The film opening will depict a young girl's descent into drug and alcohol abuse as she dedicates herself to ballet from ages 4 to 17. It will show her missing out on a normal childhood and struggling with intense physical demands. She begins to question her future and gets attention from peers, eventually being introduced to substances by them. The opening will use unsteady camerawork and hazy effects to portray her hallucinations and breakdown in the shower before the title appears through smoke. Locations will include the girl's dance school and parks near the writer's home, with lighting changing to reflect her deteriorating situation.

1. Harry Hancock
Alleyn’s Media
Department
Film Opening Proposal
1 18/10/2012

2. 30th September 2012 - 2
Contents
1. Style and Tone
2. Narrative
3. Character
4. Location
5. Lighting and Sound
6. Titles
2

3. 30th September 2012 - 3
Style and Tone
3

4. 30th September 2012 - 4
Narrative
• Young, blonde, perfect looking little girl grows into 17yr old version of
herself and we see the breakdown of her mind during her childhood
• Name is a young girl who loves ballet, she dedicates herself to it with help
from her pushy other and teachers
• We see her grow from 4 – 17yrs old during the course of the two minute
opening
• However due to the strict regime and intense physical demand upon her
she has missed out on a normal childhood and things like alcohol, smoking
and boys – typical teenage girl tendencies
• As she grows up we see her become more upset with her situation and she
must try and make the decision as to what she wants to do with her life,
continue with ballet and train or drop it and focus on academic studies and
her social life
• She is affected by her situation and lack of friends, however because she is
attractive she gets a lot of attention, often from the wrong kind of people
• She is seen after ballet class by a group of boys & girls from her school and
they invite her to come over and sit with them, they take her to a small
alleyway or park (not sure yet) and they sit, smoking, drinking and
chatting
• She enjoys their company but is obviously tentative, she’s also getting a lot
of attention from the boys, one of which is putting his arm around her
• One of the boys gets out a small packet of weed and begging rolling a zoot
and then gives Name a few puffs, we see her disintegrate into a haze of
smoke and narcotic madness, (alcohol could be used, a spiked drink; if
drugs seem inappropriate). One of the girls who is dressed like a slut
makes up Name’s face, giving her excessive mascara and eyeliner
• She hallucinates; her dance teacher becomes an evil Nazi-like teacher and
Name is crumbling in her ballet class, unable to keep up and constantly
falling from the bar onto the floor
• For this haze/hallucination sequence the camera will be out of focus and
quite jolty to give a sense that Name cant control her body
• We finally cut from this scene and find her in the shower, crying with
eyeliner running down her face. The shower door glass is very steamed
and she is clearly sitting crying
• We see her hand shoot up against the glass, she is clearly having some sort
of panic attack
• The room then fills with smoke and she disappears into the haze,
symbolizing her loss of mind, we see the title appear through the haze and
we are left wondering what will happen to her next
4

5. 30th September 2012 - 5
Character
1. Name – to be decided
• Female
• White, British
• 16
• Blonde Hair
• Blue Eyes
• Skinny/Slim
• ≈ 5’4
• Lives in middle-class standard home, nice house in East
London.
• A ballet dancer, trained from age 4 to 16, the film is set
mainly at her life age 16.
• Deprived of ‘childhood’ due to intense dance training
and ambitions to be a professional.
All other characters are background and less
important …
• Her school friends who we see in the scene where she
takes drugs/gets drunk, roughly two boys & three girls
• Other girls at dance school
• Random passers by on street or extras
5

6. 30th September 2012 - 6
Location
1. My local dance school that I train could facilitate the filming of
all dance classes and shots of Name in class, as she grows
older.
2. My niece, who already attends the school, can also be filmed
there in her own younger class, so this shouldn’t be a problem
either.
3. For the scene in the park or alley where the group of friends
meet, there are several public parks and alleys near my house
and considering the time of year and how early it gets dark
this shouldn’t be a problem.
4. The shower scene can be done in my own house as I have a
large bathroom/shower that can be used and a smoke machine
that I can use for the haze effect needed in the final shot.
5. I want to film some opening shots of London and urban ballet
in London, for this I’m planning on going to the top 10 dance
academies in London such as ‘The Royal Ballet School,’
‘Pineapple Dance Studios’ & ‘Laban.’ Then filming some shots
of their signs and venues to give the viewer an idea of the
amount of dance there is in London and an idea of the
competition Name will face.
6

7. 30th September 2012 - 7
Lighting and Sound
1. Soft, warm lighting, fade from black to Name
age 4 standing outside classroom door, waiting
to do first ballet class.
2. Harsh, clinical white lighting to be used for the
16+ ballet classes, light should get colder and
harsher as Name grows up and begins more
and more classes.
3. Drugs/Alcohol scene, light should go from
dark/dingy street lighting to unnatural
red/blue light when she takes drugs/alcohol.
4. In shower light is again very cold white and
harsh.
I plan on having no dialogue in the entire film but
merely a classical backing soundtrack that would
be used in a traditional ballet class, but the track
will have a few urban sounds and flicks added in to
give it an uneasy and possibly tense atmosphere, as
if something unnatural is interrupting the music.
7

8. 30th September 2012 - 8
Titles
“Barre”
- Apparatus used in Ballet
“Fall from the Barre”
- Reference to Name sinking into a narcotic world,
falling from her Ballet excellence
“Elevé”
– Elevate
“Entrechat”
– Opening jump
“Grand Jeté”
– Great Jump
8