudents. Theywouldgenerallybe fansof dramas,specificallysci-fiorfantasy
baseddramas,as thisis the genre of my shortfilm. Additionallydramastereotypicallyattractsmore
women,due toitsconventionssuchasemotional andrelationaldevelopmentof realisticcharacters,
more seriousplotlinesandemotional moments.Womanare stereotypicallyassociatedwith
enjoyingthesefeaturesinfilmssomytargetaudience wouldreflectthat.Aswell asthis,while
seriousintone,myfilmisn’theavy(the themesaren’textremelyemotionallyandmentallydraining)
therefore mayappeal toyoungerpeople,whotendtogravitate tolessserioustopics.
Form/style
I’mgoingto filmona digital cameraandmicrophone attachmentasthisgivesgoodqualitysound
and filmanduse a tripodto maintainlevelshotsandsteadinessof the film.It’seasytouse and
transportbut still deliversquality.Myshottypesare goingto be naturalistic(notextremelyclose up
or from abstract angles) toreflectthe real life situationandthe dramagenre conventionsof
naturalismanda more serioustone.Itwill alsothereforebe editednaturalisticallytoo,inastyle that
makesthe filmcohesive andfluid.This wouldwork mostsuccessfullyasit doesn’tdetractfromthe
contentof the film(likeflashy textorjumpcutswouldforexample) andhelpswith continuity. The
genre isdrama, more science fiction/dystopiandramaasit has referencestotime travel,future and
livinginanalternative future reality.
Market place
The market place forthismust include the website ‘Shortof the Week’asthe company has
commissionedthe shortfilm.Itwouldalsobe shownonYouTube andVimeoasthese are popular
videosharingsitesandwouldgatheralarge audience.Ihave seensome similarideasof time travel
and futuristicplotlinesinotherfilms/shortfilmsbutnone of hisspecificplotlinesoIthinkthere will
be an interestforthis film– due to itslack inthe marketplace.

5. ElizabethFord FilmIdea2
Example image and sound
Example sound effectfrom forestscene:
https://freesound.org/people/serop2012/sounds/169458/

6. ElizabethFord FilmIdea2
Example story board

7. ElizabethFord FilmIdea2

8. ElizabethFord FilmIdea2
Example script
The sun is starting to set and the neighbourhood is getting darker. The 3 friends look tired but clearly
had a great time. They’re talking and laughing loudly.
Jenny: (loudly) oh my goodness its freezing! I wish I brought a jacket.
Charlie: wait guys! I know a short cut. It’s just through the forest somewhere
Alex: (quietly) are you sure? It’s getting dark
Charlie: (confidently) yeah sure my mate showed me before. Come on
They enter the forest tentatively. The group walk around for a bit as it steadily grows colder and
darker. They’re now quite clearly lost.
Alex: um Charlie? Where are we?
Charlie: (hesitantly) uhh, I’m not really sure. I could’ve sworn the turning was here…?
Jenny: (angrily) Charlie! I knew we shouldn’t have gone down your stupid shortcut.
The 3 start to argue before a crack scares them all.
Alex: What was that?
Charlie: I….don’t know. It’s probably a bird.
Alex: (hurriedly) Guys can we get out of here
Jenny: Yeah I’m freezing. Let me see if I can map us.
She pulls out her phone.
Jenny: It’s dead! Ugh now what do we do?
Another crack followed by an animal scream scares them again and the group starts to briskly walk
before turning into a jog.
Alex: (panting) where are we going?!
Charlie: (confused) I don’t know there! Has to be an exit somewhere!
Suddenly all 3 tumble down a large hole, hidden from them by the dark. Alex lets out a scream of
pain.