Preliminary Task 2- PLAN

Preminiary Task 2

A
TREATMENT FOR
THE BABYSITTER (PT2)

Prepared by:  

Ella Ironside, Gilmark Manyere and Addison Saxby

26 March 2019

Convetions:  


Iconography:

Conventional Narrative:

Our narrative follows some key thriller conventions:

1) It follows the concept of having a Protagonist who seeks to restore justice (Babysitter) and an Antagonist who seeks to destroy justice (kidnapper) as well as an innocent/helpless character(Child). 

2) It includes a chase scene, where the hero chases the villain to restore order and recreate an equilibrium through brave risky, often life threatening actions.equaess character such as te commonh ‘damsel in destress’ (in our case, the child).lity of importance. (Both the babysitter and child are unified together, and conflict is absent)

4) It follows the basic narrative structure that Tzvetan Toderov

•          A state of equilibrium, where the characters in the introduction of the film are at peace, and a hold balance of power.
•          Disequilibrium, a disruption of order by an event. (The threat/event of the kidnapper entering the house.)
•           A recognition of disequilibrium. (Babysitter realises child has been taken as she sees the sheets of the child’s bed strewn off.)
•          An attempt to repair the damage of disruption. (Babysitter takes gun, and tracks the villain, to try and retrieve child.)
•          A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium at the end of the narrative. (The child is reunited to the babysitter, and a stronger connection is created between them.)

This narrative structure strays from linear plot but follows a circular cycle starting and ending with some sort of equilibrium and threat/ danger is defeated.

Toderov states that the disruption of the equilibrium takes place outside of normal ‘social’ events. The kidnapping in our film is outside of the norm and plays on possible but unlikely circumstances.

6) The cinematography of the antagonist are quick cut shots that aim to hide their identity. In our film the antagonist is never fully seen. In the beginning he is shown darting into the house as a small figure in a wide aerial shot; darting outside across the window, and glimpses of him in the car as he tries to drive away with child. The protagonist wares a black balaclava shrouding most of his face.

Challenged conventions

• The most obvious convention that is challenged is gender roles. Usually the protagonist is played by a male ‘macho’ character, however we have challenged his in our film. The woman in our film carries a weapon and displays heroism and bravery.

• Class and status- the scene is shot in a house that is far from shabby. The babysitters’ environment is more ‘well off’ than scarce or lacking. Usually the better off citizens in society are portrayed as unsusceptible to robberies, kidnapping and crime, however we challenge this convention.

Brainstorm:

Script:

Fist location:In kitchen

Babysitter washing dishes, places knife to the side.

Child skip's into kitchen brushing teeth.

Babysitter smiles at child, and follows child out of the kitchen.

Next location: Child's bedroom

Babysitter:

(while sitting on child's bed)

'Night sweetheart. Here's something for you, you left it behind.I  love you, have a great sleep, and don't let the boogie man get you'

(winks and kisses child's forehead, gets up to leave standing by door.)

Child:

'Night night love you too. Please leave the door open'

Babysitter blows a kiss, child catches it and giggles.Babysitter terns off light and exits room.

Next scene: TV lounge

Babysitter sits down on couch a flicks on TV

Intruder walks past window outside, behind babysitter

Next location: lounge-kitchen-hallway-child's room

Babysitter jumps receiving a fright from a crashing sound. She walks into the kitchen and the lights cut out. Babysitter gets out her phone, using it at a light. She walks slowly into hallway to child's room. We receive a confused expression as door is ajar and light is on. Babysitter slowly pushes the door open, and becomes very shocked and concerned to see duvets pulled off with no child in the room.

Next location: Flash back 1 (in willow tree paddock)

Babysitter pushes child on swing in willow paddock. 

Child in squealing with delight, Babysitter is giggling.

Child has lost item (teddy bear) in arms.

Next Location: Flash Back 2 ( in pool)

Child pushes Babysitter in pool falls in (eventually) to delight child. Again child has teddy bear in arm.

Next location: Child's room- Kitchen

Babysitter receives a fright as sliding door slams. She turns around sharply and runs sliding past the hallway corner to see sliding doors open in kitchen area. (Camera then zooms up on child's teddy bear that she dropped.) She pauses and grabs a gun.

Next location: Outside by wall

Sprinting outside, she stands motionless beside a wall, frightened and hesitant. Watching kidnapper.

Child is banging on car door screaming as intruder slams car door shut.

Babysitter moves into action stepping forward closer to get a better aim, shooting intruder.

Intruder slumps dead to the ground after shutting the child's door.

Babysitter approaches child's door opens it and holds child in an embrace.

End Film

Call Sheet:

CALL SHEET- The Babysitter
30/3/2019

Roles

Equipment check:  Ella Ironide Sound opperator: Ella Ironside Director: Addison Saxby Lighting setup: Addison Saxby Camera opperator: Gilmark Manyere Location setup: Gilmark Manyere

Talent

Schedule

Saturday (pm)

5:00- Production crew and cast meet at location and set up and film at location 1 (pool scene)

5:30- Eat (prepared dinner) while actors are drying.

6:00- Set up at location 2 (willow tree) and film. Remember to bring exchanged item (teddy bear).

6:45- Set up in location 3 (child's bedroom) and film.

7:20- Set up in location 4 ( kitchen) (Washing dishes)( Tracking shot from kitchen to child's room.)
Theo Payn (kidnapper) needed.

