Pairs Treatment

Working title

Length: Not sure yet.

Stylistic Approach: Our narrative will be non-liner, using a juxtaposition of images and live action footage together with some stop motion. Some of our footage will be in collage and abstracted and we plan to explore the use of different lighting methods.

Tagline: Theme – Loss and paranoia. The un-ravelling of a jumper pulls our protagonist into the city at night. We will focus on the delusional effect of loss or having lost something and how this can create paranoia towards the things around her. It will possibly be an atmospheric piece once the character starts exploring the city at night also dealing with a gradual attempt to regain what was lost.


Short synopsis (25-50 words):

What is the film about?
The idea of an un-ravelling jumper bringing our character to the city at night. The piece will portray a feeling of delusion, paranoia and a character's search for something which they may or may not be able to regain.


Mid-Length synopsis/outline (250 words):

What happens in the film and how does it happen? You could give this in a step-by-step outline. You need to include information on how the work will look and sound. Remember that simple, clear concise statements are best.

We want the start of the film to be a P.O.V shot of an eye blinking and suddenly the protagonist's jumper tugs and pulls as if the jumper is alive. For this we plan to use stop motion as it is a technique which lends itself well to the process of making something inanimate appear alive in a unusual way.

This tugging and pulling will force our character into the city at night. Here we will see her exaggerating her movements and looking paranoid. This will get across the feeling that she is not only searching for something lost, but that she, herself, is being followed.

In this journey, we can explore the medium of experimental techniques through use of collage, abstraction and lighting. We will use different camera shots to enhance the delusional feel so as to make the audience aware that something is not right. We also want the viewer to question weather or not our character is dreaming.

Some of the camera techniques we would use are CU, MCU, LS, panning, P.O.V. Then we will work on these movements in post-production with the use of speed alteration on the footage.
To create the abstractions and collages of images, we will make our own art pieces to lay over footage and possibly use the scratched film technique also.


Analysis of approach (500 words):
How will you make this film? What will it look and sound like? What is its style? What are the techniques used? What works where inspirational to the film? What works does it resemble? What is its mood? Its ambience? Demonstrate enthusiasm and a distinctive visual/aural voice here. Include references to TWO films that you have watched together in your pair.


We will make this film through use of stop motion and live action footage. We will storyboard our specific shots so we can think about the delusional feel in pre-production. We want to create a visceral feeling of confusion and loss for the audience.

The piece will be very atmospheric, mostly taking place in the city at night.
We wish to use abstraction and collages and will incorporate some of these techniques into the post-production of the film through editing and the use of effects in Final Cut Pro.

We want to cut footage to have a structural approach and we think juxtaposing the different techniques will help enhance the dream feel. We want the theme of loss to be incorporated although we don’t want to necessarily reveal what has been lost or what is she losing.

We think Maya Deren – At Land (1944) and Meshes Of The Afternoon (1943) was inspiring through the use of exploring her surroundings and bringing a surreal effect to the audience. The use of her techniques she uses helps explore this medium.

We were also inspired by Len Lye and Stan Brakhage in the use of abstraction.
Visually we have been influence by Daniel Levi's use of stop motion in the music video for Plan B's song No Good. We feel this could be emulated when shooting the un-ravelling jumper sequences.

Thematically and tonally we have also taken queues from sections of David Lynch's Mullholland Drive (2001). Specifically after when the character played by Laura Harring is in a car crash and staggers confused into Hollywood.

We want to give the mood of confusion and create questions around what our character is feeling through her unconsciousness which made us think about the theme loss. We thought exploring through the city is a way for us to incorporate the techniques we wish to try – mainly through post-production.


We want the sounds to have an eerie atmosphere. We want to use reverb and panning to help create a dream-like sense of place. The sound track will be layered and at some point we will hear layered monologue. We are thinking of writing these ourselves and having it reflect upon what the conscious mind would feel in opposition to what the unconscious mind would do. For example, I am mature woman exploring the city (for the unconsciousness) and I am a vulnerable young lady terrified of what lays within the night (for the conscious). We think the eerie atmospheric soundtrack will help enhance the confusion in our character's exploration. Is she in search of something?



Artist biography (50-100 words) :
What are the themes in your work? How do you approach work? Do you have any awards?

The main two themes we will focus upon our piece is paranoia and loss. We want to give the sense that something is missing and she may be exploring what is missing through her unconscious mind.

In the conscious she doesn’t know what it is and it’s only when she goes into the dream world that she realises something has been lost.

She will be forced upon the activities of her unconscious mind to explore what is lost and during the exploration she is paranoid of her surroundings.

We don’t want to reveal what is lost or if anything is but we do want to explore the ‘dream world’ and what the unconscious mind would make you to see and do from things that are hidden within the conscious – experimenting around the iceberg theory.