Chloe Lashley

Treatment
Production:
Our short film is called Replica as it depicts a protagonist who struggles with his
own identity and copes by adopting the persona of other people. The production will
last approximately 5 minutes and will carry the audience on a journey of personal
character development as we are producing a drama/thriller. In terms of advertising,
we have created accounts on social media such as Snapchat and Twitter simply
because considerable amounts of our target audience (aged 15-35 years) belong to
the younger generation. It is common knowledge that social media has become a
huge part of young peoples lives; therefore it benefits a small production company
such as ourselves to advertise Replica on popular platforms. In addition, both
Snapchat and Twitter are fairly easily to use and comprehend so the older members
of our target audience would be able to access our methods of advertisement. Also,
we plan on utilising YouTube to market our product in particularly before the trailers
of other films of a similar genre to ours. This would attract fans of drama/thriller films
to our film, especially because YouTube is one of the most visited websites on the
Internet daily. Another way to maximise the chance of attracting our target audience
would be to use magazines or even newspapers like The Metro as they contain
sections for all ages and a wide range of people read them.
Genre:
We have opted to execute a cross-genre of drama and thriller as our initial idea
covered areas of the two genres. Replica is classified as a drama because viewers
are able to relate to the protagonist Adam as they are exposed to real-life situations
when following his personal life. The thriller element is introduced when the audience
see the dark side of Adam and how he adopts aggressive and emotional behaviours
from the surrounding characters. In addition, our production will keep viewers on the
edge of their seats as they worry about Adams safety and whether he will decide to
finally be true to himself. Choosing to create a cross-genre is beneficial to us as we
are able to attract fans of both genres; this widens our target audience. Also, both
drama and thriller films are popular with all ages so our short film has the potential to
be successful.
Duration:
The duration of our film is five minutes simply because our task is to produce a short
film. Although five minutes is not a very long time, we still aim to take the audience
on a journey and allow them to develop alongside our protagonist. We want the
audience to be intrigued all the way through and fully comprehend the narrative.
Target Audience:
The target audience for our production are both males and females aged 15 to 35.
We are not specifically aiming our product at one gender, as we believe that our

Chloe Lashley

production contains elements that both genders will equally enjoy. Males can relate
to the protagonist and see the world through his eyes whereas females can side with
the emotional, fragile female character. Our product is aimed at those who belong to
the socio-economic groups C1, C2, D and E because people who belong to these
classes are more likely to go to the cinema or stream films. Also, we have targeted
these people by setting our production in urban locations making it relatable to our
audience; our actors also belong to these classes. To add, the people in the higher
socio-economic groups such as Group A may not have the time to go to the cinema
and watch our short film.
Replica deals with mature themes such as mental illness and violent scenes hence
why the age certification is 15. We wish to attract a mass audience from the age 15
and upwards with the incorporation of various codes and conventions from both
genres.
Outline:
The short film begins with a quote that is crucial is supporting the audiences
understanding of the narrative. The quote states, The first four people you see every
day, you become most like. The camera then focuses on Adam walking through the
park before passing a male character with demonic characteristics called Damon.
Flashing back to his recent past, we reveal him in the centre of a room surrounded
by upside down crosses on each wall. Due to Adams mental illness and incapability
to accept himself, he sees this as the way to behave and audience members witness
Adam become obsessed with the dark, demonic way of life. The audience are then
taken back to Adams stroll through the park where he passes a male character that
possesses aggressive tendencies. We are introduced to the aggressive character
called Myles back story by showing a scene where he appears to be violent towards
a female. Adam sees this as he passes him and adopts his aggressive behaviour by
repetitively stabbing a pillow with a knife. By this point, the audience should be clear
of the struggles that Adam faces as a character and be able to feel sympathy for his
current situation. The last character that Adam replicates is a female suicidal
character called Saura; the audience are exposed to her life story followed by
Adams interpretation of her. A slight twist occurs at this point as we rewind to the
beginning of the production and Adam comes to the realisation that he has judged
everyone wrongly. Instead, he is the only one with the problem and the film ends with
him staring at his reflection before smashing the mirror. This gives the audience the
lasting impression and message to accept yourself for who you truly are.
Character Breakdown:
Adam Protagonist and the first character that the audience see. A male in his late
adolescence who struggles with self-acceptance, he copies the behaviour of people
he sees on a walk through the park.

