Film Treatment

Scene 1

The film starts with an adult’s arm and hand to be seen to be seen on a glass table. The door opens and the voice behind this man speaks, ‘Here, Mr. Mahmood, the file you requested for.’ The file is placed on the table and hand moves forward to grab a pen and open the file. The man sitting behind the desk extracts a booklet with the company’s name on top of it. The hand flips the pages and starts reading. When this page is flipped, the scene changes. 

This scene shows a child’s hand flipping papers and writing furiously on the paper.  Background score is of a clock ticking followed by the sound of a ringing bell. A woman’s voice is then heard saying ’Your time is up’. The hand compiles the answer sheet, flips through the pages and then writes on the top of the first sheet his name ‘Ali Hamza Mahmood’ under the heading which says ‘Matric Board Examination 2011’ and puts the pen down.

After this scene our title comes in ‘In Pursuit of Success’

Scene 2

A small kid (around the age of 10-11) with dirty feet in slipper can be seen (only) running on a road. The kid is then shown fully (long shot) running towards a wall. When he stops, he’s panting heavily and is standing against a wall right before it opens up to another street. Ali, slightly scared, peeks onto the next road- inspiration taken from the ‘The Kite Runner’s cover page- A macro shot of his eyes can be seen, darting from left to right and up and down. A certain excitement but sadness and a feeling of longing can be seen in his eyes. The kid is looking at a school, opening and the kids entering it. Ali looks at them for a moment, and then turns on his heels and runs back.

Scene3:

A younger kid, in his teen (15-16years) is washing a rickshaw. His mother calls out his name ‘Ali’ and he immediately stops and goes inside. He comes out-dressed in an old shirt, dirty jeans and worn out sneakers- after a few minutes, bids his mother goodbye and rides away. The scene cuts at this point and next a male adult, coming out of a different house and driving away in his car.

Scene 4

Later around mid day Ali can be seen sitting in his rickshaw on a very busy street. Even though it’s extremely hot, the roads are busy with traffic etc but Ali seems oblivious to it and seems to be studying intently. A woman comes to him, tells him where she need to go. Ali puts his books aside and starts driving the rickshaw. The female looks at his rickshaw with fascination. Her dressing is such that it seems she belongs to the upper middle class and is sitting in a rickshaw for the first time. She notices the books, looks at Ali curiously and asks ‘Whose book is this?’ and with this dialogue, the conversation starts between the two. The middle class woman finds it very fascinating that the kid is able to study without any guidance so she asks him why he is doing so. From the point of view of the woman, she is shown looking at Ali through the rear view mirror, only Ali’s eyes will be seen by the women and his voice will be heard. Here, the scene cuts as she asks this intense question to him and he looks at her with a wise look in his eyes and the scene changes from here.

Scene 5

Mr.Mahmood can be seen sitting in his office, reading a file. A colleague of Mr.Mahmood comes into his office and greets him. He hands him a file and sits on the chairs in front of his table. They start chatting for a few minutes after which the friend becomes quite and start observing Mr. Mahmood reading the file. He then say ‘I have to say man, u have the best luck in the world. I mean do you know I many times I applied for this job of yours? For three years but still didn’t get it! But you?! You got it the first time… amazing luck you have my friend!’. To this Mr. Mahmood looks up and smiles wisely and says ‘ I remember those days when I would sit under the faint light of the lantern or streetlight during many nights when the electricity would be cut off and would study..So don’t say ‘I have luck’ rather ask ‘how I made my luck’. He closes the file and signs his name on it…Ali Hamza Mahmood.

Scene 6

The scenes start with the adult Ali sitting in his car driving back home. He looks in the rear view mirror at his eyes and the has a flashback of a conversation he once had with a women in his rickshaw when she asked him if he needed any help and he had answered ‘Madam I would make my own luck one day and I will stand on my own feet one day and I will have my very own big car one day…I will work hard day and night and will become strong enough to overcome any obstacle and that one day is not too far away…Madam, u’ll see I will run after excellence until success chases me all the way till the end.after all life is a struggle…to add stuff.

