Hey guys, sorry about the long-time-no-update, been very busy over the last month and a bit!
So
I've got some good news - I will be the sound recordist on not one, not
two, but THREE of my classmates' productions! Hopefully everything
works out okay in the sense that nothing overlaps and I am conflicted
between two of the productions.
So here is a treatment for the first film, with a working title of 'The Hitman'.
Final Year film – Treatment
Working Title
The Hitman (Subject
to change)
Length
5-10 minutes
Synopsis
The Hitman for hire industry is a dark and shady one, the
act of trading money for the life of another is something that you can only
imagine that heartless monsters would do. However in “The Hitman” we see one of these so called monsters, one who has
been in this underground industry for quite a while.
He has many reasons for doing so; he
has been in the game for years for starters and he never really intended it to
be a permanent career, and he’s getting tried of having to lie to his friends
and family about what he does. However his main reason for wanting to quit is
that he has messed up a job and now his employer wants to kill him.
However the focus will be on his
relationship with his girlfriend, he is worried for her safety, he has made a
lot of enemies over the years and while so far he has managed to keep himself
safe; his girlfriend who knows nothing of what he does for a living would be a
prime target for retaliation.
However getting out of the business is hard to do,
especially when you’re already established as a Hitman. Even the very act of
getting out could potentially put his girlfriend in danger too, he faces the
dilemma of continuing to work in a dirty business or trying to get out and
either option can have extremely dire consequences.
The story is a tragedy, and we plan to tug on the viewer’s
heartstrings by having his efforts be for naught and his girlfriend dying at
the end of the film despite his efforts to protect her and get out of the
business.
The film will have a gritty neo-noir atheistic to it in both
terms of storytelling tropes and the visual design of the film. Heavy use of
shadows and coloured neon lights would set a strong visual style that would be
sure to suck the viewer in.
Musically the films score will be reminiscing of 80s
synthized music as that fits the neo-noir theme quiet well, however it will
have more classical music for the more emotional moments, and because it’s a
“timeless” type of music that plays homage to neo-noirs “Noir” roots.
Themes Addressed
The primary theme of the movie will be the fear of losing
something precious to you, and one of tragedy. The Hitman and his Girlfriend
live in totally different worlds, so highlighting the contrast between the two
would be ideal. Showcasing how the Hitman essentially lives a double life would
be great too, and how he tries to live with himself despite how abhorrent his
job is.
Pre Production and Production Methods
For preproduction we’re going to get:
- Script written for the story and for the actors
to learn their lines
- Storyboard so the director (me) can decide on how things
should be shot and composed
- Shot list so we can check off what shots we need
to film
- Prop list for what props we’ll be needing
- Costume list for what the actors should wear
- Moodboard so we can help decide on our inspirations
for the film, and for references on its style
- Permission
release forms for locations and for the actors
- Shooting Schedule
- Our production methods will be:
- Arranging the locations to film
- Telling the actors when and where they’re needed
- Shooting the scenes with the Shotlist and storyboard
- Filming the footage onto an SD card
- Lighting our locations appropriately
- Editing the final film together in Premiere
Setting/Location
We’ll have lots of urban environments such as allyways,
outside city environments and other gritty locations. Though we’ll also have cosy
interior scenes at the hitmans home to showcase just how different his work
life is compared to his private life. These sorts of locations will best serve
the scenes with him and his girlfriend.
Intended Audience
The Intended audience of this film will be the adult market,
basically it’ll be suitable for anyone over the age of 18 and it’ll be most
enjoyed by those who enjoy thrillers.
Research
Genres to research:
- Crime
- Neo-noir
- Action
- Romance
Movies to research:
- pulp fiction
- Seven
- Heat
- Goodfellas
- Gone girl
- Fight club
- No country for old men
- Bourne movies
- Eternal sunshine of a spotless mind
- Casablanca
-
Chasing amy
-
Blue valantine
- The Departed, Carlitios way
Equipment
- DSLR
- Shotgun Microphone
- Zoom recorder
- Portable lighting kit
- Clapperboard
- Tripod
- Dolly tracks
Crew
Stuart Ackerman – Cinematography/Script
Conor McCormick – Director/Editor
Caoímhín Cullen-O'Neill – Sound /Production
