TREATMENT

Working title - The Optimist.

Genre - Short music video/visual composition
Target Audience - I consider myself to have 2 target audiences. The first
one being future employees, as this project is essentially a show reel
piece to show skills and progression. On the other hand I feel I have an
online audience whom will enjoy my final piece from an entertainment
perspective. Through extensive research I concluded that this audience
would be male and females, aged 15-35.
Outline - In a black and white world, starting out his day like no other,
The Optimist sits motionless in a classroom as those around him pass like
a blur. As the music kicks in (around 10 seconds in) The Optimist is
unexpectedly transported to an empty beach. In a dream like daze he
looks around before rushing off, eager to explore the new world. After a
series of jump cuts and mild adventures, The Optimist reaches for a
flower. It gains a fluorescent hue and animation under his touch. He drops
it to the ground in shock and it returns to its black and white previous
demeanour. There's something undoubtedly different about The Optimist.
Excited and bewildered he journeys through the world, adding colour to
rivers and oceans, clouds and skylines. As the day draws to a close and
the sun begins to set, The Optimist finds himself a bike and rides off into
the sunset. A feeling of belonging pulsing through his veins.
Character Breakdown - The Optimist is an animated boy, living in a
very real world. His real name is unknown yet he is referred to as The
Optimist due to this power to physically see and add brightness to any
and every situation with the power of touch. Attending college as a
student, The Optimist is 17 years old. He struggles to fit in and
communicate with others around him. There's something different about
him and it's only through a series of unexpected events that we discover
exactly what it is that makes him so special.
Visual Elements

Lighting: A large majority of shots will be outdoors, meaning no lighting

should be required on set.
Camera Movement: Still shots are required for this production as in
post the animation will need to be overlaid onto the real footage. Any

camera movement would cause complications as well as continuity

errors as 2 shots of each scene is needing to be taken (one with and
one without The Optimist).
Editing: Key parts of the story are going to be edited to synchronise
with the music, supporting the film as a visual composition. A lot of
jump-cuts will be used also to speed up the story-telling process. This is
important due to the fact it is only going to be a 1 minute film. Time is
of the essence.
Setting: The production is set in an empty seaside town. Empty being
the key word here. I need to ensure all shots and frames contain no
one other than The Optimist himself. It is set by the seaside as it has a
calming, comforting feel to it. Although The Optimist has been thrown
into this new, strange world, we can assume it's a safe place due to the
unthreatening setting of a seaside town.
Actors: Only one actor is required. Aidan Blackett is going to be starring
as The Optimist. I will be tracing the live footage containing Aidan to
create my rotoscoped animation which will give us: The Optimist.
Props: Few props are required. A bike, a flower and an umbrella. All of
which are things I have access to and own.
Costume: No set costume or dress code is necessary. A plain t-shirt is
ideal to make things easier in post production, aside from that a simple
pair of jeans and trainers is more than appropriate. The more casual
the better.

Audio Elements

Music: The first 1 minute of the song 'Zero' by Last Dinosaurs is going
to be used in The Optimist.
Effects/Foley: Sound effects aren't a necessity but they are a
consideration. If I have enough time toward the end of this production I
will definitely consider adding some effects to add realism to the film
as well as widen my knowledge and skill set in terms of audio.

Rationale - I believe this idea will make for a good project as it requires
and encourages personal progression. Before beginning unit 12 and 13 I
had little to no knowledge on animation and colour. Through research and
technical exploration I am now in a place where I am able to produce my
idea. It is going to be a challenge and countless skills will be acquired on
this journey from patience to rotoscoping, design and editing. I will be
learning new software's like After Effects and using new equipment like a
Wacom tablet. This whole project is going to act as a huge learning
experience. Aside from this I feel it will also benefit my future studies. I am
going to university shortly to study graphic design. In a way, this idea

includes graphics, putting my new-found skills to practice. 720 drawings

will make up this animation and I find this terrifying yet strangely exciting.
Requirements & Resources - A number of resources and requirements
will be needed for this project. They include:

Cast and crew: Aidan as The Optimist, myself as camera operator,

producer and director.
Equipment: Canon 600d with Canon kit lens, tripod, 32GB SD card,
camera batteries and charger, portable hard drive, Wacom tablet.
Software: Adobe Flash CS6, Adobe After Effects, Sony Vegas.
Location: Filming will take place at St Bees beach. This is an area fully
open to the public and therefore no permission or authorisation will be
required prior to the shoot.

Constraints and Contingency - As with any other production, I am

likely to stumble across some issues or problems along the way.

File conversion: Adobe Flash CS6 only accepts videos in .flv format.
This means I am going to have to convert all of my files which may
take up some time and result in quality loss.
Lost files or footage: To ensure this doesn't happen I have decided to
back my footage up at multiple locations; my home PC, Google drive, a
portable hard drive and on the college media drive. Whilst animating
Adobe Flash CS6 has a built in auto-save and recovery feature which
saves your file every 10 minutes.
Continuity and editing: Two shots will be required for each scene of my
production. This is so that I am able to trace the footage for my
rotoscoped animation, before overlaying it onto real footage. For these
two shots the camera should remain in the exact same position
otherwise errors and issues may be met. A lot of creative thinking and
envisioning will be required on set.

Legal and Ethical Considerations

Copyright: As music is vital for my visual composition/music video

production, I have had to be very wary of copyright. The song I am
going to be using is 'Zero' by Last Dinosaurs, and the lead vocalist has
given me permission to use this song within my project.

Budget - No budget is required for this film aside from travel costs.

1 adult return ticket from Carlisle to St Bees = 13.10