A TREATMENT FOR “DEATH BY DAWN”
Prepared by Sonder (Stanley Brabazon)
15/05/20
The film will run for approximately 2 minutes (between 1:30-2:30 minutes), and will be filmed at 105 Curran Street. We originally chose a spot near Silo Park, but after some time we soon realised the place was under construction. Though we couldn’t film in the desired industrial environment, we decided the water-side backdrop to be a suitable replacement.
We have chosen to implement these Thriller Conventions into our film:
Crime - Our plot involves kidnapping and murder, two elements that are very common in the thriller genre. It creates stakes, and a sense of danger that is crucial in developing a thriller story.
Evening/Night time setting - The events of our opening will take place at dusk, the beginning of day’s descent into night. This setting is common in most thriller films. In our case, it is symbolic of the protagonist’s descent as she kills her targets, until she is just as bad as them.
One Night - Hypothetically, the film’s events would span over one night. This convention isn't quite as common as the previous. It allows for a concise story to be told without much context. This fits with our fairly simple idea.
Ominous Score - A necessity in the Thriller genre, a film's musical score may add to the tension of a scene, or take it away. The style of music used can completely change the feeling of a scene and is therefore a key part to create an effective Thriller feel.
The Anti-Hero - This kind of character isn’t anything new to the Thriller genre. Anti-Heroes usually have positive intentions, yet the process of them achieving their goals are morally questionable or downright wrong. The opening of ours won’t provide reason for her killing criminals, but doesn’t the act of murder make her just as bad as them?
We took influence from the following thriller openings:
Drive dir. By Nicolas Winding Refn - Drive starts with the introduction of its protagonist, though he is silent throughout the 12 minute opening. As we follow him and his actions in this time, we realise that he is a getaway driver throughout the events that unfold. As answer one question about the mysterious character, another unfolds as he abandons his clients to fend for themselves against the police after putting in so much effort to get them away. We liked this concept of a silent protagonist and for actions to speak louder than words. We plan to have our protagonist introduced halfway through our opening, but we’re aiming to have the same effect on our audience as they uncover the character we present.
The Dark Knight dir. By Christopher Nolan - The opening of the film includes a conversation between the Joker’s henchmen who have been ordered to rob a bank. As they wait for the others to collect the money, two of the henchmen discuss their boss and the horrific stories they’ve heard about him, as they have both never actually met him. The tales they share make him seem like a legend and build tension for his eventual reveal. We liked this idea of exposition through conversation. It is a great way giving a situation context and introducing the idea of a character without their physical appearance. This will be implemented in the conversation between our two criminal characters that open the film.
Possible Issues:
We have to take into account how the weather would act at the locations we wished to film. We then realised (as previously mentioned) that our original choice was unavailable due to road works. The new spot by the water is a much more populated area, so we have to get a filming permit from the council and inform everyone at the spot that we would be filming with a fake gun. Once everyone is notified, we will be able to begin filming.
Film Details:
Characters - Our film consists of four different characters; two criminals, our anti-hero protagonist and her driver. The two criminals have been hired to kidnap and deliver a woman to a mystery buyer. They are dressed as “roadmen” and speak with their typical accent/slang. Our protagonist is dressed to fight and her driver’s attire conceals her identity.
Ideology - Our protagonist is trying to rid her city of its criminal inhabitants by killing them herself. There is an uneasiness to her character as she believes her actions are justified because she murders ‘bad guys’.
Mood and Tone - We are going to try and create tension throughout. Nothing is properly explained to the viewer as they dropped into the middle of an unfamiliar situation with no prior context. They have to figure it out for themselves.
Camera Shots/Movements/Lighting/Angles - Wide angles will be used to present the setting of the opening, though most shots will primarily be closeups/two-shots for dialogue and character interactions. We will use low angles in some situations to present the two criminals as the ones in control, whilst the contrary is presented for our protagonist (their victim).
For lighting, we wanted to maximise our environment and use natural lighting to aid the story of the opening. As the scene progresses, the sun begins to set and the sky becomes cloudy/darker. This is a reflection of the protagonist’s descent into darkness as she murders the two criminals.
Themes and Motifs - The opening includes themes of revenge and murder, both very typical in a thriller film. We also include a female protagonist, which breaks the stereotype of your typical male protagonist.
Narrative - Two criminals are waiting to deliver a woman they have kidnapped to their boss (the person who ordered for her kidnap). The boss is late so one of the two phones them to check where they are. They hear ringing from the boot of the car (where the kidnapee is). They open the boot to find the phone they have called is in the boot. Suddenly the woman breaks her ties and knocks one the two down to the ground. She disarms the other and shoots him in the head. She gets out of the car to finish off the first criminal. As she shoots that one, a car pulls up and picks her up. The driver states there are more to kill and they drive off.
