Revised Treatment: Too Late

Writer: Nick Medina

Title: Too Late

Log Line: A boy's problems flashes before his eyes as he attempts to commit suicide by hanging himself. He then realizes he doesn't want to kill himself but it's too late as he kills himself.

Treatment:

The boy's eyes are cold and are teary. There is a rope around his neck. He is standing on a chair. He stands there for a long time thinking. He is in his garage in the middle of empty space. The boy's hand grabs his face as he squints to think. Tears flow down his cheeks. He looks back at the door to see if anyone is coming. He looks back down at the chair.

Flashback to boy's memories. The boy's girlfriend slaps him across the face in slow motion and then walks away

Flashes to a principal yelling at the boy in her office, but all the boy hears is a muffled voice in the background. The principal is cut off at the neck as she is wearing a suit. The boy is looking down, staring into blank space when the word "Expulsion" comes into focus for the boy as he looks up.

Flashes back to another memory father in background with a belt in hand and a beer in the other and is laughing. The boy is in the foreground and the ground and has tears in his eyes. There is a look of sadness in his eyes.

Flashes to memory of police officer handcuffing him in the street. The lights of the police car are flashing in the background. The boy looks back to the camera with a look of disgust and anger.

Cuts back to boys eyes in the garage as he painfully closes his eyes. He looks at the door one last time. He looks back down at the chair. In slow motion, he kicks the chair out from under him.

Just as he kicks the chair, the boy's memory flashes back to a good memory of him with his girlfriend. She brings him a cake lit with candles as it is his birthday and gives him a kiss. They are both smiling as he blows out the candles.

The blowing of the candles turns to flash back to present time. The boy's eyes widen. He reaches for the chair to save his life. He flexes his neck so that the rope won't kill him. His feet barely touch the chair when they stop moving. It is too late for the boy to save his life.


Locations:
1. Garage
2. Sidewalk (daytime)
3. Principal's Office
4. Living Room of House
5. Street/Ally
6. Kitchen of House


Props/Wardrobe:
1. Chair
2. Rope
3. Suit for principal
4. Belt
5. Beer
6. Some sort of police uniform
7. Handcuffs
8. Something for police lights
9. Cake with candles


Actors:
1. Boy (teen)
2. Principal (including voice recording) (female adult)
3. Girlfriend (teen)
4. Dad (including voice recording) (adult)
5. Policeman (male adult if possible)

Treatment: Too Late

Nick Medina

Title: Too Late

Log Line: A boy's problems flashes before his eyes as he attempts to commit suicide by hanging himself. He then realizes he doesn't want to kill himself but it's too late as he kills himself.

Treatment:

The boy's eyes are cold and are teary. There is a rope around his neck. He is standing on a chair. He stands there for a long time thinking. He is in his garage in the middle of empty space. The boy's hand grabs his face as he squints to think. Tears flow down his cheeks. He looks back at the door to see if anyone is coming. He looks back down at the chair.

Flashback to boy's memories. He is in the principal's office of his high school. The principal is yelling at the boy. But all the boy hears is a muffled voice in the background. The principal is cut off at the neck as she is wearing a suit. The boy is looking down, staring into blank space and ignoring the principal. The principal continues to yell, while the boy is lost in his thoughts. The principal finally yells "Expulsion" as it comes into focus for the boy as he looks up.

Flashes back to another memory of boy running away from home. He has a backpack on. The voice of his parents yelling at him is in the background. He runs down the street and into the alley in slow motion. He looks back. He stops in the alley and falls to the ground. His parent's voices echo in his head as they come to a climax. The boy then screams. His eyes show his anger.

Flashes to memory of boy being caught by the police. He is in the street. An officer swarms him as he is pushed to a wall. The police officer handcuffs him. The lights of the police car are flashing in the background. The boy looks back to the camera with a look of disgust and anger.

Cuts back to boys eyes in the garage as he painfully closes his eyes. He looks at the door one last time. He looks back down at the chair. In slow motion, he kicks the chair out from under him.

Just as he kicks the chair, the boy's memory flashes back to a good memory of him at his house. His family is there and it is his birthday. There is a cake in front of him and the candles are lit. Both of his parents are smiling. The boy is laughing and having fun for once. The sing and celebrate as he blows out the candles.

The blowing of the candles turns to flash back to present time. The boy's eyes widen. He reaches for the chair to save his life. He flexes his neck so that the tope won't kill him. His feet barely touch the chair when they stop moving. It is too late for the boy to save his life.






Locations:
1. Garage
2. Principal's Office
3. Street/Ally
4. Street #2
5. House


Props/Wardrobe:
1. Chair
2. Rope
3. Suit for principal
4. Backpack
5. Some sort of police uniform
6. Handcuffs
7. Something for police lights
8. Cake with candles


Actors:
1. Boy
2. Principal (including voice recording)
3. Mom (including voice recording)
4. Dad (including voice recording)
5. Policeman

Beginning of Short Film Process

I want to base my film off the genres of thriller, film noir, suspense type genres or even a blend between the two. I think this would be a strength for me because last year we studied a horror unit in depth and this year we studied the film noir unit in depth. Both of these units have taught me key genre conventions that I can incorporate into my film.

A possible log line/idea for my short film for IB could be:
A boys problems flash before his eyes in an attempt to commit suicide. He realizes his life is valuable, but is too late as he kills himself.

Flow Chart:

Boy is in garage standing on chair with rope around neck.

