This document provides a treatment for a short film called "The Modern Thief" about two young female robbers. It includes details on the key characters, a 3-act synopsis of the plot, information on the target audience which is ages 10-50 of all classes, and thoughts on filming style, potential markets, and footage effects. The film follows the comedic misadventures of the two robbers as they try to rob a house using modern technology but struggle with the devices and are eventually caught by a police officer.

1. TREATMENT 2
JOSIE WADDINGTON

2. KEY DETAILS
• Working title: The modern thief
• Length: 5-6 minutes
• Logline: A comedic view on house robberies in the modern day through the
perspective of 2 young robbers who are on the hunt for specific valuable objects.
• Key characters: 2 young females, mischievous and strong minded. Named Holly
and Ellen, they attempt to work together but (for humorous purposes) clash on
multiple occasions.
• Policeman, represents older part of target audience.

3. SYNOPSIS – ACT 1
• The robbers set off for the house. They are following a map application on a
phone and end up lost multiple times. Finally upon arrival they change into their
black outfits, scour the outside for an entrance and get in through the window.
Once inside they lay out their tools and go through what they need to find. In
order to remember where the item is kept one robber tries to get onto the house
owner’s social media yet runs out of data therefore the other one goes to seek
the Wi-Fi password. After shouting it down the stairs a couple of times the 2 find
the post and set off to find the item.

4. SYNOPSIS – ACT 2
• Once in the correct room they begin searching for the ring. They find one however it doesn’t look like the one in the
picture. They google how to tell if a ring is real gold and suddenly they hear a voice. They freeze and grab any
weapons they can find near them, these unfortunately being a hairbrush and extension cord and they begin to creep
down the stairs. They hear the voice repeating one word and they strain to listen; they hear “searching, searching”
which causes a lot of confusion. As one peers round they see no one there and she repeats the question. The voice
repeats the question and the searching begins again; they realise it is a voice activated speaker system. They relax and
come back into the kitchen and seek to find the speaker. In order to do this they tell it to play a song but it comes on
at top volume and they don’t know how to turn it off. As they are frantically searching for the speaker they begin to
switch all the plugs off and suddenly the fuse goes and everything goes dark.
• Silence ensues and the two robbers freeze in panic. They move towards each other in the dark and the one holding
the ring trips over a chair and drops it. They need to get the lights switched back on in order to find the ring. They
search for the fuse control box and decided that as soon as it is rebooted, they have limited time to get the key and
get out as the music will come back on and neighbours will know someone is in the house if they don’t already. They
count to three and switch the switch.

5. SYNOPSIS – ACT 3
• They run to the kitchen as the music begins blaring and search frantically, once they have the
key they stuff everything into the bag put their masks on and run to the door. As they get
outside they see a police officer standing in the driveway. He says hello and they are confused
and say hello back. He asks them if they have just robbed the house and they say no to which he
dismisses laughing. Robber 1 asks him how he can prove it, they have nothing and he doesn’t
know who they are, they could have been cleaners. He states both of their names and says how
they tracked their mobile phones and they look surprised. He then tells them how the
neighbours heard them discussing their plans from the garden next door, very nosy but helps in
this case, then the rest of the street heard the music coming from the house because you left
the door open. “Honestly, where have the good old fashioned thieves gone, it was a lot more
fun back in the day” and they shout back. He tells them to put their hands up and they get
handcuffed and he walks them to the police station. The End.

6. TARGET AUDIENCE
• My target audience is both genders between ages 10-50. It will include most classes,
as today’s technology is available to the majority of society except perhaps those who
are of lower class and without benefits and a means of accessing modern technology.
• Within this demographic I will be able to target the younger section who will be able
to relate to the robbers and their use of technology and how social media is used
today e.g posting when you go on holiday. I will also be able to target the older
section who will see themselves in the older character who scorns the modern
technology. The slightly cynical attitude will be relatable for the generation of parents
as they will not link their childhood with social media and technology in the same way.
The description of the ‘good old days’ will appeal to the older section of the target
audience and how they remember their childhood without modern day technology.

7. FORM AND STYLE
• I would like to film this short film with a balance of long shots for tension and
short cuts for comedic value. I believe by tying these two styles together I will be
able to marry the genres (Thriller and Comedy) together with great effect. I don’t
think I will need a certain camera however it will need to be good at shooting
close up shots for the shorter cuts as these will be quick and what I’m showing
needs to be clear. I am also interested in looking into finding some equipment to
help me film the longer shots with greater stability, as I am aware that these may
come across shaky without a stabiliser to keep it smooth. After seeing the success
of the long shots within MISHKA (the short film I studied for my case study) I am
eager to recreate similar shots in my own film.

8. MARKETPLACE
• Within the market I can see this film being most popular on online platforms such as YouTube
and Facebook due to the links these platforms have with my target audience and the scale of
the project not being big enough for cinema release. As I have a considerably young target
audience they will easily be able to access this short film via YouTube and then share it with the
less tech-savvy older generation of parents that I can also target. Platforms such as Facebook
that are used by a stereotypically older demographic, will allow the film to be shared online
easily and increase the viewings. I can see this film also doing well at festivals and showcases as
it is short and simple in concept, allowing for viewers’ attention to be captured easily. The small
scale of the film will also leave viewers wanting more which leaves opportunity for a fan base to
be built and a sequel to be made as a result. The storyline is left open and another script could
easily be adapted to follow the robber’s lives after they are caught/ released. Alternatively the
focus could be shifted to the technology as a linking factor and another scenario in which it has
effected todays lives could be portrayed in the same style.

9. FOOTAGE EFFECTS
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y98tKxyQ1Xw&safe=true (fast shots)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbqv1kbsNUY&safe=true (long tracking shot
until 1:15)