2.1 Treatment :)

Btec National Diploma In Media (Film and TV)

TREATMENT (drama)

PROGRAMME TITLE: 22 inches.

DIRECTOR/
CAMERA OPERATOR: Me (Sofia Camacho)

DURATION: 3- 4 minutes.

FORMAT: Video, real people, not text just actors and scenes.

AUDIO: Background music, piano.
Alicia Keys Intro
Comptine D’un Autre (2.19 mins)
Sunrise-Nora Jones (3.20)
Samson- Regina Spektor

OUTLINE OF AUDIENCE:
My ideal audience would be sixteen year olds, mainly girls because that’s the sort of audience that would appreciate and most be affected and influenced by the point raised in my video.


OUTLINE OF STORY:
[[Original Idea:
Scene1: Girl goes to bedroom to try on top. Looks in mirror and at body and doesn’t like it. Puts half eaten choc bar in bin. Reads magazine in bed, full of skinny models and celebrities then goes to bed.
Scene2: Tries on top again, mirror, body, doesn’t like what she sees, and scrapes dinner in bin. Reads magazine, goes to bed.
Scene3: Tries on top, now girl is looking tired, no makeup, hair scraped back looking ill and feeble. Mirror, doesn’t like what she sees, leaves half peeled orange on side, reads magazine and goes to bed.
Scene4: Girl is now looking awful, tries on top, way too big, really baggy. Looks over at magazine at one particular picture, puts on sunglasses jeans and shoes, small smile at mirror.
Scene5: Walking down street, gets stares from everyone, looks in shop window, down at stomach, covers up and throws food in public bin.]]

Final Idea:
Images/ video clips of girl in three different shots. For example, looking at images in magazines of skinny models, throwing food away, looking in mirror, crying etc. These images are repeated for half of the song that’s playing and then the whole screen gets filled with a shot of girl near the end of the song. The shot is short and is of her enjoying time with friends before anorexia, edited in an antique rustic look, sepia tone. This image then fades out and is replaced with an image of a stomach with a measuring tape round it, focusing on 22 inches. The music stops and the measuring tape is dropped, girl walks into bathroom and shuts door.


CHARACTERS:
Anorexic girl suffers with bulimia:
Characters as her friends- 16 year olds.

5.Is It Important We All Have One Interpretation? What Was The Reaction? Does This Matter?

I think its important that we all have an interpretation but not the same. Most of these artists have created their videos so that they address many possibilities and points, not just one. This way, an audience thinks more into the point of the video, and listens and then acts. For example, Koyaanisqatsi was a very effective piece, and had a main point, but the way it was presented left the audience thinking of other possibilities. Some people in the class thought it was relating to global warming and the vicious circle the world is in, however when looking more into the video, particularly at the images shown, we began to discuss what other points are made, for example, some of the repeatative images shown with the machines and loud arcade like music, create a sence that we are controlled, and are like robots doing the same thing everyday. With most videos, our interpretation as a group was the same. This is good because it shows that the artist's point has been understood. I think its important everyone receives a message from the videos because thats the artists intention, but I dont think it needs to be the same message, just on the same lines. I think what we bring to the video as individuals is very important. For example, we all come from very different backgrounds and the way we interpret what we see through the videos may have the same idea but are discussed in different ways because we all relate to the point made, but its little things in the video that we relate to as individuals. Overall I think that its important that everyone has a view, and even more beneficial if its the same interpretation because then the artist's point is more understood, and effective.

4.How Do These Works Inspire My Own?

I was inspired by Simon Ellis's piece Telling Lies because I only then understood that you dont have to make your Experimental Video too serious, it can be light hearted and humorous as long as it has a point. Another video that encouraged some of my ideas of how to present my points was Doll Face by Andrew Huang. I liked the way he addressed his point, using a robot with a humans face. It was quite a sad yet intruiging video and the point of it was really obvious, which made it easier for me as an audience to understand and because of this, it affected me more. For my video, I wanted to use a point that keeps getting raised in today's world and in the medias eye, and Doll Face does exactly that, so it gave me some ideas on how to show the point I want to make. Koyannisqatsi inspired me with the way the images fitted the music. In my video I want to draw the audience in using sounds or the pace of my images and Koyannisqatsi shows how you do that well.

3.Do The Story Lines All Have A Typical Narrative?

