Declan Keeble - Film Treatment

TREATMENT DIVISION - Short Narrative Fiction Film, Drama Genre

LOGLINE Two men from different walks of life become

acquainted in a hotel, and see that despite their differences of affluence and social background, they both share a common interest.

SYNOPSIS The film takes place in the Midland Hotel in Bradford

throughout the course of four days. Two men, Roger and Danny, are temporarily accommodated at the Midland for the duration of their affairs; Roger, a sharp and stylish managing director is on a business trip, whilst Danny, an unambitious fashion-averse plumber is staying in Bradford for a company training course. In converse to Danny, who for the duration of his visit spends his time socially isolated in his hotel room and venturing out into the hotel bar at night, Roger delves into his company’s expenses and enjoys the luxuries of such a hotel. The bar represents unification and impartial judgement, the main themes of the short film, where we see the two lead characters meet for the first time and the division between upperclass and lower-class diminishes. Through the use of this key location and the characters of Roger and Danny, the film illustrates that we as people have more in common than what our material wealth and background would suggest; we are not defined by the things we possess, but by our actions.

MAIN CHARACTERS

Roger Peterson Roger Peterson is the managing director of Jague, a

public limited company selling and exporting print

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Declan Keeble - Film Treatmentsupplies. MR. Peterson took over the business from his father after his death. Unlike his father, Roger lacks the common sense and attitude of the business world, but his knowledge of the market and smooth talking has seen him close many deals and retain clients. Roger and his colleagues have commuted from London to Bradford to see some new clients and discuss future strategies of the local centres with the regional director.

Roger is a young adult (age dependant on available actors), slim in appearance, and has a taste for the opulent things in life.

We learn that Roger is initially narcissistic and judgmental but upon meeting Danny evolves into a more accepting person - this happens in the short time of a evening/night so shows that a person can change whenever, no matter the circumstances.

MR. Peterson supports the Leeds Rhinos rugby team.

Danny Weekend Danny Weekend is a plumber apprentice of “The

Manchester Plumbing Company” and has travelled to Bradford for a training course that should result in him securing a permanent job with the firm . MR. Weekend is a very unambitious and fashion-averse male who only strives through life by others telling him what to do. He is a very socially isolated and lonely person unless he is with his friends.

Danny is also a young adult (age dependant on available actors), slim in appearance - bulkier than Roger if possible(dependant on available actors)and does not care about his appearance.

MR. Weekend supports the Leeds Rhinos rugby team.

STORY STRUCTURE

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Declan Keeble - Film TreatmentThe narrative will begin with the arrival of both

characters at the Midland Hotel. Roger and Danny will check in at the lobby and advance to their rooms. The rest of the narrative is then concerned with the activities of both characters during the following days, e.g. in one evening MR. Peterson will be dining in the ballroom with his colleagues and other business affiliates, where as MR. Weekend may remain in his hotel room or the hotel bar. The core part of the story then regards a scene in the bar on the last night of their trips, where Roger and Danny meet, and the dialogue between them allows for characterisation and portrayal of the film’s social message - no matter where we come from or how affluent we are, we are all human; we are all the same; therefore we shouldn’t make impartial judgments based on objective information (e.g. appearance), and there shouldn’t be a class divide; we should all be united as people and express our individual differences. Dialogue occurs as result of MR. Weekend asking the bar man to turn on the television to watch the rugby game which leads to MR. Peterson questioning Danny as to whether he supports the Leeds Rhinos rugby team. The characters realise that they both support Leeds Rhinos and the conversation progresses from there - the barrier between upper and lower-class reduces and they both see that despite their differences of wealth and background they both have something in common.

STYLE The film will have a aspect ratio of 16:9 to give it

a cinematic effect that fits with the story, e.g. the 21:9 aspect ratio would not be applicable as it is mainly used in blockbuster films.

Some of the scenes will be played ‘side-by-side’ with both characters doing the same thing, e.g. walking to their hotel rooms. Some scenes will also ‘join’ - there will be two side-by-side frames to start with, until the

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Declan Keeble - Film Treatmenttwo shots ‘merge’ and both characters are in the same frame.

Also, in a scene where Danny is sat at the bar on his own there will be a Dolly Zoom of MR. Weekend to portray his isolation from the world.

FORMAT AND OTHER PRODUCTION INFORMATION The short film will be shot on a video format as a

pose to film. The reasoning for this is that accessibility to technology to utilise film is not possible. A video format would be much more convenient and efficient in terms of meeting deadlines during production week, the filming process, and for the utilisation of footage during Post-Production.

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