Treatment – ‘The Present Past’ (Opening title sequence)
Our opening title sequence will involve mainly one character. This is the character
Benedict Black who I have described in my treatment for the overall film. The opening
title sequence will consist of Benedict Black sitting at a desk. He will be cutting things
out, writing on things, flicking through pages, and he will be doing all these creative
things. We will also add some shots that involve a candle burning some things (or a
lighter) and also ink may drop into water in slow motion. Throughout all these shots you
will not see his face or his body, you will only see his hands when they are making and
creating all the stuff. The shots will also be captured in only close-ups, extreme close-ups
and point of view shots. This is also so the location remains unknown and the
character’s identity remains unknown. We have some specific ideas for shots such as an
extreme close-up of the corner of Benedict Black’s eye where there will be a couple of
tear drop’s tattooed. This will show that he has been to prison in his past life and the
tears represent how many people he has killed but it is still fairly unknown so it is left
ambiguous for the audience. Another planned shot is where there will be a candle
dripping wax over a religious symbol like a cross. This will symbolize that he is religious
and is a clue for the narrative that could happen later on.
There will be a quick pace between all the shots shown to make it dramatic and
suspenseful and these types of shots will be similar to how the shots are presented in
the opening title sequence for ‘se7en’ as the ideas are similar. After lots of the shots are
shown there will be an over the shoulder shot on the character Benedict Black but the
camera is pointing towards his front and filming over his shoulder instead of filming
over his shoulder from the back. You will still not see Benedict Black’s face, you just see
his shoulder but in the background there is someone sitting down tied up in a chair.
There is then a mid-shot of Benedict Black standing up from his chair and a close-up of
his hand picking up a knife from the table. There is then another mid-shot of him
walking over to the person tied up. Then there is a close-up of the person’s face who is
sitting down. This is to show their emotions as they are supposed to look really scared.
There is then a close-up of the knife getting closer to them but then at the last second
Benedict Black uses the knife to cut the rope that is tying their hands together instead of
hurting them with it and then he hands them a small present or package that is sealed
and then the opening title sequence finishes there.
Location – The group decided that the location where we are filming would be at my
house. This is because there are lots of rooms, which would be ideal for the type of
opening title sequence that we want to film in terms of space and lighting.
Lighting- The lighting of the whole opening title sequence will be fairly dark to give an
eerie effect but Benedict Black will have a lamp on his desk to light up his work place.
Soundtrack- We have not chosen a soundtrack yet but we will pick something that is
quiet at the start and increases in pace and volume towards the end to give a dramatic
climax as the present is passed to the person who is kidnapped. There will be a few
sound effects here and there on top of the music. This will also make the setting seem
more on edge and creepy.
Costumes and Props- You will not see much costume at all because the opening title
sequence focuses on the objects on the desk and Benedict Black’s hands but the costume
of the other person tied up will be fairly normal or casual clothing. If the person tied up
is a woman then their make-up will be running from their face. The props will involve all
the objects on the desk such as the pictures, scissors, books, candles, pens, knife and also
the rope used to tie the other person, the present/package and also the desk.