Scene 7

The adult Ali stops his car in front of his house. He gets out and only his shoes are shown as he walks towards the door. A flashback of the small kids dirty feet running are showed after which the present adult Ali’s feet walking to the door is showed again. Next an over the shoulder medium close up shot of Ali is showed as the opens the door of the house. Then a flashback of when the small kid stops at the wall breathing heavily and panting and as he peeks around the corner to spy on the school and the kids and the camera does a macro focus on his eyes. Showing the sadness and longing in them. As the scene returns to focus on the present, Ali‘s aged hands can be seen opening the door and the mother coming to greet her son. Then only Ali’s eyes are shown in macro as he opens the door and the happiness and the satisfaction is seen in them.

The Music:  The music or background score would be a soft tempo beat. A soft music would help the story by developing it in a direction that it’s a serious story. The high and low pitch would give it the element of anxiety as well as excitement.

The locations:  The locations would vary according to the scenes. For example our first scene where only the hand of the two characters can be seen, the lighting would be almost the same; fluorescent. Since this type of lighting is very common in offices as well as examination room. Here our location would not really be seen. But rather through dialogues and props we would try to direct our audience.

The second scene shows a small child running in a street next to a long wall. Then he stops at a wall and turns around to look inside a narrow street. The location for this scene has to be exact to the requirement, so in order to show that the character is running and moving forward. Also the school has to be shown at morning time or afternoon time when they either collect together to go in or come out in groups.

The third scene of when Ali washes the rickshaw has to be shot in the house of a family that belongs to the lower middle class so we can use the houses of an actual rickshaw driver.

The office scene has to be shot in a real office building with a room were Ali works. Its not suppose to be to large nor to small. It should have a  door and a window.

The rickshaw scene requires to be shot on the road and sometimes from inside the rickshaw from the point of view of the women.

Likewise the car scene requires to be shot from inside the car, from the point of view of Ali and from the road as well.

The last scene as Ali walks towards his house would consists of ,macro shots of Ali’s feet walking towards a house. The house has to look like a upper middle class family house so either one of us partners house can be used.

The characters: We need to use three different characters for the characters of Ali Hamza Mahmood. Firstly the stage of his life where he is just a kid around the ages of 10-11. This kid has a very dirty messy poor boy look to him. He is seen wearing shorts and a shirt with slippers. His shirt has patches of dirt on it.

The second character is a teenage boy who seems to be dressed in jeans and a button down shirt and really old shoes. He doesn’t seem to be dressed all too well yet he can seem to be dressed neatly. He carries around with him a book of his Matric Board and is often seen to be reading it during any free time in the day. He is a well mannered kid who has self educated himself enough that to converse in English is easy for him. He respects his elders and his mother and is seen as a intelligent wise kid.

The third character is a middle age male who is intellectual, soft spoken and very well mannered. He is a likeable person. He represents Ali as he is in the present. He is well dressed, in dress pants and a coat as is seen to be employed at a high post in the office that he works. He’s not seen as arrogant or egoistic nor as a proud person.

Apart from Ali we have other supporting characters as well that we have to use in order to make our film. The characters of Ali’s mother who is a old women in her late 40’s. She is a mild mannered, soft nature loving and kind mother who cherishes her son. She loves her son dearly and sees him with pride as he struggles through with a smile on his face. She supports him in all that he does and is seen to be an encouraging boost for him.

Ali’s colleague is a friend of his who works in the same office as Ali does just on a different post. In the film he makes it clear that he was after Ails job for many years but that was when Ali was not yet employed and the job kept of firing and re hiring candidates since no one seems suitable for it. After Ali’s employment is friend is employed for another job. He and Ali become good friends. He is a likeable, humorous and a social person.

