Risk Assessment

Treatment

Keyframe 1

The short film begins with an opening scene of Cortina Ford’s antique typewriter. The camera performs a close up of Cortina’s typewriter whilst she is in the process of writing her statement, with the bold statement: ‘Why I should be given the promotion’. This shot has been chosen as the opening scene from Cortina’s behalf to portray Cortina’s hard-working attitude to the audience and to also emphasise the point that women have to prove themselves able to be trusted for a significant role within the working environment. This particular part of my short film links with a scene in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (Martin Scorsese) where Alice has to continuously attempt of getting her dream job as a singer, to which she is also continuously rejected by her male higher authorities, conforming to the male spectatorship theory within the feminist film theory; women not being seen as capable workers for a significant role.

The camera then focuses on a medium shot of Cortina continuing to type on her typewriter to which her office phone then abruptly rings with Greg Marlon: Cortina’s boss on the other line. The camera focuses on the office phone through a medium shot whilst it is ringing then to a long shot of Cortina answering the phone with a busy office background behind her. The camera then zooms to a close up shot of Cortina to where we hear Marlon demand his coffee and hang up abruptly whilst the camera focuses on Cortina’s frustration.

As Cortina strolls to the staff kitchen whilst quietly mumbling to herself, getting rid of her subtle rage, the camera follows and pans Cortina from a long shot of her walking from her desk to the staff kitchen.

Whilst Cortina is in the kitchen, assembling the objects to make Marlon’s coffee, the camera does extreme close ups and vivid jump cuts on the objects to emphasize Cortina’s rage. This particular shot relates to an aspect of Laura Mulvey’s theory that I studied within my research that within the Classic Hollywood Narrative, women are seen as passive and powerless whilst men are powerful and active.This particular shot presents Cortina frustratingly making Marlon’s coffee and showing traits of the housewife role, however due to the CHN, women are expected to reinforce this passive role, despite their hatred.
As Cortina is aggressively making Marlon’s coffee, Miura Lamborg and Minnie Cooper enter the scene. However, the camera doesn’t focus of Miura and Minnie’s full asset firstly, but a cut-in shot of Miura and Minnie’s shoes as they walk into the room. I have chosen to involve this significant shot this way as it is to present a small opening to the turning of male to female spectatorship in a very subtle manner. Normally, I would’ve constructed the idea low angle shot to present how the both character’s physically look, however this would be totally reinforcing the theory of The Male Gaze and female subjectivity, whereas I want to start showing aspects of female spectatorship. Therefore, this shot will equal out in female spectatorship and part of the male gaze as Miura will be wearing red stilettos whilst Minnie will be in flat loafers to present the contrast between the two females: vulnerable and desirable.

The camera now quickly tilts up from Minnie's and Miura's shoes to their faces, creating a low angle shot which presents the beginning of the women gaining power in the narrative. I found that a lot of low angle shots were also used in Alice Doesn't Live Here anymore as the film went on. For example, when Alice was arguing with her boyfriend about him hitting her son, low angle shots of her are used a lot within this scene to establish new power.
The camera now performs the scene in a medium shot whilst all three women are discussing their hatred for their boss. The medium shot establishes a common ground shared by all three women: their oppressed nature from men. However, all three women express their feelings in different mannerisms. The women's mannerisms were inspired from the characters of my primary texts. Miura takes on the feisty features of Dorallee (Nine to Five), and Louise (Thelma and Louise). Minnie takes on the vulnerable features of Chloe (Boys Don't Cry) and Alice (Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'). Cortina inherits features of independence from Wanda (Wanda) and Thelma (Thelma and Louise). These different type of female archetypes were represented within my primary texts strongly which communicated the idea of feminist film theory greater, therefore I felt it was essential to interpret these characteristics from the protagonists that I have studied in my textual analysis.
During this scene, the camera performs numerous shot reverse shots on all three women, giving the characters their chance t communicate their individual plot motif which distinguishes each character. As the scene continues on, the camera presents a close up of Cortina conjuring a plan which is evident through her devious facial expression. I feel that the use of the close up within this shot emphasised the fact of the general "film theory" rules as what Mulvey argues is beginning to show itself being challenged. The camera presents an close up of Cortina, presenting full focus on her character, presenting her importance and her "active role" within the narrative starting to take its toll. Therefore within this case, we see Mulvey's "passive" role of women within film being challenged.
Whilst on the subject of challenging Mulvey's theory which was done a fair bit through my textual analysis research, I wanted to achieve the female spectatorship role as much as I could, however in a subtle tone. For example, when the ladies conversation is interrupted by Marlon to which he invites Cortina to his office to talk, I have structured this scene to be filmed from a over the shoulder shot from Cortina's perspective.Moreover, I felt that by placing the audience within this shot placement  it reinforced the point of the female spectator as full focus was put upon Marlon's character, however in a negative light. Whilst the "Male gaze" normally involves the aspect of voyeurism and sexual pleasure form the male perspective, in this case the "Female Gaze" is quite the opposite. Through the involvement of Marlon's crude character, the audience is immersed in a sens of hatred from Cortina's character through her gaze and the use of the persona over the shoulder shot. This is one of the theories of the Female Gaze, however, in a particular scene in Thelma and Louise, where Thelma is secretly gazing sexually at T.J, we see the Female Gaze in the same light that the Male Gaze is associated with.

After the scene where Marlon tells Cortina that she has not got the promotion, the scene transistions to Marlon's office at nightime , where the main disruption of the film takes place.

