Treatment

Title
‘Hear Me Out’ connotes the willingness of a young teenage girl from a working
class background and stereotyped as a ‘chav’ aspiring to become an actress one
day. It also gives the impression that she is being misjudged by people who
seem to think she is a trouble maker and has no career intentions.
The title is conventional for the British Social Realism genre because Mercedes
wants to prove to everyone wrong by trying out for auditions in the hopes to get
through and get far in life. It will appeal to my target audience of a teenage British
audience because they may have had similar experiences in life or know
someone who lives a similar lifestyle as Mercedes.

Target Audience:
Age- 16-24 year old’s
Location- Britain
Gender- Female
Class- Working class
Interests- Fashion, music, celebrities, television
Media Consumption- Internet, mobile phones, magazines

Themes- growing and aspiration, conflict, relationships, violence

USP- The unique selling point of my film would be the theme of “Growing up and
Aspiration” as our target audience can relate to and at this age you tend to make
alot of decisions in life.
Primary Research- I did some primary research on exit polls to films that were
released over the past few years to found out why people watched this film.

• My friends are talking about it

• I like the title

• Story set in UK/London

• The story appealed to me

• The genre/type of film

Technology
I am going film using a digital camera and a tripod. This technology is suitable
because it is easy to navigate around and it’s also portable to carry with you. I
have also considered I might use a mobile phone in my production because it
would make it look rough and gritty and also if you wanted to show a point of
view shot. For editing, I am going to use a Mac using a software called i movie.
Representations
The key character in my opening sequence who is the protagonist is called
Mercedes and she is 16 years old. She is from the working class and is
stereotyped as a ‘chav’. This gives people an impression she is a troublemaker,
but she wants to fulfil her dream of becoming an actress. We will also have the
antagonist character called Paris who is the same age as Mercedes and is from
the middle class who seems to have a higher chance of getting through the
auditions.

Narrative
My film is about a teenage, working class girl called Mercedes who wants to
audition in a leading drama school but she finds out she is in competition with the
most popular girl in her school . but as Mercedes has many issues in her life, Will
she give up or will she aim to reach success?

In my opening sequence it will show Mercedes sleeping then it will go into a flash
forward of her in the future looking glamorous at the awards. Then it switches
back to reality with her daily routine waking up , getting ready to go to the
audition. It then switches to introduce Paris waking up and getting ready. We
then see both characters making their way to the train station. The train comes.
When they arrive at their stop they notice each other and give weird looks to
each other. Mercedes then arrives at the drama school and sits down along with
others who are auditioning waiting patiently. There is conflict between the girls
when they see other. It is then when Mercedes is called for her audition. She
walks in nervous with two interviewers inside the hall. She begins to start her
monologue but she forgets her lines and she starts to heavily breathe whilst
sweating. The judges ask if she is okay but she runs off . She runs to the toilets
and scrunches up her monologue. Paris (without knowing Mercedes is in the next
cubicle) asks if she is okay. Mercedes doesn’t reply and storms out scrunching
the paper and throwing it to the floor. Paris comes out and picks the scrunched
up paper which tells us the title ‘Hear Me Out’.

The use of conventions of an opening sequence will relate to the British Social
Realist genre through similar themes as violence, isolation, escaping daily life
etc. The mise-en-scene will shown by real locations, everyday clothing and
natural lighting. The music and sound effects will be shown through known British
artists and the sound effects will add tension to the scene. All these aspects
conform the genre.

Conventions
I will conform to the conventions of the British Social Realism genre because it
will make the opening sequence look more realistic and show what life is actually
like for teenage girls. I will be showing the working class background through the
main character, Mercedes, who will be seen to be stereotyped as a ‘chav’. This
may represent her as uneducated, but she dreams of becoming an actress one
day. This contrasts with Paris, who comes from a wealthy background and
seems to have a higher chance of getting through the auditions for Romeo and
Juliet. The locations this opening sequence to be film in is the council estates in
Marks Gate and the train which will give the audience a better understanding
because they may have been to the locations which look familiar to them. My
British Social Realist opening sequence will have hybrid elements of teenagers
growing up and aspiring to be famous actresses. It will also show the working
class background and how they want to get out of their current situation and fulfil
their dreams.

Style and Iconography

Camerawork - some handheld camera work to create dramatic effect on the
audience and involve them in the scene, pan movement to show an entire
setting, close ups to see characters’ emotions, long shot to show entire setting
and audience gains an understanding, angle shots to show someone or
something being strong or weak, over the shoulder shot as she tells the mentor
for the audition her name before she begins her actual audition.
Editing - cross cuts to create some tension between Mercedes and Paris, ellipsis
of Mercedes waking up to her journey to the audition, cutaway from Mercedes’
dream to her waking up.
Costumes/Props as Visual signifiers - tracksuit, hooped earings gives the
stereotype of a ‘chav’. High heels, fur coat and hand bag to show the middle
class.
Sound/Music - ambient sounds , non-diegetic music of a piano playing at the
beginning and near the end to create tension and some sympathy towards the
protagonist character. Dialogue will be shown through accents and dialect
relating to the genre.

Institution
This has had an impact on the type of film I’ll make because I want to show that
the working class, teenagers in particular want to be successful and make
something of their lives. This British social realist film may relate to them because
they may have had similar experiences in life so they will understand it.

Feedback
Most the majority of people said they though the title of our film was really
interesting as it related to theme of “Growing up and Aspiration” which is used in
British Social Realist films. They also thought the narrative of our film was very
clear and it relates to the genre. Some of the improvements we need to make is
how the sound and music we are going to use is going to relate to the genre.
Additionally other areas we need to improve was what happens in the flashback
and who Mercedes is aspiring to be like.

Based on my research on British social realist films, a film which inspired my idea
was ‘Fish Tank’ because the main character follows the stereotype of a chav and
aspires to become a dancer. She practices in her own time and is seen as an
isolated character. In our film our main character will follow a similar stereotype
who aspires to become an actress and is in competition with an antagonist from
the middle class who seems to have a higher chance of getting through the
auditions.