The rickshaw scene requires for a passenger who is a middle age, upper middle class women who has her first ever rickshaw ride. She is seen to be well dressed in expensive clothing. She educated enough. Her manner of speaking is with respect for the other person and she talks to Ali very politely. As Ali converses with her in English she is impressed by his manners as well as his English. She is very happy to learn that Ali is a hard working boy who studies as well as works. She tries to offer him some money so that he can study hard but he rejects it saying that the very fact that she feels proud to have been in a company of such an extraordinary boy and that his hard work would definitely lead him to success was his reward enough.

Other characters include the voice over of women in the examination room. Other children’s around the ages of 10-11 huddled around the school. The voice of a young custodian who hands Ali the file.

The look and Feel of the film: The film is very reality based with the present and the past shown simultaneously. In order to make sense of the film and not have our audience get confused, hazy and dissolve effects will be used. Changes in the lighting of the scene will be done.

Final synopsis

By Mahnoor Khalid and Aiza Yasir

Short Film

Genre: Drama

Title: In Pursuit of Happiness

The story revolves around a garbage collector's son, (name of the character) who despite his poor financial status is studying for the Matric Board Examination that is held every year in Pakistan. Despite the many problem he has to continuously face, he studies with all his might and will. Problems such as electricity and lack of finanacial resources to purchase books and notebooks- he has to make use of second hand books. Also with little food in the house, he has to share his food with other members of his family and study in congested rooms with his siblings interrupting him on and off.

Short film will show scenes of the son and his father working in the scorching heat collecting garbage and at any time when the boy finds himself free, he immediately  absorbs himself in studying. In another scene, we show him studying in his house when suddenly the electricity supply is cut off and he is unable to study, but he finds the alternate to that and studies under the lamp post light on the main road, studying with such concentration that the noise of the ongoing traffic does not bother him.

Any money he collects for working extra hard overtime he saves to pay for his Matric Examinations.

His efforts are fruitful and in the end he scores the second highest grades in the Matric board Examination all over Pakistan and this stirns an interest in all the educational sectors and the media who broad-cast this event widely. The boy is approached by various schools to become their student on full scholarship.

The short film idea has been inspired by the real life event of a scrap collector Qayanoos Khan, who is a resident of Azaad Kashmir currently.

The story would not just be about the boy and his struggle for studies, but there are a lot of other ways to look at it too; it would also convey the message of not giving up, to keep faith and keep believing that for what one is working so hard will eventually bear fruit.

The target audience for this media product would be the masses and it would reach them through television and internet e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Myspace etc. Local TV channels like GEO, HumTV and PTV etc. can air the video since it ould be something relating to the struggles and problem that the lower socio-economic class of Pakistan is going through. Moreover, the video can be advertised in newspapers as well. The age group would be from 12 onwards.

Teacher's comments: Much improved.

generate more ideas...

Generate more ideas...the more brain storming you do the more ideas you will get so keep on thinking.

Short Film

Genre: Drama

Title:  The Insight

In this short film we plan to show how our perception works in a different manner to other people,meaning to say we perceive people differently to what they actually are and we judge them according to our perception, we never truly see others for who they are but for who we think they are.

The story of the film is how this one man is perceived by everyone to have a negative character. We show a day of his life where he goes to his office where his employees perceive him as a very strict, rude and an uptight boss who makes compensations for no one and who does not care about anyone. At lunch, the Cafe that he goes to, the waiter over there also hesitates to take his order. Since that cafe is the one he goes to regularly, people over there also have a very negative perceived image like a person who does not really laugh or smile. Amongst his friends he is considered the boring and the non-adventurous one who does not indulge in anything exciting- even this man’s neighbors do not want to befriend him, they avail every chance they get to avoid him. Returning home will mark the conclusion of the film.

 As soon as he enters his home, his perceived character totally changes. He is now a very soft, calm, loving and a very polite person. When he enters his home, his close friends and relatives are already there and his true self comes forth when he is shown greeting them and spending time with them or we can show that at him home his young daughter awaits him and how is so calm and patient with her, indulging in her childlike games etc.

