For AS level Media Studies

1. Treatment for Opening Sequence
My openingsequence willbe fora drama filmcalled“BreakingPoint”.Thisfilmwill be targetedat
the late teensage group (15-21), GroupE (of specificallystudents),withidealsof StatusandEscape.
Accordingto Todorov’snarrative theory,the overallplotof the filmwillbe asfollows:Equilibrium -
maincharacter has beenkickedoutof home,isstrugglingwithgangs,hasmanydebtstopay for
dance classesandbasic thingsinlife,doesdance toescape the dailystruggle;Disruption - main
character isconfrontedbythe gang to pay upa lotof moneywhichshe doesnothave andtherefore
she isat riskof gettinghurt; Recognition - maincharactersgetsofferedtojoinadance competition
inwhichshe wouldwina lotof money,whichshe doesjoinpurelytogive backthe moneyshe owns
to the gang; Repair- getspart-time job,workshardtowardscompetition,doesthe competitionand
doesn'twin,getsconfrontedbygangoutside,violentfightingensues,police nearbynotice andtake
the gang away,she is safe fromthemand insteadof winningthe competitionshe getsajobofferat
dance companyfor gooddancing; NewEquilibrium - hasa stable well paidjob,liveswithfriendand
islookingforherown place,gangsdo notfollow heranymore,issaferandhappier. The overall
narrative style linearandthe openingsequence will reflectthis.Themesinthe filmwill include
struggles,conflict,comingof age,friendship, anddance.Thisfilmandthe openingsequence will
containmanybinaryoppositions,mostlyinthe tone suchas a roughpast versusa possible calmer
future,dramaticmusicversuscalmermore upbeatmusic,conflictandstruggle versuscalmand
friends.Musicwill be keyinthe opening,asitwill reflecthuge partof the storyand it will be one
songthat goesfrom dramaticinstrumental,appearingroughandharsh,tomore upbeatlyric
version,promisinghope inthe film.Rightwill be gainedbyemailingthe company.
The openingsequence itself will have manyvisualfeaturestomake itinterestingforthe audience to
watch.The titlesof the productioncompanieswill appearrightbefore clipsof actionhappenatthe
beginningof the sequence.“A WorkinProgress”isthe productionteamthat myteam have come up
withand we will use the “Factory25” companyfor distribution.Actornamesandthe filmtitleswill
appearat the endof the openingsequence duringthe dancingmontage,movingintime withthe
movements.CameraAngles will be keyinshowingthe story of the filmtothe audience.POV Shots
will involve the audience,immersingthemintothe story.Wide Shotswill be usedtoestablishscenes
and settings.Close-ups/Extreme close-upswill show emotionsandintense characterinteraction.
Trackingwill be keyinfollowingactiononscreen.The use of Highangle vs Low angle will be
importantinshowingpowerdifferencesbetweentwocharactersina scene.Midshotswillbe used
mostoftento appearnatural and realisticandreflectgenre. Soundwill alsobe important:Non-
diegeticsoundwillbe mostlymusic (instrumentalfirst,thenwithwordsasthe dancingmontage
happens);Diegeticsoundwill include thingssuchasbag thrownon floor,punchsound,stepson
floor,people shouting.Editingwill be fastpacedduringaction,slow motionduringdance montage
to create a difference inatmospheres.Blackandwhite will be used forfightscene flashbacks,
includingchoppycuttingtoreflectitbeingamemory, whiletitlesare movingwithdance moves.The
whole sequence will be tintedtofitthe mood– goldsandyellowsfordance studio,bluesandblacks
for outside fightscene.Smoothtransitions will be included betweenequivalentshotsinthe two
differentscenestolinkthemtogether.
The characters of the storywill be keyI drivingthe narrative andreflectingthe dramagenre.
AccordingPropp’sCharactertheory,the followingcharactertypeswillbe crucial inthe opening
sequence:Hero –Eleanor,female,late teens,strugglingdancer,darkpast,mainprotagonist; Helper

2. – Tory,female,dancer,cheerleaderstereotype,bestfriendof Eleanor;TwoVillains –Camillaand
Jack, female andmale,aggressive,involvedwithdrugs,almostvendettaagainstmaincharacter.
