PLANNING: OUR TREATMENT

Title Names

-The Countdown
-Imminent Threat
-The Launch
-Terror
-Blast Zone
-Genocide
-Shockwave
-Nuclear Winter

Production Names

-Blast Zone Productions

-Winter Productions

-Impact Productions

-Crater Productions 

-Shockwave Productions 

-Launch Productions

Treatment

The year is 2027 and Daniel, Timothy and Bartholomew are foster children living within the centre of London. In recent years there has been a lot of tension between the US and its allies between North Korea. The UK defence system has detected North Korean missiles. It has been broadcast around the UK that there is only a certain amount of time before one hits London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff. The country has descended into chaos; there is economic ruin. The foster children are able to get into their bunker in time only a few minutes before the missiles arrive in the specific locations. The bomb hits; two weeks later one of the boys opens the door to the bunker… the trailer ends on a cliff hanger.

Topline 

Three foster children face death as they race against time to make it to their bunker to survive the nuclear missiles only to face complications throughout their journey.

Big Question 

Will they make it in time? What goes wrong? Will they all make it to the bunker? How many other people will survive the missiles?

Research

As part of my research into how to devise a treatment I watched a FutureLearn Video by Frank Ash. In this video Frank Ash talks about how to make your film interest the audience but also to make your film relevant to current social trends. This made us consider the Disaster genre and mix it with the very real North Korean threat that the world faces. I also visited Movie Outline in which it mentions similar methods. Movie Outline think that the most important element of a film is to make it topical but also ensure that it fits under the genre that is most popular at the moment.

RESEARCH: TRAILER ANALYSIS RED DAWN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGoe7BdGdlg

Feature	Comments
Genre	War/ Disaster
Narrative	A city in Washington state is faced with the frontline of a North Korean paratrooper invasion following a EMP attack. A group survivors have to fight the foreign invaders, they call themselves the Wolverines and they are the only ones that can save their city.
Unique Selling Point	The first mass media film that involved a North Korean force invading the USA. This film was soon followed up by similar films, Olympus has Fallen and Whitehouse Down.
Target Audience	15-25 male
Music	Rock music is played in the background when the Wolverines start to fight the North Korean invaders, this music is used to be a metaphor for teenage rebellion.
Shot Types/ Angles	Low angle shot, tracking shot, shot reverse shot.
Pace	The pace is slow at the start of the trailer. The pace begins to quicken when the fight for Washington begins.
Dialogue	Very little dialogue is used and the majority of the plot is revealed through visuals and intertitles.
Voiceover	There are only a couple of occasions where voiceovers are used, voiceovers are used as sound bridges.
Special Effects	The planes that the paratroopers use are computer generated. All other effects in the trailer are practical effects.
Credits and Intertitles	Actors names, eg. Chris Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Josh Peck. The majority of the intertitles are used to tell the plot of the story and to build up tension.

RESEARCH: TRAILER ANALYSIS DUNKIRK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-eMt3SrfFU

Feature	Comments
Genre	War/ Disaster
Narrative	The movie tells the story of the military disaster that was Dunkirk, but the drive and determination of British sailors to rescue their soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk. With the axis forces pushing closer and closer and the Luftwaffe picking off the allied forces on the beaches. It is a race against time to get the 400,000 British soldiers off of the beaches of Dunkirk.
Unique Selling Point	One unique selling point of Dunkirk is that it is an entirely British cast, commemorating the amazing British victory.
Target Audience	15 onwards
Music	The ticking of a clock further reinforces the idea that they are in a race against time. There is also a very prominent heartbeat that is played throughout the trailer, it gets faster and faster as the trailer progresses.
Shot Types/ Angles	Tracking shots, close ups, low angle shot, hand held camera work, tilt pan.
Pace	Fast paced editing ups the tempo, this links to the ever growing danger that the British troops face at every growing second.
Dialogue	There is very little dialogue due to the essence of the trailer being visual, this also allows emphasis on the heartbeat, ticking of a clock and diegetic sounds for example planes, explosions and the sound of waves.
Voiceover	The only voiceover that is present in the trailer is the protagonist, Fionn Whitehead, recalling Winston Churchills ‘We shall never surrender speech’. Fionn quotes,” We shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall never surrender, we shall never surrender.” It is unclear from the trailer whether Fionn’s character believes in these words, but there is a clear sense of demoralisation in his voice.
Special Effects	Christopher Nolan endeavoured to use none if any VFX in the film. There are only a few occasions in which VFX is used. The crew used real battleships, real spitfires and real Messerschmitt’s.
Credits and Intertitles	Actors names, eg. Fionn Whitehead, Harry Styles, Kenneth Brenner, Tom Hardy. Intertitles are used to emphasise the oncoming threat that is approaching the stranded British soldiers.

RESEARCH: MOTHER! TRAILER ANALYSIS

MOTHER! TRAILER

Feature	Comments
Genre	Horror/ Thriller
Narrative	Jennifer Lawrence, the protagonist, is living with her husband when a string of strangers begin to arrive and create mystery and threat.
Unique Selling Point	Robbie Collin from The Sunday Telegraph 10/09/17 offered his views on 'Mother!' in ‘Why Hollywood needs mavericks not franchises’. Collins feels that 'Mother!' offers a fresh approach, although not all of the Venice Film Festival agree. The film appeared to be a grotesque depiction of a planet in crisis. The soundtrack is very different and is from and the Icelandic composer Johann Johannsson. The director of the film Aronofsky said that the 'best thing about this film will be the surprise of it'. Linking to the lack of knowledge the audience has of the film, meaning that the one of the USP's of the film is the mystery of it. Javier Bardem has also taken the vow of silence and has refused to provide any additional information.
Target Audience	15-30
Music	Sharp percussion sounds accompanied by sharp notes from a violin
Shot Types/ Angles	Close-ups, High angle shot, low angle shot, tracking shot, handheld camera shots, a significant shot reverse shot is used to show Jennifer Lawrence looking at a broken photo on the floor- then the camera switches to her face only for the audience to see a mysterious figure to be standing behind her.
Pace	Fast paced editing ups the tempo of the trailer directly linking to the adrenaline rush that the protagonist feeling in the trailer.
Dialogue	There is very little dialogue in the trailer due to it being not fast paced enough, it would not link to the fast paced nature that the soundtrack portrays
Voiceover	Jennifer Lawrence provides a voiceover of the events, introducing the plot in the first 15 seconds of the trailer. As a result of the voiceover the audience relates to Jennifer Lawrence and for the duration of the trailer the audience feel sympathetic towards her.
Special Effects	When the house went black and had a charcoal look to it, symbolising death and destruction
Credits and Intertitles	Actors names, eg. Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer. Production companies as well as the director was also mentioned. The intertitles are cut to the beat to make the trailer flow faster and to further link to the adrenaline rush of the trailer.