Treatment for 5 - 10 minute Experimental film.

Working title at the moment - Young'un

For my experimental film I want to create a piece that touches on stigmatisation and social conformity. I aim to use experimental techniques within my film to further highlight this and provide a basis for further analysis of the image. The film features a young male who looks around the age of 13, set amongst a back drop of an industrial estate, the film is supposed to look as if it has been shot as a drama, but utilising experimental techniques, Because drama is the most consumed type of film medium i feel it is open to experimental interpretation as the audience are used to a certain code of film analysis and i want to turn this on its head. I have been very inspired by French new wave director's such as Jean Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, and Eric Rohmer, I like the fact that they have used experimental film within the medium of feature length drama pieces, i feel as the audience are lured into seeing something quite standard and usual it gives their films extra shock factor.
Below are the brief requirements;

–         5 – 10 minutes in length

–         x1 person or x1 object should feature within your piece focus

–         A Real location must be used (no sets)

–         No linear narrative should be used

–         No found sound used – you must record and manipulate sound

–         No use of sound purely as an explanation of screen action

–         You must include at least one aspect in your production that references the mechanics of filmmaking

(e.g. breaking the fourth wall?)

My film will centre around a real location on a business park in North Yorkshire, it will feature one main character throughout the film, a young man as i stated above. I will be referencing film making through the manipulation of the image, such as removing and repeating frames to give the effect that the camera is stuck like a record unable to move further on, the character will acknowledge the camera, and there will be many plot developments that seem like they are going to lead into a story but that don't progress. I am attempting to play around with the film form in every aspect to remind the viewer that they are watching a film. There will be no linear storyline, because the audience are used to a certain type of film making i will be implementing what looks like flashbacks, but they will have no specific meaning or relation to the film storyline, allowing the audience to seek and create their own meaning as this is what they are used to.

The Treatment:

A young boy is kicking stones around on an industrial estate, his facial expression is glazed an bored he finds a key on the floor, he puts the key into his pocket. A group of lads in overalls are smoking a cigarette outside their place of work. They start to shout angrilly at the boy, they try to shoo him away he runs over. The sound is non sync, a hard clanging noise takes over the diegetic sound, the sound is menacing. The boy runs over to the group of lads and starts to play fight with them, they pick him up the boys are now smiling and laughing with the boy friendly, the sound of clanging dies down.

A 'flashback' starts, the boy is running around a field, he runs and lies down on the grass, we see a close up of him smiling and looking at the sky, we see a POV of the sky, the POV turns into a timelapse, the sky gets darker and then the image reverses itself, we hear the sound of birds, and cut back to the boy who opens his eyes, he gets up and dusts himself off.

We see the sparks flying, a man with a protective mask on is welding, he finishes and lifts his mask, he is wearing a red lipstick. We see a montage of machinery and tools, they are laid out in a very stylised fashion, the edit becomes quicker and quicker and ends on a close up of the boys eyes. An overlay of flashing lights appears over his face.

The face dissolves into black, the lights continue to flash, they are unfocused, blue lights, the sound comes in industrial sounds make up a rhythm. The viewer is taken into a more abstract world, this world follows a repetitive rhythm, it seems chaotic at first, but the viewer is taken in by the blue light dividing and multiplying among the screen.

We come back to a view of a field, there is a pylon in the middle of the field, there is a menacing buzzing sound. The main character is walking away from it with a stick, he finds himself unable to move forward, he is stuck, his leg keeps jarring forward but he cannot move, he is stuck almost like a broken record. This creates a sense of unease with the audience as they watch the character try to move forward.

We see a view of the industrial estate, the camera tracks along and we see a boy outside a cafe, he is eating  sandwich against a green background, he tucks into it, we feel that the boy is isolated he is extradited from this working man's lifestyle. He notices the camera, he comes to look at it, he stares right into the audiences eyes.