Chloe Lashley

Myles Black male character in his late adolescence too with anger problems and
influences the protagonist to act violently.
Saura Female character, Oriental looking and is emotionally broken; she is
portrayed as being on the verge of suicide.
Damon Male demonic character who is struggling to stay sane; he sits in the
middle of a room surrounded by upside down crosses and newspaper clippings.
(Play on words, Damon is close to Demon)
Actors:
The actors that we have chosen have previous experience acting and have shown
an interest towards taking part in our production; they are aware of how we want it
executed. For example, Saura who is played by Christine Sanford currently takes
Drama as an A Level and can act to a high standard.
Visual elements:
Lighting:
In our short film, the lighting will vary depending on which characters story we are
following. At the beginning, there will be high key lighting as it opens in the park
during the day following Adams journey. Also, the high key lighting allows the
audience not to anticipate any sudden changes so when the lighting eventually
changes, it will signify a change in the narrative. The first change in terms of lighting
occurs during Damons story and it becomes darker to represent his dark and
depressed nature. As there will be a clear difference in lighting levels, we need to
ensure that our film still looks professional as well as that the audience are able to
fully see the characters when they need to. In order to successfully do this, we may
have to manipulate the lighting during the editing process.
Camerawork:
We plan on incorporating a variety of shots and angles in order to keep the audience
intrigued throughout our short film. As Replica follows the personal journey of the
protagonist Adam, it is important to include a point of view shot to allow the audience
to see the world through his eyes as well as become closer to his character. Some
shots are crucial for the development of our film such as a two shot to see the
interaction between two characters. Also, we need to ensure that we use different
angles. For example, a high angle can portray Adam as weak and vulnerable ion his
most insecure moments. The choices of shots and angles used will be well
considered as each must help portray a message to our target audience.
Editing:
To edit our short film, we will be using the Final Cut Pro X software. Although editing
is the last process that our film will be going through, it is essential that our film is

Chloe Lashley

edited to a high standard for many reasons. Firstly, our audience needs to
understand the narrative and be able to follow it easily. Also, the outcome needs to
look professional in order to attract our audience. To add, as our short film contains a
few flashbacks, it is crucial that the audience understand that we are showing past
events. Therefore, we may have to consider adjusting the colour of the flashback
clips in order to make this clear. Most importantly, as we only have approximately 5
minutes to portray the whole narrative, it is important that we do not include
unnecessarily long clips as it would be wasting time when we could perhaps add a
shorter clip to help support the audiences understanding.
Setting:
As previously stated, we will begin our film in the park which is a public place so
factors such as noise and other people will have to be taken into consideration. We
will also film in places such as the home of the protagonist as well as the homes of
the other characters. Other places that we are currently discussing include a train
station, the local high street, alleyways and subways.
Props:
The props that will be incorporated are mobile phones simply because our film
contains youth and members of the younger generation are known for constantly
staying connected using their mobile phones. Newspaper clippings amongst other
things will be needed for the flashback scene containing Damon. A knife and pillow is
essential for the scene where Adam copies the behaviour of Myles and externalises
his aggression. For the final scene, a mirror is needed that will be smashed by
Adam. We are still conferring about additional props for our film.
Costume:
Our characters are all in their late adolescence therefore, this needs to be reflected
in the clothes that they wear. However, each individual will have to wear clothing that
also represents their character. For instance, Damon may be placed in a black
tracksuit as black connotes darkness/his characteristics and tracksuits are commonly
worn by teenagers or members of the younger generation.
Audio elements:
Sound:
We will be incorporating a voiceover spoken by the protagonist to give the audience
an insight into his true thoughts and feelings. Using this method also allows us to
focus on filming and add the dialogue later, even cut out or re-record the dialogue. It
also means that we do not have to worry about the sound levels for dialogue during
the filming process. Non-diegetic music will be added during the editing process.
Music is extremely important when trying to convey a specific message to the
audience; we need to remember that our film is also a thriller so our music needs to

Chloe Lashley

create a thrilling atmosphere. Sound effects will also be incorporated to add to the
realism of our film.
Representations:
We have decided to include typical conventions of the drama genre by making the
protagonist Adam relatable to younger members of our target audience. It becomes
perfectly clear that Adam suffers from a mental illness and as a teenage boy under
the pressure of society, it is not uncommon. Representing him in this way allows
people to look upon his situation and perhaps make changes in their lives or how
they see people with mental illnesses. Saura and Damon both play characters with
deep and dark personas which add to the thriller element of our film. Portraying them
both in this particular way helps to show the lives of people in society who do not
necessarily fit in with the crowd. Each character is presented as vulnerable in their
own way to help raise awareness about certain situations but also to break away
from the stereotypes formed by society.
Institution:
Our production company is called Enigma Studios. We decided on
this name collectively because enigma means mystery and we are
executing a drama/thriller; it can be interpreted that a mystery lies
within Replica. Also, the name is not too long or complicated for
our audience to remember, in fact our production companys name
is catchy and easily to recall. This is essential when competing for
the attention of our target audience, especially competing against
all the other small production companies.
We chose this specific picture for our logo because it is eye-catching and should
captivate our audiences attention. It depicts a woman with a supernatural element
and should intrigue the audience to discover more about our production company.