Target audience for this product would be the teenagers of the upper and the middle class,the lower class can view this as well but they might face problem in understanding it due to the language barrier in Pakistan- not everybody is able to understand English. However, overall this video can be seen by everyone, of any age group because this is something that is done by everyone therefore they can relate to it.

 It will be put up on YouTube but people belonging to category C (the low socio economic class) will not have access to internet so that limits our video to be seen by people belonging to category A and B. The idea behind this short film is Perception and how people judge others very wrongly which I think, so it is relatable to the viewer who would be viewing it, although we think that mostly teenagers would watch this video for they are more frequent users of YouTube etc however it can still be viewed and relatable for adults as well

The video can reach the target audience through internet by uploading it on YouTube. Since everybody these days has an access to internet, they can easily view it and also we can receive their feedback about the video via YouTube.

Media technologies used would be the camera and the editing software's.

Short Film

Genre: Drama

Title: In Pursuit of Success

We plan to work to on a short film that highlights the true events from a person’s life. Person we are going to base the film on is a young boy from a district of Azaad Kashmir- Qayanoos Khan, a garbage collector who scored the second position in Matric Board Examination. The film will highlight his hard work and struggle to attain the respectful position.

The video will be an inspiration for people like him and for those who are frustrated and hopeless about their situation in life.

The story would not just be about the boy and his struggle for studies, but there are a lot of other ways to look at it too; it would also convey the message of not giving up, to keep faith and keep believing that for what one is working so hard will eventually bear  fruit.

The film would start by showing people working at a garbage field in scorching heat- two of these men would be the boy(our main character) and his father. Later, during their lunch time, where they will be shown sharing their lunch, the boy would also be reading/studying simultaneously. This would give viewers an idea that he studies every time he gets a chance and how hard he is working. When scenes from their home will be shot, one of these scenes would show how, even when there is no electricity, the boy is devotedly studying and trying to fully concentrate on his studies.

The Target audience for this media product would be the masses and it would reach them through television and internet. Local TV channels like GEO, HumTV and PTV etc. can air the video since it would be something relating to the struggles and problem that the lower socio-economic class of Pakistan is going through. Moreover, the video can be advertised in newspapers as well.

Technologies needed for the creation of our project would be the cameras and editing software.

 

Synopsis

                                                                   

Idea 1: In my first idea I wanted to tell the story of failure, disappointment and defeat of a young man who is unable to get hold of a job due to his economic class and status. He tries to commit suicide so in order to put himself out of this misery but he just can’t. The reason being that he’s the only one in his household who is earning due to the death of his father, his ill mother and younger brother and sister.hes educated enough that he can speak English and understand it and is a fast learner but just because of his class is rejected from every job interview that he goes to. He goes onto a bridge where he views the city from some height looking at its vastness.hes about to commit suicide by jumping of the bridge but just at the last moment he stops and thinks that he’s not a loser but a fighter and fighters do not quit. He thinks that what’s wrong is not the world and its people, these things are just performing their function of ‘the rat race’ but the problem is with him, he’s thinking of himself as weak and vulnerable and if he thinks that his situation would never improve he’d never be able to pull himself up so he decides on a simple phrase ‘ the eyes go where the mind goes ‘and with a positive attitude, counting the blessings of his days, working hard and pushing the human limits that he knows that he can he climbs back down from the bridge he planned to commit suicide from and prepares himself for another day. We later show in the short film shots or images of his success, how he slowly starts to climb the ladder of success and support his family. His family is also one of the reason he does not commit suicide because he realizes that people who are fighters do not run way from their responsibilities but take them head-on.

Pros of this idea:

·         Almost reality based

·         Main one character so follows the conventions of a short film. Based in every day location and focuses on every day issues.

·         Targeting a low social economic class so a boy to play out the character can be easily found, the kids of the workers or maids at work place or homes can be used.

·         The entire shot would be shot in natural sunlight so no such electric lights would be required.