Mise-en-scene/Setting - Our film will be set by the waterside with the main city appearing in some shots, in the background. Having a car will be key to the success of executing what we want.
Symbolism - One of our forms of symbolism can be seen in the choice of setting. One side of Curran Street occupies the sea and clear skies, whilst the other is filled with tall apartments and city life. These two contrasting views may symbolise the grimey, criminalistic mindset of the kidnappers, and the pure, clean views of the protagonist. As previously mentioned, the transition from afternoon to night is also representative of this. Colour is also used as a symbol. The two criminals dressed in all black are at the point of no return and have accepted their criminal lifestyle. On the other hand, our protagonist will be wearing a grey bandana, indicative of her position on the scale of good and evil, her intentions are righteous but don’t her actions make her just as bad as the people she kills?
Sound and Music - We don’t want to stray too much from the typical thriller sound and the effect it has on the viewing experience. Although, we liked the idea of implementing more modern instruments and software to produce something with a more futuristic sound, whilst still providing atmospheric tension. Sound effects need to be on point too, especially seeing as we are including a small fight scene in the middle of our opening. We also want the score and sound effects to work in tandem with the cuts of the edit, a bit like the work of Edgar Wright, but more toned down so it is not the main focus of the scene.
Mood and Tone - The mood will be mysterious more than anything. We want the viewers to understand what’s going on in their own time and then take their own personal guesses on what may happen next. At first, it is hard to distinguish a particular mood, but once the first criminal is killed, the tone becomes much darker and menacing. This continues to the end.
Use of credits and logo - Our group logo will be the first thing to appear. The film will then play out with the addition of titles near the halfway mark to give credit to everyone in their respective contributions to the opening.
Editing - The main parts of our editing process will consist of cuts and colour grading to make the narrative flow throughout the opening, and to help set the mood and tone of the film. We won’t really need any VFX for the story we are trying to tell.
SCRIPT
Characters:
Criminal 1 (Stanley Brabazon)
Criminal 2 (Flynn Poskitt)
Protagonist (Olivia Yi)
Driver (Hannah Yates)
*BLACK SCREEN*
Flynn:
Nah man I ain’t feeling this
EXT. CARPARK
Flynn is on his phone and Stanley is looking down the road, anxiously.
Stanley:
You’ll be fine bruv
Flynn:
Don’t say that to me man (pause) look at ya, look like you’re gonna shit yourself
Stanley turns to Flynn, starting his line as soon as Flynn finishes his (almost interrupting)
Stanley:
(sucks teeth) Shut up man. Look, it's simple. Boss man pulls up, hand over the bird in the back, we get our P’s, and get out.
Flynn:
Safe, safe… (pause) who is she anyways?//
Stanley:
I dunno man, a nobody innit
Flynn:
What about the boss man (pause) do you even know what he looks like?
Stanley:
No one does. I just know he’s given us a job, and we’re gonna deliver, ya get me?
Stanley gets out his phone and dials a number
Stanley:
Takin his time though…(under his breath) wasteman
Flynn:
You ringin em now?
Stanley:
Yeah
Stanley holds the phone to his ear and you can hear a phone ring. They look around and they look at the boot of the car, the ring coming from there. Stanley gets out a gun and walks to the boot. He stops as Flynn opens the boot. There is a person with a bag over their head, looking asleep. Stanley puts his gun away. The phone is in front of the body.
Stanley:
Why didn’t you check for her phone?
Flynn:
Not my fault
Flynn reaches for the phone and Olivia karate kicks him in the ribs. He stumbles back as her foot swings up and upper cuts his face, making him fall back. Stanley pulls out his gun again and Olivia pushes the gun to the roof, a shot going off. She twists Stanley’s arm and takes the gun and puts it in his mouth as he screams. The gun goes off, BANG, and blood splatters over the bag. The body falls to the ground.
Music composed by Stanley Brabazon
Flynn stands up,
Edited by Hannah Yates
The gun barrel meets his head
Cinematography by Waka James
He looks up to see the killer standing over him. She removes her bag off her head, revealing Olivia.
Starring Olivia Yi
A car obstructs the both of them, BANG. A woman with glasses is sitting in the car and Olivia enters the backseat.
Hannah:
Two down, five to go
Liv looks forward, the bodies behind them. The car drives off.
TITLE
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