There will alsobe background dancercharactersof about6 or 7, instreetstyle outfitsandtheywill
fitintothe atmosphere of thatscene.
Locationswill be useful increatingatmosphere andreflectingthe tone of the film.We will have two
mainlocationswhere the twocontrastingscenesof the openingsceneswill appear:adance studio
and alleyway.The Dance studiowill be atKingstonCollege,where the mirrorswill hugelybe
involved.Highkeylightingwillbe usedtocontrastto dark parts of maincharacter’s life,overall
appearinginvitingandwelcoming.Thiswillfitintothe dramagenre bybeingthe escape fromthe
bad part of life,andthe majorityof the openingsequence will take place here.The alleywaywill
have a nighttime setting, appearingdarkanddreary,rough,dirty.The most dramatic fighttakes
place here,contrastingtothe lightof dance studio, lookingdangerous. Itwillreflectthe darkpastof
the maincharacter, fitting intothe dramagenre by beingthe darkand badpart of maincharacter’s
life.
OtherVisual Elements of the mise-en-scene will be useful inmakingthe openinglookinginteresting
to watch.The colourswill playwithcontrastof dark andlightto reflect the mood:
light/golden/warmcoloursin the dance studio,dark/cold/roughcoloursinthe alleywayflashback.
The lightingwill be lowkey inalleyway usingone light, hardlight, andbackgroundlightwill be non-
existentasitwill be evening/nighttime.The dance studiowill use highkeylightingof several studio
lightswithsoftlightappearingquitenatural.Differentcharacterswill weardifferentthingstoreflect
themand howtheywill affectthe narrative: Hero–all black,baggydance outfit,dirtysportsshoes;
Helper– verygirly,leggings,croptop,brightcolours,verydone upmakeupandhair; Villains–
brandedsportswear,coveredinbruisesandblood.;Dancers - variationof streetstyle dance outfits,
comfortable,colourful.Propswill alsobe usedtoenhance the storysuchas: fake blood,speakers,a
knife,moneyinadancingbag.
Equipmentwill be needed tomake the openingsequence lookof high,professional quality.For
shootingwe will be using2DSLR cameras (NikonandCanon),2Tripods,a Microphone,Lighting,a
Reflector,Chargers,SDcards,and Lensesfora camera.For editingwe will use PremierPro,After
Effects,Audacity,andfree soundbitesfromwebsites.Allof these we have usedbefore sowe are
familiarwiththembutwe will researchintohow furtherenhance ourskillstomake the openinglook
the bestit can.
While shootingwe mayexperience strugglesthatwe wouldneedtoovercome togetthe product
done.Duringshooting, mirrorscouldgetequipmentintoshotsowe wouldneedtopractise,
checkingfootage foraccuracy. The camera couldrun outof batteryso we wouldneedtokeep
chargerson hand.There couldbe badweatherconditionssowe wouldneedtoplanahead,orlook
for alternativesplaces/timestoshoot.Locationavailabilitymaybe anissue sowe needtoagain plan
ahead,rehearsingsceneselsewhere.We wouldneedtomakessure thateveryone onsetisinformed
of health&safetywhile shooting.Duringediting,we wouldneedtodouble checkfootage for
continuityerrorsandmake changesaccordingly. Wrongcolouring/badquality of footage canbe
fixedwith colourcorrection, orreshootsif absolutelynecessary.We couldalsopossiblystruggle with
the time constraintof 2 minutes sowe couldinclude fastpacesshotsand be selective withshots we
choose.Notenoughfootage wouldmeanwe have tocutaround itor do reshoots.
Overall thisisa challengingideabutitwill show off all ourskillsandwill be visuallyappealingtothe
appropriate audience.The storywill be engagingtowatchandshould flow well togetherinthe edit,
makinga veryinterestingdramafilmtowatch.