Opening Sequence Treatment

Film Title:

The title for our film/opening sequence will be 'Broken Bridges'. The film title clearly connotes issues raised in BSR films. For my film in particular, it is symbolic of the relationship that the white man wishes to have with the Indian girl. Due to clashes of religion and culture, as well as families, he cannot be with her. Metaphorically the 'broken' symbolises their relationship and feelings for one another and 'bridges' being representative of the obstacles and behaviour that he faces and must try to overcome.

Target Audience:

Our vox pop video shows that our target audience lies between the ages of 16-40 mainly. We have carried out both primary and secondary research such as watching BSR films from over the decades, asking people about their opinions of these films and the content of them. In addition, we also researched into certain films on the Internet and looked into critical quotes of these films. The reason this film would appeal to our target audience is because we are reversing the roles as the theme of the film will be based on racism and culture clash on the opposing character.

Technology:

Camera- Handheld camera, accompanied by a tripod (to take all the straight on shots, occasionally will not use the tripod to give the rough camera work as shown in these films.)

iMovie- To edit our final film and piece all the shots together in which we can easily cut and reform shots in order to make them the way we chose to.

Logic- To edit and create our music- using a synthesizer to make our music.

This technology that we will  use to film will be suitable as it is compatible with the editing software that we will be using.

There are no limitations as we have access to all the software above on a daily basis and if needed we can also do the editing at home.

Representation: (Characters):

Our key characters in our opening sequence the protagonist is the young girl that works in the family shop and who catches the antagonists eye.

The antagonist is the white British male character.

When we film we are challenging the typical representation of the different races of the characters in our opening sequence, in the current society. Instead of showing racism towards the white man, we are reversing the racism roles and showing it happening to the white man from the Asian family.

Narrative:

A brief summary of our film is when a white man sets sight on a typical Indian girl. they end up falling in love but have to overcome many obstacles one of which includes her family as they don't approve of their relationship due to the clashes of religion and culture.

In our opening sequence, we will show the white man in an Indian fabric shop buying material but faces discrimination from other customers as well as the people behind the counter. This reflects the theme of racism outlined in some BSR films for example:

 'My Beautiful Laundrette'



"Omar (Gordon Warnecke), a Pakistani, and his old school chum Johnny (Daniel-Day Lewis) use stolen drug money to renovate a laundrette in a squalid London neighbourhood. But conflicting interests soon threaten their new found success. Hanif Kureishi received an Oscar nomination for his screenplay, a stunning portrait of two boyhood friends who are struggling to survive in racially tense Thatcher-era Britain."

Conventions:

In our opening sequence we will ensure to introduce the main characters, establish the location and themes early on, in order for our audience to have a clear understanding if the story. We will show the main character facing explicit racism however this will not be shown verbally but through actions instead.

We have decided not to include any enigma code in the opening sequence as it is not chronological for our particular story, and breaks the verisimilitude, it also doesn't look realistic for British social realism films to have enigma in the opening sequence. Action would take place later on in the film but not necessary in the opening sequence, we are purposely not including action code as it would look too much like a trailer when the brief specifically tells us to create an opening sequence.

Institution:

Film 4 being the production company given by the brief make films to target a white British audience between the ages of 16-40. My film has been made to appeal to the same audience, conforming the themes and issues portrayed in these films. I have chosen to explore racism and discrimination in my film which is shown in Film 4 films such as Four Lions and This Is England.

Distribution of this film would be very limited as it is an informative film and not made for the enjoyment of people. Also, it will only really attract the people to whomever it would concern, very rarely will people chose to pay to watch a film like this. The distribution of this film being minimal, will mainly appeal to British audiences and Asians.

My film would be exhibited publically in small cinemas as these British social realist films would not be shown amongst big Hollywood films in multiplex cinemas. As well as this, my film would be shown at film festivals as it allows people to anticipate the film, and spread word around of the film. However, with home exhibition, my film can be viewed on PlayStation/ xbox, as well as streaming websites such as netflix and Love film. This is beneficial for me as it allows my audience to access the films quicker and gain more views.

Style and Iconography:

Camerawork:

In the beginning, the camera will be from over the characters shoulder looking at the scene, adding impact as its almost like we see the scene through his perspective. This will be a good way to show a different opinion on the Asian culture as we see it from a white mans perspective. We will also show many shot reverse shots in order to show the audience that there is a connection between the 2 main characters. The camera angle will vary from straight on to high angle. This will add dramatic effects when the man is spoken to in a racist manner, making him look like the weaker character in the scene and reinforcing the fact that he looks out of place.

Editing:

Throughout the opening sequence, we swill show clear continuity, as it adds verisimilitude and makes the story flow chronologically. We will also use match on action carrying the same action through which again makes it look realistic for example when he walks through the door of the shop.

Costumes/Props:

The main character will be wearing an everyday outfit, jeans and a jumper, nothing branded as in these films, the characters are normally shown to be wearing average. He will also have a pair of headphones around his neck, again nothing branded, just an ordinary cheap pair of headphones, in order to relate to how characters are shown in British social realist films. For example, in 'FishTank' the young girl carries a simple Walkman with her, its not anything big like Sony or Samsung. The Indian girl in the shop, and other members in the shop will also be dressed in traditional, Indian clothing which would emphasise how he looks out of place and make the audience ask questions.

Sound:

In the beginning, when the character has headphones in, then there will be Foley sound of the character listening to music in headphones. And then use ambient sound when in the shop, which will be soft background music, radio and talking. The use of dialogue will be most powerful within the opening sequence as it will show the division between both the races in the shop. To make the white character feel uncomfortable, the shop keepers, will be speaking in their own language, showing discrimination towards the man.