Treatment. A View

A View is a 5 minute short drama film featuring one character and minimal or no dialogue, which follows the journey of their personal progression in a single space whilst suffering from agoraphobia (fear of the outside). The film aims to show a true and realistic account of the fear from the sufferers perspective, and so will be shot entirely in the space of the room in which the character feels trapped and spends all of their time. The character’s journey will be shown in a simplistic way; instead of overcomplicating the narrative, the film will instead focus on the finer details and will explore the fear itself as well as the overall impact that it is having on the character’s everyday life and routine. Through using one single location, the film will aim to make the viewer feel their own sense of claustrophobia as they watch, and possibly even get frustrated by watching five minutes of film set in one small room. Through doing this, the film will give the viewer a further insight into the character and although a very simplistic narrative will be explored, the viewer will be taken on a journey of progression throughout the duration of the five minutes, as the character progresses themselves.

The character will be a male in their teenage years or early twenties, who will visit the location more than once before the shoot to get a good idea of the space and a feel for the character. No dialogue will be used in the film, as instead the focus will be more on the sound use, which aims to take a more realistic approach to the brief and create a film which feels true to its subject matter.

Carefully planned and designed sound use, as well as cinematography including low key lighting, and also set design will form part of the film’s narrative and will aid with it’s structure. The opening shot will be a close up of a key amongst windchimes, alongside the synched sound of this. The key from then on acts as the signifier to viewers, and will work alongside costume which will consist of a large coat over pyjamas to signify the characters struggles and also give the viewer an insight into what the phobia consists of. Other set design features include the gradual closure of curtains in different shots as the film progresses, as well as empty calendars and piles of post lined up next to the door of the enclosed room space. The denouement of the film will also be kept very simple but also will highlight the fact that the film has been a journey and the character is considering going outside. Although the viewer will never see this actually occur, the act of half putting a shoe on alongside the current costume will be used as a cliff-hanger, giving them the idea that the character is thinking about it and making that one step closer.