In Koyaanisqatsi, the video is a very narrative story. It begins with the cave drawings and ends with this image to. In the middle of the video, its very repeatative, showing the same images over and over again. I would call this the middle of the 'story'. The music and use of images helps set out a beginning middle and end, as to start with, the video is very calm and natural, with slow quiet music and a panning shot of mountains and trees which run for a long time. However, half way through, the music picks up as do the images and they start to change quicker. Then, this calms down and the video finishes with the same cave drawing images. Whereas in 1001 Nights, the video has no real structure. Each actor takes their turn to speak and then the film ends. The structure is quite simple, as not much changes, apart from the person speaking. The Girl Chewing Gum has a mild traditional structure, as there is a build up to what the artist is doing, and then a conclusion ( when the image of the countryside appears). However, there is no introduction, and as an audience we are thrown straight into a scene. A traditional structure in a experimental video works well for and with an audience because its easier to understand and follow. When a video has a structure, the point of it is more likely to be clear and understood by an audience. However, sometimes a non traditional structure is better because if a video is short and different yet still having a point, more of an audience would enjoy it and not be too confused. I think that a traditional structure or a video with at least a basic, beginning middle and end works well if it isnt too obvious. I think this because its not too random but still displays the artist's point well. It makes a video enjoyable yet still so it makes scence. An audience is more likely to understand a video with a traditional structure because its simpler. They are more likely to take meaning from it where as with an unstructured piece, they are more likely to get confused because they cannot always see what they artist can or think how the artist was thinking at the time of making the video.In conclusion, I think experimental videos are better with a structure, as it makes it clearer for an audience to understand. Experimental videos can be quite difficult to understand as it is and when they have no structure, the artist's point isnt really expressed enough. Where as if the video has a structure, we as an audience can see their point more clearly thus making it affect us more and achieving the artist's goal.

2.Discuss The Use Of Technology,Techniques & Styles. How Does The Use Of Technology Differ ?

The technology in 'Jan Kanen' by Gisele Kerozene is very advanced. The artist uses a technique called Stop Animation. This works well as you can manipulate the size and speed of certain things. The video is a modern, craft driven piece. Its very effective and interesting because of the use of colours and sound. The video is styled in a strange way, with lots of different things occuring in each shot. On the other hand, 1001 Nights by Jananne Ali-Ani is a less complex video. It uses an ordinary video camera and consists of a plain background and five actors. The video uses no effects to create affect. For example, the actors describing their 'experiences' in detail makes the audience focus more on them as thats all you can see and it leaves some affect. Whereas in Jan Kanen, the effects are the main part of the video and the artist is trying to show what she knows about the technology. The Girl Chewing Gum is an old video, yet it does use the best technology available at that time. I think perhaps the reason the video has no effects may be because its so expensive to use.The artist John Smith again uses a normal camera and includes no effects or lighting. The only effect is the black and white screen but I think that was non nagociable because of when it was made.

1.Discuss Both Past And Current Artists & Works. Discuss At Least 3 Of The Artists You Have Looked At Comparing General Similarities And Differences.

During my lessons, I have been introduced to many different artists. Some of these are, John Smith, Simon Ellis, Jananne Ali-Ani, Godery Reggio and Gisele Kerozene. All the artists have the same passion and show it in the same form however, they all have different points to make in their videos. John Smith's video links well to Godery Reggio's Koyaanisqatsi. Both relate with their points made. Smith makes the point in his video, The Girl Chewing Gum, that the world is controlled, everyone gets controlled by a higher power but they are just unaware. Reggio also makes the point that our world is in a vicious circle, and controlled by machines and things that pollute it. Both artists agree on the point that sometimes, we are lead to believe other things just by what we see or hear. This links to Simon Ellis's video as he uses the same point, that we all believe what we see or hear and shows it by showing the truth visually and the lies through audio however he takes a different approach and styles his video in a more lighter way. Simon Ellis made his point in a humorous video thats really natural, simply put together with people having phone conversations. This works nicely for an audience as they can relate to more rather than watching an experimental video that has too many points to make and is shown in so many different ways that it doesnt make much sence. When watching Koyaanisqatsi, I understood the point of the video when the images of people working, sped up and then it flicked to a bombed block of flats. I then realised what the point of Reggio's video was. He had made ther people look almost like robots. This thought occured to me also, when I was watching The Girl Chewing Gum. This is because it shows alot of footage on normal people going about ordinary things, but because he was commentating over them, it made them look like robots, getting controlled. I then understood the point both artists had made in the peice-that the world and people in it are always getting controlled, we just arn't always aware.