Treatment Foundation Portfolio

A Treatment for “We’ll Meet Again”

Prepared by Samuel

It is proposed that the film will be of 2 to 2.5 minutes in duration. It will be filmed in the area near my house because of the quiet and well-lit streets. This will be good for the car stalking Harry.

Conventions:

Iconography: The prevalent shadows in the environment will be our main source of iconography for our opening. Also the use of a car as a getaway vehicle after the kidnapping is a convention of thrillers. Harry's casual clothing will be a part of iconography as well.

Sound: Diegetic sound will be prevalent in this film; Harry walking through the quiet street, the car stalking him, and the song playing from the car as it gets closer, Harry’s dialogue, “Nope, not today”, and the sounds of the struggle at the end. Non-diegetic sound will almost be non-existent with the music becoming non-diegetic at the end.

Lighting: We will be using street lamps as our main light source as well as the headlights of the car. This will be so that it is most effective when the Kidnapper appears from the shadows. There are no inside shots so we won’t be using any lighting equipment.

Narrative: The film is entirely from Harry’s point of view and the idea is that the audience shares his fear when he notices the car and the surprise of the kidnapper coming from the shadows is the audience’s as well as Harry’s.

Problems Encountered:

Our biggest problem that we could encounter is bad weather which will make it impossible to film. We’ll have to make sure our lighting is sufficient so that our footage is not grainy like in PT2. We are also using vehicles so that could pose a risk if not handled responsibly.

The film will include the following

Characters:

Harry: He is a normal guy who is trying to get home but he gets caught by the Kidnapper with intentions we do not know. 

Kidnapper: He is a man shrouded in mystery and kidnaps Harry for reasons the audience may never know as this is only the opening of the film. 

Mood and Tone: The mood we are going for is unsettling and dark as the Kidnapper stalks Harry. The idea is a slow tension that climaxes at the end.

Camera shots/movement/angles: We will use a handheld camera for the film. We want to attempt a one-shot effect to not break tension at all. Ideally we’d want to be able to position the camera in a way that the audience can’t see the Kidnapper leave the car. 

 

Themes: Prevailing themes in this film are darkness, violence and crime. Ideally what we’re wanting is the audience to sympathise with Harry and resent the Kidnapper for what he’s done. As it is a thriller these themes are conventional as they aren’t particularly light affairs, and this one is not.

Mise-en-scene: Our setting is a quiet street in Silverdale Village. This is to emphasise that he’s alone in this place and it gives him a sense of vulnerability that sets him up for the crime. It also makes the Kidnapper following him all the more creepy.

Symbolism: Harry’s clothing will be casual and having the colour white which represents his innocence to the reality that is about to become his own. The Kidnapper will be dressed in black to show the darkness behind his plans, and the actions themselves. The cloth with chloroform represents the loss of control in Harry’s life as he is taken.

Sound and Music: Unlike PT1 and PT2 we will focus on diegetic sound to create tension. This will be done as Harry walks, the sound of the car behind him, the 1930s music playing from the car that is just out of place for the circumstance, hence irony. He will begin to mutter to himself as he slowly realizes what is happening. The music from the car will bleed to non-diegetic for the end.

Use of credits/logos

Editing: For this film we want to attempt a one-shot film, for example 1917, to not lose any tension in changing cuts. Moving the camera so that the Kidnapper is not seen until too late will be key.