2. Key characters:
treatment • sep. 16, 2019
Working
title
Length
Logline/
Tagline
Framed
Location
Entice
My short film will roughly
be 5 to 10 minutes.
Can you solve the riddles?
What would you do?
Would you follow the hints?
The main character (protagonist):
My main character would be a teenager boy, roughly aged
17/18. He would be a stereotypical 'teenager' who is addicted
to his phone, listens to loud music and 'doesn't care'.
The antagonist:
The 'bad guy' will be a mysterious man who wears head-to-
toe in black, covers his face and has a deep voice. This is a
stereotypical dark character, who we aren't sure who it is
until the big reveal, at the end of the film. The audience will
be uncertain of his age and appearance.
The lat characters:
The flat characters will be the parents of the protagonist, who
don't change throughout the story, but are the supporting
characters. The parents will be aged r0ughly 45/50, and will fit
into the typical parents.
The extras:
The extra characters will include the police officer, the
police dog and the dead body towards the end. These
aren't significant to the story line, but adds extra to the
overall end result.
3. Synopsis
treatment • sep. 16, 2019
The film opens with the audience following a teenage boy (the protagonist). The first shot is of him driving home from
school, listening to music. The car, clothing and music indicates that it is set in the present day.
He arrives back at his house to find a note addressed to him. First of all he is confused, and ignores it. After thinking
about it, he decides to open the letter. We see him opening it to reveal a riddle.
2 weeks later we see the same boy in his room, collecting a pile of notes. The audience find out that every week at the same
time everyday, he has been receiving a new letter. Each riddle is different, but it's signed off by the same initals (BL).
Then, one Tuesday he misses school to attempt to watch who arrives at his house with the notes. But, on one shows. The
first time in a month, no note has been left. We see him going to bed that evening, confused. He stays awake trying to
figure out who keep son sending him riddles.
After this, we see the boy in bed asleep. The audience see some dark boots, creeping up the stairs. We also hear sound
effects of footsteps. The boy is sound-asleep and has no idea about this random figure in his house.
The sound effects stop, and it cuts to black. Then it reveals it's morning.
However, underneath his door is a letter. Another riddle. The note this time gives a location and meeting time. The boy
wakes up and disocvers this letter. He automatically figures out that the mysterious person sending the notes was in his
house.
The main character decides to pluck up the courage to arrange to meet the mysterious 'BL'.
4. treatment • sep. 16, 2019
We see the boy prepare to meet 'BL'. We watch him pack his backpack with spray (to defend himself), a
knife, portable charger and his mobile phone. His parent's question where he's going. We then see him
claim he's going to his friend's house. We see him drive away from the house.
It cuts to darkness. We see the boy leaning against a tree, in the middle of no-where. He begins to hear
what sounds like someone running. We hear a quiet scream in the background. It cuts to the mysterious
man murdering a woman. It suddenly cuts back to the boy, who can hear the scream, and yells if they
need aid. He wonders off to go and find help.
It cuts to the noise of sirens. He waves to the police to grab their attention about a suspicious scream. All
of a sudden, he gets arrest under suspicion of murder. We see a dead body covered in leaves lying near
the tree where he was orginally standing. It cuts back in time, to the mysterious man dragging the body to
the tree. The police state that there had been a report that he had murdered someone. The scene cuts to
earlier, 'BL' calling up about the potential murder to the police, saying his full-name was to blame, and
matches the decription of what he was wearing that day.
The scene cuts to black with dramatic music, and the credits appear.
5. TARGET AUDIENCE
treatment • sep. 16, 2019
treatment • sep. 16, 2019
treatment • sep. 16, 2019
My key target audience is teenagers aged 15+ and adults who like the
genre of crime and thriller. Stereo-typically, the key audience of the
crime genre tend to be intelligent and like a puzzle to solve. My short
film will have a plot twist at the end, but leaves the riddles unsolved,
meaning the audience have to work it out. On the NRS scale, the
typical viewer would come under the middle-class (C) area due to
intelligence and a good job for the adults, or in good education for
the teenagers. Additionally, on the 4C'S scale, the audience would
probably be under the 'succeeder' section due to goal-orientation
and success.
I will grab the audience's attention with a chilling ending, and will
gradually build the tension throughout the film.
6. FORM & STYLE
treatment • sep. 16, 2019 treatment • sep. 16, 2019
mARKET PLACE
I won't have a particular style for this film at the
moment, although when editing I may add a filter if it
creates more of a 'dramatic' effect. A few
thriller/crime films have a slightly darker lighting, to
help create tension. I will probably use this technique
as well. Furthermore, I will potentially use a blue-ish
effect to make it eery. This will help to support my
genre of crime and thriller.
I will use a digital camera to film my movie. This is due
to the availability of the equipment and how easy it is.
Additionally, I will use a tripod to help keep the shots
steady, but will be also handheld to create certain
shots. I will also include several shot techniques to
help improve the quality of my film, and to explore the
plot idea further. This will hopefully help to improve
the audience's viewing experience.
I can see this short film belonging within the
thriller genre. I think this film would do well within
the market of festivals and online on platforms
(such as, youtube and shortoftheweek.com).
The film ends on a 'shocking' frame of a murder. As
we see the police officer arrest him, it cuts to black.
This could potentially leave the ending open for a
sequel or spin-off showing how the mysterious man
ended up framing this innocent boy for a murder in
which he didn't commit.