Cuts to montage of flashbacks of him
1. Boy being expelled from school.
2. Boy running away from parents yelling at him,
3. Boy being handcuffed by police.

Cuts back to real time as tears are coming out of eyes. He kicks chair out from under him.

Cuts back to flashback of good memory of love of family when it is his birthday.

Cuts back to real time as boy tries to stop killing himself. Boy reaches for Chair but is too late as he dies.

Short Film Ideas: "Down"

The short film that I watched is called "Down". What I like about it is that it is abstract. It keeps acting and dialogue to a minimum. It also has minimal details so that the main idea is simple. These were the problems of my my last short film: too much acting, dialogue, details. I have to remember that this is only a 5 minute film and simple is better. The genre of this short film is film noir, thriller, scary, etc. I want my film to fit somewhere in those genres. The film "Down" right away begins with long takes, creating slow pacing and suspense. It has simple score, yet it is used effectively to emphasize the thriller type genre. I like how it is in black and white. Also, the shots are similar to film noir in that the shots through the elevator and like the venetian blinds.















The boy is seeing all horrible versions of himself as he travels down the elevator past each floor. The set design is simple, and only one actor is used with variations at each floor. As the boy sees himself, there are eye line matches that show his feeling and build suspense. It also contributes to the slow pacing.














The film also isn't a reflection of reality ad this boy is seeing possible roads of his life. It is a cool way to show possibly his thoughts and inner conflicts. When he reaches his destination, it is like he is back to reality. I like how in the end there isn't quite a resolution. It leaves the viewer hanging and left to think about the film. I like how the ending doesn't have to be quite a climax but rather and simple ending. I think this short film has taught me that simplicity is better for just a 5 minute film.This is the ending shot of the film.

Genre: James Bond

The James Bond films have been so frequent and popular that they have become their own genre. The movies are all based on books by Ian Fleming. In every movie there is the classic James Bond character. It has always been a challenge to cast Bond, but they are all similar. The Bond character always has style, wearing a black and white tux. He has sex appeal, attracting ultra-enticing women, whether they are good or bad. There is that damsel in distress which James Bond has to save. He is a secret agent and kills people with ease. He often has gadgets, drinks tasteful alcohol, and gambles in the casino. People who have played James Bond were Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and Pierce Brosnan. James Bond films have a theme song and opener that audiences can immediately recognize that it is James Bond. There are always action sequences that are underwater using boats, airborne in planes, and on land through use of cars in exotic places.


And of course there is always the evil villain who can't kill Bond no matter how many henchmen he sends. Bond always defeats the villain. Some of the best Bond films are Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only, From Russia with Love, and Dr. No.

Avatar

1. Production: What challenges did James Cameron have in realizing his vision?

Cameron didn't want his film to be a science-fiction movie. He wanted it to be more like an fantastical action and adventure film. He created the idea of the film in 1990, but technology wasn't advanced enough. So he had to wait until 2009 to make his vision come true.

2. Creating the Virtual World: What was the process used in creating Pandora?

Pandora was ll digitally created. It reflected a lot of what our planet is like but more fantastical. It is all tropical rainforest.

3. Performance Capture verses Motion Capture: How has performance caputure changed the filmmaking process?

The film is not animated. It physically is the actor's performances and isn't just digitally created. That way, it made the actor's performance realistic and unique to them. They used CGI technology so that actors didn't have to do hours of makeup. Actors can play any character designed on the computer. Cameras capture the performance of a character and translate it to a digital character. Their faces were photographed so they would match avatars. Then actors were put in suits with markers on them with multiple cameras in the room from different angles. The computer creates a realtime moving skeleton from the actor. The computer generated character is applied to the skeleton. That way digitally created characters are almost as realistic as regular actors. Producers can then create characters that are impossible to create in real life. This also included facial expressions. True human emotion was performed by a non human character, which is an amazing breakthrough. Avatars actually had personality of the characters.

4. How much money was spent on marketing for the film? What challenges does News Corp face in realising profits? In your opinion, does the massive budget spent on the film effect the authenticity of its message?

Avatar costed $400 million dollars to make and market it. They spent $250 million on the movie, and $150 on marketing. The movie is expected to make a billion dollars by the end of the year. And they are still raking in millions more. The challenge is to not waste all this money on an expensive film that will be a flop in the future. I believe that in order for a film to be strong, its narrative has to be strong. And if in order to create a strong narrative, a lot of money has to be spent, I'm all for it. It worked in this case, The authenticity of the message was strong, so a high budget worked. A high budget isn't always necessary, but it can enhance the message and narrative.

5. Socio-Cultural Impact-Do you agree with the critic's claim that Avatar "identifies the profound spiritual bankruptcy that underlies our financial insolvency...and reminds us (to)... make new choices for the greatest good of all". Or is this film just a trite recycling of previous plots that reinforces racist stereotypes? Explain with examples from the film.

I think it recycles from previous plots. But as you look throughout all of history from multiple different cultures in periods of times where there were no forms of communication, this same stories are being told. Avatar is another rendition of multiple archetypes that have been told throughout history. But, I think Avatar has so far been the best in expressing these archetypes like the hero in Jake Sully. It reinforces racial stereotypes, yet shows the message of acceptance as Jake Sully becomes a part of the Navi tribe. Also, the Navi are portrayed as less civilized, yet their planet has a global network through nature, although it is not digital like ours. Avatar ultimately borrows from older plots and puts its own twist to it in that it has its own distinct feel.

An Anniversary to Remember

A Not so Happy Anniversary from Nick Medina on Vimeo.