The director outlines their vision for a commercial promoting Scott's Flower Magic fertilizer. They propose telling the story through a series of vignettes showing ordinary people exhibiting over-the-top pride in their stunning gardens, made possible by using the product. Key elements include filming the scenes in exotic locations using slow motion and dramatic lighting to heighten the comedy. Reaction shots from neighbors and passersby would further illustrate the ridiculous level of pride on display.

1. Magic{Magic{
FlowerFlower
a
DIRECTOR’S
NAME
treatment

3. Hello}Hello}
Many thanks for sending me your script.
To really capitalize on the idea, we need to ramp
up the visual juxtaposition between a series of
absolutely stunning looking flower displays and
what are extremely ordinary people. The fun bit
is the fact that everyone is a non-gardener, but
because they’ve used Scott’s Flower Magic the
garden is stunning.
And that allows them to show off. Which in turns
allows us to have some fun.
I’d tell this though a series of absolutely sublime
portraits. Of course they’re not still images, as the
camera tracks past each person in their garden.
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5. B
ecause this is essentially a series of
vignettes, we must remember that
more or bigger isn’t always better. I
think we need to be smart to create
the perfect commercial here. Vignette after
vignette of poses won’t necessarily get
people sitting up and smiling. What will, are
three or four really well chosen scenes, which
people relate to, punctuated by what I see
as an incredibly important detail for the films.
And that is reaction to the action. Not only
will they ramp up the humour, but they’ll also
give us production value, and that in turn will
make the scenes funnier. The bigger the film
looks, given the relatively normal actions, the
more amusing.
A
nd while I’m on that, I should
mention that slow motion filming
would really go a long way to
help the narrative. It’s not enough
for the protagonists to simply carry out their
slightly OTT actions in real time, as it won’t
have the cinematic gravitas we’re striving for.
They need photographic help from us to really
stamp home the overblown pride. It’ll make
it so much more dramatic, and photographic,
and it’s the filmic equivalent of what the
protagonists are trying to do physically, i.e.
overdramatizing a simple action - it seems to
make sense to give these actions all the help
we can. The music does that and visually,
100 fps should do the trick.
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6. So, if you’d keep this in mind as you read on, it’d be appreciated.
Oh, and here’s some reference links to help you.
SLOW MOTION JUMPING
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SLOW MOTION PORTRAIT
Examples{Examples{
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8. T
he film should grow in its ridiculousness
in terms of gardening pride. So, let’s not
start in Swindon, but instead Glasgow
with DEREK. Derek’s standing on his
lawn and behind him we see the most superb
array of flowers.
H
e takes a bow (like a true
Shakespearian thespian on stage at
the globe). It’s so exaggerated as he
bows low and extends his arm and
waves a wrist, which ends up pointing at the
flora. The funny thing is, Derek’s not dressed
for gardening. He’s in a smart shirt and slacks.
The whole image is definitely left of centre,
especially when the garden sprinkler kicks in
at 100 fps… The backdrop of the super slo-
motion garden sprinkler, will add an element
of ‘horticultural pornography’ to the cinematic
feel of the commercial, immediately putting us
in the realms of comedy.
W
e see the curtains twitching as
he wife looks out, a little non-
plussed at his actions.
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9. I
t’s definitely funny to see SUSAN from
Swindon, looking like some 17th Century
legend of battle as she raises her wellie
shod foot and rests it on the head of
a garden ornament – especially as she’s
dressed in a sweater and jeans. But what’ll
really stamp the scene home is when we cut
to the reaction of a passer-by. In this instance,
it’s Colin, her neighbour, who we see sticking
his nose over the garden fence. He’s never
seen her like this, and his expression illustrates
this.
J
ust so the edit doesn’t become formulaic,
we now see a busload of school children
simply staring with a confused look at
something we haven’t had the pleasure
of seeing yet.
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10. And that something is JUNE and MICHAEL.
They’re in their front garden, posing of
course, amongst the most beautiful array
of flora.
I thought it’d be amusing if this pose were
a modern day interpretation of the classic
Victorian photograph – especially as it’s
on the front lawn, essentially on view to
the neighbours.
June is sat in either a deck chair, or one
of those cheap white plastic garden
chairs you get from B&Q. Michael found
it in amongst all the detritus in the garage.
She’s stiff, and her back is arched as much
as she can and her hands are on her
knees.
He is stood behind her, one hand on
her shoulder, his chin up, and he holds a
garden fork, like a trident.
But that’s not all. I love your idea of
the local fox, and he’s in this frame,
sat there looking majestic too. It’s pride
taken to ridiculous levels especially now
we have the kid’s involvement.
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11. We then cut to see the product demo, which
leads us back to SUSAN. She still has her
raised leg on the stone owl, but now she holds
the Flower Magic Pack aloft like a trophy. The
pack will be seen against the blue sky, and we’ll
frame it so that the sun is backlighting it, making
it feel uber majestic. The boat does a good job
of illustrating how the pack will look
We cut in to see it in more detail. The camera
is slightly lower than the pack itself. We
slowly track around it, making it feel proud
looking, and dominant with the sun creating a
natural halo. It’ll work really well with the rousing
80’s music and keep the humour up, right until the
last frame.
Next we come across MORGAN. He barges
out of his garden shed, marches over to a
box; kicks the lid open and 50 or so doves shoot
skywards in slow-mo. He majestically gives us the
thumbs-up sign or raises his hands like he’s just
won the F.A. Cup.
For the garden vignettes, the camera will always
be tracking around each protagonist in the
same direction to create a really smooth flowing
piece, and to filmically cement true pride, we’ll
be shooting these scenes at 100 fps, which will
take the edge off reality and make each scene
that much more poignant. Don’t worry, I’ve had
my stopwatch out and it works because when
you think about it, the actions I’ve described are
actually very simplistic.
The reaction scenes will be shot at normal
speed to keep us firmly routed in the realms of
reality... well as far as you can when you’re gluing
the whole thing together with some rousing
1980’s style soft rock track…
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13. Y
ou mentioned the Halfords idents.
In a way your commercial and
those share some similarities.. The
gardens look sublime, the pride is
unparalleled, but the people are just so
every day. This is important not only for the
humour, but visually it helps to illustrate what
Flower Magic actually does. It helps people
who are non-gardeners create a little magic,
and this manifests itself in overblown garden
pride.
H
alfords was very simple in terms of
performance, and having thought
about your script, I feel we should
be doing something similar. The film
look will be completely different of course,
but I really, really like the idea that people’s
actions are simple. We certainly need to
show unbridled pride, but it should be to a
level that the people in each scene could
have conceivably set it up in terms of props
and having the idea themselves. Trying to
be too clever isn’t cool. And the fact that
we end with doves, or even pigeons is
enough. Halfords let viewers feel at one with
the people on screen because they were
so every day, and we didn’t over-egg the
humour. Your commercial will be brilliant, I
reckon, if we adhere to the same rules.
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Thoughts{Thoughts{