Cons of this idea:

·         Although the characters will have to be paid

·         Location wise shooting might be difficult cause scenes on the bridge so might need to use cranes or very high zoom lenses so can be expensive.

·         Excess Sound might be a problem like on-going traffic, people talking and also distractions of people who use that bridge etc.

Media audience

Our media audience would be all classes of Pakistan because it revolves around an issue that the lower social economic classes of Pakistan face every day and how it has magnified the difference between the people here who belong to middle or higher social classes and those who belong to lower social classes. The target audience since are Pakistanis they would easily understand urdu as that is are native language so the dialogues would be in urdu with English subtitles. This film would be played on TV as well as internet (YouTube) as people who are belonging to the upper class will also view it so they have internet access and probably every family in Pakistan owns a t.v although more research needs to be carried out on this. Posters and magazine reviews will also be there and contact number and info will be given on the posters as well as on TV and internet.

Media technology

The use of a camera, a movie camera, various zoom lenses and macro lenses, adobe premium etc.

Media agencies

Hum TV, Geo TV, PTV, Jang newspaper, Daily times, The Times etc

Media narratives

The short film would be approximately 5 minutes long, more or less. It will start with the boy standing outside his home with the letter of his saying that he did not get the job, he drops the latter, the camera focuses on the letter but also his feet which can be seen moving away, not towards the house but the opposite direction. The next scene show the kid on a busy road walking on the sidewalk where he climbs the staircase of the bridge. The next scene would be of his coming to the top and walking to the very middle of the bridge, he stand on the bridge facing the road, his shoulders resting in the railing, deep in thoughts then all of a suddenly he climbs the railing but just then he has a flash back of his mum feeding him and his siblings and he goes into deep thoughts of whether what he is doing is right or wrong he starts thinking. Here the camera would focus on his face with a narrative at the back. Then in the next scene we show him climbing down from the railing, down the staircase and heading home. Then the next scene would contain images of his success and that’s basically how we thought that we would shoot this idea.

Media category

Video

Media representation

The lower social economic class of Pakistan.

Idea 2 and Media narrative: my second idea will started like this; A young mother, a young father and a kid around the ages of 3 to 4 enters into a doctor’s room. The father ushers the kid to sit on the sofa telling him to play with his toys. The doctor greets the parents sadly, thanking them for coming on such short notice. When they all are seated the doctor tells them that he has some grave news to tell them, he looks at the women addressing her, telling her that her results came back showing that she has brain tumor, the husband wife look at each other gravely, horrified the doctor telling them that she needs immediate surgery and they don’t know if she will survive. The next scene shows her in the hospital bed and a close up of her face show only her eyes. With each blink a memory from her life is replayed in front of her eyes starting from her childhood where her mother is brushing her hair, then to when she becomes a young girl playing with her friends, then to when she turns into a beautiful women who is proposed and wedded, then when she become a mother. Then the doctor comes on prepping her up for surgery and the final sweetest memory of her childhood plays in front of her eyes where she is on the swings, she’s laughing while her mother is pushing her with a huge smile on her face and the young mother can’t even look at her child. She then goes into surgery and that’s where the scene cuts off leaving the audience in suspense if she survives the surgery or not .the last scene is of her in a garden, giving swings to her child, fully recovered. The idea was basically to show the love and struggle of a mother for her son.

Pros of this idea:

·         Clothes can be taken from the hospital or can also be easily sewn.

·         A simple young girl can be taken to play out the part .at the most 4 people need to be used.

·         Easy shooting due to ground level and smooth ground like the hospital floor.

Cons of this idea:

·         Difficulty in shooting like in the garden(shaky camera)

·         Need to take permission from a hospital to use a room and a few equipments.

Media audience

It will be for all classes so basically for the masses. mainly for women who are mothers .

Media technology

Software for editing like adobe premium, camera, movie camera.

Media agencies

YouTube, hum TV, Geo TV, magazine, Daily Times, The Times, Jang newspaper.

