Treatment
Target Audience: 12+ (Off screen violence)
Genre: Thriller/Comedy
Duration: 5-10 mins
Characters: Joe and Tommy They have been friends since a young age who got into trouble their whole lives. This eventually took them down the path towards crime and they’ve been conducting burglaries regularly for the past few years. They like to have a joke around and never take life too seriously.
Structure: Setup, Conflict and Resolution
Style: The scenes between the van and the house will be a continuous shot similar to that of Birdman or 1917, this will create a fluidity that benefits the constrained nature of the film. When it comes to sound design I am going to use music to build the first act of the film to be fairly cheery and upbeat and for the discovery of the two bodies to be a real turning point in the film. This change of tone will benefit the tension that I am building in the second and third acts.
To help achieve the cheery tone in the first act I will add music that is cheerful and fun, I could also use brighter light to help make the viewer feel relaxed which will make the discovery of the two bodies more impactful. This is when I will turn everything upside down and use music to build tension. This will be especially necessary in the final stand-off between the two boys. The scene will also darken visually to add another layer of tension. After the two gunshots are heard the film will fall silent for a little while, this is when the viewer will hear the faint noise of an engine throbbing outside, and muffled voices of the next two men planning to rob the house.

My aim with this film is to subvert audience expectations. I think the natural expectation for this film would be that the two boys get caught or at least almost do, and that that is the major conflict in the film. But I wanted to make the boys turn on each other in order to shock the audience.
The loop at the end was inspired by David Lynch-esque endings in which there is still many questions to be answered. I still believe the ending is satisfying enough for the viewer to be happy with it while still staying intriguing.
I think this film should be made now as I think after the big superhero craze that occupies most of cinema at the moment, there is room for a film that doesn’t follow the same formula.
I hope my film is something fresh and interesting that can engage with an audiences more curious side.

Flynn Smith - HND Directing for Non Factual