Joe D’acinto

MK ULTRA Feature Film Adaptation Treatment

Working Title:​ MK ULTRA

Format:​ Feature Film

Film Genre: ​Thriller/Mystery

Film Style:​ Mockumentary, Film Noir

Tagline:​ The ultra experiment and mystery of the century.

Total Running Time: ​120 minutes

Synopsis:

CIA Execute Agent, Jason Smith, gets offered a new position senior position at project MK Ultra
to run the next set of experiments for subproject 8 on selected test subjects hand picked by the
US Government from the American public in secret. Jason Smith accepts the new senior
position for project MK ULTRA and is tasked to run and regulate the next LSD trial. On the day
of the trial despite delays in obtaining the right combination of drugs Jason Smith authorises the
experiment and the test subject is injected with very doses of LSD-25. Within hours the
experiments goes wrong as the mental patient reacts negatively, losing total control over his
emotions and behaviour. The mental patient attempts to escape injuring two scientists before
Jason Smith terminates the experiment. Jason Smiths reports the findings to Mr. Sidney
Gottlieb, Chief agency’s technical services division operating the project. From this day forward
Jason Smith attempts to go undercover to discover the dark secrets the project entails.

Key Characters:

Jason Smith - Protagonist, CIA Execute Agent working in cooperation with secret services for
over 10 years. Very unlikable and treated negatively by his work colleagues. Seeks to discovers
the untold mysterious cold hearted truths behind the MK Ultra project. Emphatic character, the
audience understands the emotions that drive the character.

Mr Gottlieb - Antagonist, chief of agency’s technical services division for CIA. Operates and
presidates the MK Ultra project. Truly believes in mastering the black art of brainwashing before
chinese and soviet union during the cold war. Considers the project completely humane and
important for the freedom of United States of America. Antipatic character, the audience wants
the character to get what they deserve.
Joe D’acinto

Michael Buntal - Jason’s Work Partner. Closest friend to Jason Smith and works cooperatively
on the MK Ultra project. Shares formal disagreements about the ethical and moral arguments
against the operation of the experiments along with Jason Smith. Believes the project could
undergone major reform and improvements in health and safety standards instead of being
completely scrapped.

Target Audience: ​Primarily aimed towards​ ​males and females aged 15 to 40, all religion and
race. Socioeconomically groups C1 and above. Psychographically aimed towards the explorer,
those driven by a need for discovery, and the aspirer, those who care more about what others
think. Secondary target audience could be psychographically aimed towards the mainstream,
the current thought that is widespread.This may apply to socioeconomic groups D and C2. The
film will also target to audiences geographically situated in North America and Europe.

Soundtrack: ​A soundtrack should be produced and recorded that fits within the
atmosphere,tone and narrative of the film. This will mostly be played in the background at
certain times to enhance the build up of tension and suspense in relation the events unfolding in
the particular scene. Sound will play a key role in portraying the appropriate meaning to the
audience.

Special FX/CGI:​ Significant amount of practical effects will be used on film set to accurately
create the illustration of the scene based around the direction’s vision and intentions. Practical
effects techniques such as prosthetic makeup, pyrotechnics for the appearances of fire and
explosions, as well as squbs to create the illustration of gunshots could be used for achieve the
appropriate illustration and portraying of characters and the events unfolding around them. In
conjunction with computer-generated imagery to digitally enhance certain practical effects that
were used during production.

Narrative Structure: ​The story of the feature film will be played in linear chronological structure
that follows the basic three act structure. Act 1, Jason Smith is offered a new position on the MK
Ultra and gets first inside glimpse into the secret project. Act 2, Jason attempts to dig deeper
into the mysteries surrounding mk ultra and experiments and discovers Mr Gottlieb true
intentions. Act 3, Mr Gottlieb falsely frames Jason Smith for leaking of CIA documents. Jason
becomes the next subject for experiment that goes wrong. CIA shutdown project temporary.
Undergoes major reform. Throughout the film there will a series of post-modern twists that will
take place altering the overall storyline of the film.

Location: ​Feature film to be entirely set in United States. Major locations for the film include
CIA Headquarters building, Jason ‘s House and Office. Private science institution where the
experiments are held.

Legal issue: ​The regulator responsible for regulating all films being distributed to cinema or
DVD are the BBFC. They classified the films on age rating based on the content and context of
the film. Based on the content in this short film the BBFC would age classified this as a 15
Joe D’acinto

based on current guidelines. The guidelines for a 15 age rated film state violence may be strong
not dwell on infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be
unacceptable. Strong sadistic violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. Strong language.

Marketing:

Prior to the release of the film 6 months in advance a series of teaser and full length trailers will
be released to create awareness for the film. 6 months before the release the first teaser trailer
will be released online and in cinemas across the globe followed by a second teaser trailer that
reveals more information about the characters, however, no real details included on the plot of
the film will be released 2 months later. Finally, a final official trailer lasting 2 minutes and 30
seconds will be released consisting of more visual information about the characters and plot will
be released following a similar plot. Due to the context of the film and no sequel that will follow
after the release of the first film there won’t be any merchandising or event promotions. Instead
a new viral marketing campaign will be launched 1 week before the release. 10 second
snapchat clips containing hints of the film’s storyline and characters will be released once a day
building up to the release date.

Style:
The film will mostly be shot and edited in the style of a film noir drama film. Low key lighting will
be used in most scenes that involve drama. Where mainly the subject will be lit and everything
else in the background left unlit to create negative connotations and add depth to the scene.
The film will be shot similar to a documentary containing interviews of characters involved with
the project. Each will tell their point of view of the story meaning the overall story timeline will
switch from past to future before it all connects together by the end of the film.

Casting:
The cast representing the characters in the film will not be very well known famous actors. This
is because it adds to the element of the characters involved keeping the identity hidden and
unknown while participating in the event. The target audience should have little understand of
the actors in the film because it may can take away the mystery feel while watching it.