Media category

Video

Media representation

All women of Pakistan but also all mothers of Pakistan who work and struggle for their family.

My partner  Aiza's ideas 

Idea 1:

My first idea basically focuses on the ‘Rat-race’ that is going on everywhere (usually among teenage girls). The back biting, back stabbing, fake faces of people, their complexes and competitions-it would focus on all this. Complex and competition is common among so many people-everybody is worried about what clothes they wear, what designer’s bag they carry-the actual identity of a person is rotting away. Instead of our personalities, our materialistic possessions have started defining our identity. Even we, ourselves, don’t know who we are because we're engrossed in all the worldly things so much that we care more about what and how others think of us and mould ourselves accordingly every time.

Another idea we had in mind, focusing on the same concept, was inspired by a short-film made in India; 'Raasta' which tells a story of two boys begging for food and money and how one of them always gets it and the other is left behind. Anyways, coming back to the idea, the concept we wanted to show was that such a child observes the social class in our country and thinks of all the things mentioned above; how people are getting richer and richer by every passing day that they are losing their sense of humanity.

Pros:

 Locations and characters won’t be a problem. Video can be shot at school as well, or anywhere outside school. We can ask girls from our batch, emphasizing on girls from the Dramatics society to volunteer for acting out in our video, this might give us an edge since we want to focus more on visuals and facial expressions rather than dialogues and a whole script, they might be able to exhibit the idea properly through their acting,

Cons:

However, since the idea is very general and we might need a vast cast, and many of girls might not be able to act out willingly.
As for the second idea, we would need to shoot almost all of our scenes on the roadside which can prove to be difficult with the ongoing traffic and everything. Moreover, getting permission to shoot somewhere outside like this might be a problem. As we would be shooting outdoors, the entire schedule would depend on the weather and lighting, e.g. shooting in bright sunlight would be a bad idea as the video would be too much overly exposed. Hence, dependability on weather and outdoor scenarios increases.

Media Audience:
The product would be focusing people from high social-economic class, females to be specific, since so much competition is mostly common among females. As for the second option of the same idea, focusing on everybody from the same economic class would make more sense rather than emphasizing on just one group. 

Our media product would reach the targeted audience through televisions, internet-since the focus is on the high economic class, they would obviously have an access to the internet-the video can be uploaded on YouTube, this way getting feedback from the audiences would also be easier. Moreover, the video can be advertised through English newspapers and magazines.
Technologies:
Technologies that we would be using would be our cameras and software’s for film making and editing. 

Idea2:
This idea was inspired by a short film from YouTube, titled 'Memories'. The video was focused on the memories that a person creates in their lifetime. Hence, my idea was to focus on memories of school life of an individual as it is one of the most prominent memories in one's life. Another main reason for choosing school life memories was also because for me, the time of my school life holds great significance. Coming back to the idea, we would be focusing on an individual's memories and showing them through a flashback-starting from their childhood till their graduation.
Pros:
The video can be very easily shot in school since building, students, and all there is to create an association is present within the four boundaries of the school. Moreover if we work within the school it would be easier for us to borrow a film making camera from the school.
Cons: 
As we need to show the childhood time in our video, we would be needing to use juniors and getting the permission to make them act in them movie can be difficulty since they have fixed timetables. The main disadvantage of making such a film can be that not everybody has a shiny school life, some people are actually bullied and left behind during their entire academic years, therefore the video might not fulfill the purpose an meaning completely. 
Media audience: 
The target audience for this media product would be the youngsters-students of all ages who could easily relate to this. Apart from these youngsters, even if any elderly person would watch the video he/she would also be able to relate to it. However, the main focus still remains on the youth. 
Videos can be uploaded of YouTube; channels like MTV that the youngsters are likely to watch could play the video on their channel. Since the film would be related to the student life, reviews could be given in the magazines that are circulated among different institutions.
Technologies: 
Camera and editing software’s.