Synopsis and Treatment

Eva McQuade

Synopsis:

I am planning to make a short 5 minute documentary about the role that different religions and faith groups play in our society. I have confirmed filming at a Christian foodbank, and I will be investigating the Zakat (charitable) pillar of Islam. I have also planned to visit a Jewish synagogue to find out about their work in our society. I hope to portray religion as a positive aspect to many communities, and demonstrate that religions aren’t always exclusive and extreme. Instead, I will bring light to how most religions operate with fundamental principles of generosity and kindness. I will follow a simple narrative exploring the different groups separately with an ending sequence including them all. The film will have a positive tone, leaving the audience hopeful and enlightened.      

 

Treatment:

Narrative:

It will follow a factual social documentary narrative form. The film will follow the stories of 3-4 faith groups and charities, with individual interviews. This means it will be a multi stranded narrative. While the interview is being conducted, there will be cut-away shots relating to the type of work they are talking about. There will be an opening montage including the religious buildings of worship (church, synagogue) and an impactful ending including a profound piece of dialogue.

Camerawork:

During the interviews, there will be a series of talking head shots but also camera tracking while the subject walks around and explains certain aspects of what they’re talking about.

I will use panning when I film cut away shots, for example of a holy cross or Quran. I hope to get some nice shots of light coming through church windows, which will be filmed in a low angle shot .

Characters:

 Micheal Austin- Member of Brighton and Hove progressive synagogue

Kate Tennant- Foodbank co-ordinator St. Cuthman’s church                       

Mario- Foodbank user

Mohammed – Deen relief Muslim charity

Racheal Ramaker- Brighton Quaker meeting

Music:

I will have a mellow background music which gradually changes depending on the subject. For example, I will include some traditional Jewish music in their section and some Christian hymns during their part of the film.  

Editing Techniques:   

I will use fade transitions to mark the end of each interview and the transition to the next one. During the interviews, I will use continuity editing between head on shots and side shots. I will use sound-bridges during the use of cut-away shots. I will cut together a series of short clips during the opening montage. As the narrative is the main focus of the film, I will try to avoid jump cuts or discontinuous editing so that it flows smoothly.  I will edit the film in a manner that generates meaning by centring the story on the characters and narrative; expect from certain transitions, it will seem almost as if I have used invisible editing.

Target audience:

The documentary will be geared towards socially conscious teenagers and young adults aged 16-24. It will also appeal to a more mature audience, adults aged 30-60. Rather than categorising my target audience by age, it would be more effective to aim the film towards inquisitive individuals who are open to new ideas and sources of information. NRS social grading B, C1, C2 in particular. I have chosen these categories because they the middle section of society, and most likely to relate to the topics of the documentary.

Documentary Inspiration:

‘Muslims like us’ - A BBC 3 part documentary which conducted a social experiment of ten different Muslims from around the country living in a house together. It challenged the public’s perception of the religion, displaying the majority of characters in a positive way. This idea is what I want to project in my documentary.

‘Unreported world- Iran’s dating revolution’- The structure of this film follows the stories of a handful of women getting involved in the Iranian dating scene. Although my film will be much shorter and tightly edited, I will follow the editing techniques of display the stories and characters separately.

‘Leaving the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Jerusalem - Documentary, Off The Derech, GOTDS’- This film explores the story of one individual who left the orthodox community to become a progressive Jew. I take inspiration from the pace and editing style of this documentary, and the ultimately positive ending. I like the part when he is singing and the film shows cut-away shots of his home. The cut away shots contain bright natural light which is a tone that continues through the film, of which I hope to reflect in my documentary.