15. I
think that we have an opportunity
to really add to the humour further
by the film techniques we use. I
already mentioned the super slow
motion element that I think will work
really hard for us by adding drama
and impact to the OTT pose each
protagonist makes, but we can go even
further. Lets also employ a wide array
of cosmetic lighting techniques, which
will not only serve to show the flowers
in the most flattering environment, but
also show our protagonists in the most
cinematic way, for example, obvious
back-lighting and soft rim lighting.
Back-lighting for example, through the
beads of a garden sprinkler in slow
motion will look great, add humour
and production value.
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16. TheThe
Demo{Demo{
roductroduct
I’d like to keep the all important ‘product demo’
scene feeling part of the main film as opposed
to an afterthought tagged on.
The way I’m proposing we do this, is to make
the product demo feel like it’s the precursor to
one of the protagonists, as they stand proudly
in their garden.
So we’d actually see one of them pouring the
product onto a square of freshly raked
earth.
The ground is then given a good watering.
We then have a passage of time to illustrate
the flowers growing.
It’d really sit well if this part of the demo, as
the product ‘does its stuff’, gives us a smile as
well, just like the preceding vignettes.
So let’s speed things along with what I’d term
a ‘Star Wars’ style screen wipe. It’s fast and
is somewhat comedically irreverent as we say
‘pour, water, and bobs your uncle’. It’ll be a
great finisher!
Have a look at this REFERENCE for the wipe. I’m
thinking one of the simple, soft edged ones.
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18. Of course each garden will look amazing – and that narrative
drives the actions of each cast member.
They need to feel real – very ‘un-addy’. Each person is definitely
someone viewers can relate to.
What is important here is the ability to exhibit unparalleled
pride in their work – even though the sum total of that is using
Flower Magic – that’s the point isn’t it?
We should populate the screen with faces from all ages and
walks of life. I’ve deliberately gone for singles – men and
women, and a couple. I want this to feel like we’re looking at
images from the length and breadth of the country.
These people just look like they’re not gardeners, because they’re
not. They’re people who buy Flower Magic.
We’ll be shooting on location somewhere warm at this time of
year for obvious reasons, and that excites me casting-wise. I
always try to find people who are not known on TV for my work
because it’s just so much more credible in comedic terms, and this
is no exception. I spend a lot of time working with actors, but even
more time working with non-actors, and really working them as a
director to obtain the performance we require. Halfords is a case in
point, as is most of my reel to be honest.
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Cast{Cast{

20. Locations{Locations{
There’s another difference. Halfords was shot in
North London. We will shoot this in warmer climes.
South Africa is certainly a great option, and I have
shot here many times.
Another interesting location would be Montevideo,
Uruguay. I’ve shot there three times too, and like
South Africa, it offers us everything we need to make
this ad great.
In both countries, the locations are well within our
grasp, and the weather is absolutely stunning this
time of year. The lawns are European as is the
architecture (for what little we see).
In both countries, we have amazing crews, and art
departments.
Casting is no problem either, in Uruguay we’ll
look in Montevideo, but when shooting down
there, I always cast in Buenos Aries too as the talent
pool is so great, and it’s only a few minutes by boat
into Uruguay. In South Africa the casting pool is
well established, but in addition I would encourage
an element of non actors just to help give a level of
authenticity to our choice of cast.
On a technical level, we should ensure that the
relevant flower species are readily available
in our chosen location, so that if needed, we can
augment our floral displays with locally sourced
produce as well as the actual product.
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21. Bye{Bye{
Thanks for asking me to treat on this project. I
hope I’ve clearly outlined my vision of how your
ideas can be realised to their fullest potential on
every level, and that in reading this you’re as
ecstatic as I am about the possibility of doing
some exceptional work, that people will talk
about, genuinely laugh at.
Like yourselves, I view the creative process as
perpetual, so if you’d like to talk further then
please feel free to contact me at
Thanks, I really enjoyed writing this, and let’s go
sloooooooooooow, and make it funny.
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22. Scotts’s
Flower Magic
is a treatment by