7:40- Set up in location 6 (outside at car and wall with gun) and film.
Aria Ironside (child) may leave.

8:00- Set up in location 7 (TV lounge, and possibly POV shot from outside looking in)

8:30- Tacking shot of babysitter from TV lounge to kitchen to Childs'room.

8:45- Set up in location 8 (outside childs' bedroom) and film hand held tracking of babysitter into kitchen/ living room, grabbing gun and running outside.

Locations

93D Potter Rd
 RD2 Albany
Coatsville
Auckland New Zealand

Duration and Location:

 The duration of this film will be between 1:30 and 2:00 minutes. It will be filmed inside a large open house in the countryside, looking somewhat like this:

We have chosen this location in the countryside to add to the feeling of isolation. The characters are home alone, and filming it in the countryside, gives the sense that there is no one close by to help them. It adds suspense. We also chose this house because it has many large open windows, which will emphasis that the film is shot at night time. The dark lighting outside, will be expressed in many shots giving the film a more ominous and sinister appeal. This ‘night time’ lighting we are planning to achieve will not be hindered by the house lights of other neighbours because of the fact that we decided to shoot a fairly isolated, country house. We also wanted the scene to be shot in a house to counteract the feelings of security, warmth, certainty and comfort associated with a home environment. To heighten the sense of unease, suspense and danger of an intruder entering a home, we aim to break the equilibrium of peace that is created at such a location.]

                                                         Plot Line:

-          We open with a wide establishing aerial shot of the house at night with the lights on. This shot gives us context to where the film is being shot. It also sets the dark, sinister, night time tone. We are also introduced to the sense of danger for the first time as we see a glimpse of the kidnapper in black clothes sneak into the open sliding door, entering the house.

-          -            We then transition into a wide front on shot of the babysitter washing the dishes, followed by an over the shoulder shot. This over the shoulder shot reveals a sense of danger is present in two ways: firstly the shot is filmed looking down on her as if it is filmed from the POV of someone watching her from above. Secondly, the mis-en-scene composition includes a red tea towel and knife.

-          -             Next we receive a panning shot of the child as she walks into the kitchen and out the hallway, brushing her teeth. In this shot we can see the babysitter smiling at the child adoringly; connection is shown between the two characters. Their Spatial connection is comfortably close but not touching. This sets an equilibrium which is then broken as the characters are forced apart and restored so that the new equilibrium of them hugging is shown. (New equilibrium shows the characters physically and emotionally closer than they were before the incident.)

-          -              The next scene is shot in the Childs’ bedroom. The shot pans from the hallway to reveal the babysitter walking and sitting onto the child’s bed. The shot changes to an over the shoulder shot of the child, so that the camera is focused on the babysitter as she says goodnight and gives the child’s soft toy back that she left behind. This shot shows the POV of the child to stress the loving tone of the babysitter towards the child.

-          -              The babysitter then exits the room and switches off the light. The noise of the light being switched off will be emphasised in my film to add contrast to the later scene when a torch lights the bedroom.

-          -              The next location is the TV lounge where the camera shows a wide shot of the babysitter is slouched on the couch watching a news reporter speak about a kidnapping. The camera then switches to a close up to show low lighting, casting shadows on her face. As we receive this close up we see the kidnapper walk across the widow outside.

-          -             Subsequently, we hear a loud crash. The babysitter turns off the TV and gets up off the couch suddenly. She then wanders into the kitchen and the lights cut out. We hear her rummaging around, before we hear her lighting a hand lighter.

-          -              She walks slowly from the kitchen into the hallway and stops outside the child’s door. Throughout her walking, shots change angle to create a feel of movement (mimicking the intruder). All the different angles also make it seem like the intruder is watching her). The protagonist open the door slowly and the composition of the scene reveals a torch that has been left on the floor. The camera shows a front on shot of the babysitter picking up the torch and shining it on the child’s soft toy which has also been left on the floor. We then receive a shot of the protagonist shining the torch around looking very shocked. The camera then changes to a POV shot so that we can see what the babysitter is reacting to. The duvet on the child’s bed has been flicked to the side to reveal an empty bed.

-          -                At this moment the audience picks up the idea that the child has been taken/ is missing. The film then switches from an ominous foreboding tone into a light, upbeat tone as a flash back of the babysitter and child water fighting is played. The flash back then cuts to an aerial shot of the two jumping into the pool.

-          -               The film then jumps back into present time to reveal a shot of the protagonist running out of the hallway back into the kitchen. The camera tracks her into the dark kitchen as she grabs a gun from under the sink. We see her running outside, behind a wall, after locating the child’s scream.

-          -               The perspective then changes to show a shot of the kidnapper with the child kicking and screaming, strung over his back, being forced into the car.

-          -             Another flash back is played, to show another light-hearted scene to break the tension. The flash back reveals the child on a swing being pushed by the babysitter underneath a willow tree.

-          -             The camera shoots the protagonist shooting the gun, then switches back to the shot of the car, showing the protagonist getting shot and slumping to the ground

-          The end scene reveals the babysitter running to the child and placing her hands up to the window, in line with the child’s hands. She then opens the door and the child out of the car into her embrace, so that nothing stands between them.

Movies that have inspired our film:

Mood Board ans Location:

Location by Ella