The audience is put into the viewpoint of a female spetator through the way that Marlon is presented through this scene. Firstly, we see Marlon being represented in a vulgar nature, with the slouched body language, sluggish attitude, obnoxious laughter; overall Marlon has been represented as a pig as he isslouched in his office chair, feet rested on his desk, whislt being obnoxious about the other female collagues to his male friend on the phone.  Additionally, to reinforce the fact of placing the audience within a female spectatorship, which challenges Mulvey's theory of the audience watching film in a "hetrosexual male pespective", i have placed this scene in a long shot. Moreover the long shot represents the change in power between the gender roles, as the long shot emits Marlon to have a vulnerable feature to the scene. marlon is overpowered by his masculine looking office, stating that he is a weak man that disguises it with this disguise of power. Therefore, the long shot presents the inferior status Marlon has by making his figure small in comparision to his office. This shows the illusion that if Marlon had all of his masculine "image"stripped away from him, he would be vulnerable and weak. This reinforces a feminist view towars Marlon, therefore reinforcing the female spectatorship.

When Marlon is confronted unexpecadley by the three women sat behind his desk with growing sirks on their faces from a over shoulder shot from Marlons's perspective, the scene then abruptly transostions to a point of view shot from Marlon's viewpoint. The piint of view shot is structured from Marlon looking up at Cortina leaning on his desk, arms crossed opposite him. The point of view shot is presented through extremely blurred and shallow focus to emphasize the fact that Marlon has just awakened. Additionally, where Marlon is looking up at  Cortina, this creates a point of view shot and a low angle shot towars ortina; creating the image of the female caracyer as the most powerful one. Moreover, I have also chosen todo a blured vision form the point of view of Marlon to present that although the audience is placed within his viewpoint, it is unclear, therefore subtley stating that the general film theory of the viewpoint only "being male" is unclear; my primary texts that was directed by male directors had a more negative portrayal and unrelaistic image of women than the independent films that were directed  by female directors. 

Synopsis

The Tables Have Turned

The film is centered on the friendship between three women, all with contrasting personalities however they do share one major common factor: their hate for their boss: Greg Marlon. 

The three woman: Cortina Ford, Miura Lamborg and Minnie Cooper all work in the head office of Elite Logistics, located in the busy commotion of Central London in the 1970's. Cortina Ford is a longtime employee of Elite Logistics, a intelligent and independent woman, with a determined drive to success. Cortina represents your hardworking business women and obeys her boss's every demand in order to get that promotion that she deserves. One of the other female protagonists within the film is Miura Lamborg , a fiesty, brazen and attractive woman who is the desire of all the men within the workplace, especially Marlon. Despite the fact that Miura has made it continuously obvious that she is not in any way interested in Marlon, Marlon continues to make inappropriate and sexist actions towards Miura, pushing her to the limit. The last and newest addition to the Elite Logistics head office is Minnie Cooper, the timid and clumsy newbie that Marlon constantly takes advantage of and has befriended the experienced duo; Cortina and Miura. 

After a dictating employee meeting run by Marlon, the three woman divide a plan in the staff kitchen to get revenge on their boss.

During the meeting, Marlon gives out sexist comments to the women of the workplace, with the last straw being Marlon giving better benefits to the men of the work place than the women, one being giving away the promotion to a unqualified male member of the team rather than Cortina. 

After the three women discuss a plan to get their revenge on Marlon, they sneak into the deserted office building and into Marlon's office after hours to give him a piece of his own medicine.

Marlon is petrified of the three women after their torturing ways against him and agrees to give them more respect and the fair treatment that they deserve, obeying each and every command they give him. 

This disruptive scene finishes off with all three women saying to Marlon that he has just done too much for them to forgive and forget. Suddenly, this is where all three women now point their guns towards Marlon's crotch whilst he is begging for mercy.

As they pull the trigger, the scene transitions to the three women back in the kitchen, all with day-dreamy looks upon their faces. Whilst the three women are in a deep daze, they are then abruptly interrupted by Marlon demanding them to get back to work; it was all a daydream. 

Relation to my research: 

It was vital for me to be able to clearlyy communicate the information that I gathered about the feminist film theory in my textual analysis through my short film. Therefore, I set my film in the time period of th early 1970's as this is when the film theory first came about. Therefore I will edit my hoots to appear with a vintage filter overlayed on them to express this time period further through my key frames. Also I thought a creative part of my character development with my film is the three women's names: Cortina Ford, Minnie Cooper, and Miura Lamborg. The three protagonist names were inspired by three of the most popular cars during the 1970's: The Ford Cortina, the Minnie Cooper, and the Lamborghini Miura. Moreover, my characters were inspired through the personality of these cars. Cortina Ford was the main character, the smart leader and the most independent woman in the group. Miura Lamborg was very attractive and was a desirable figure with a sharp tounge. Minnie Cooper was very shy, petite and timid. I found that this idea will communicate a irony of a stereotypical male object;cars, to be the base of the representation of the female characters, therefore challenging stereotypes which I occasionally came across through my textual analysis. I have positioned these women in certain character profiles that represents the bad nature in men. For example, Miura reinforces Marlon's sexual desire, whilst Minnie presents the oppressed nature of a woman when she is dominated by a man, and Cortina reinforces the inequality between men and women. All these instances of the sexist nature of men in films is represented within my primary texts; Boys Don't Cry (Steve's sexual violence), Nine to Five (Greg's oppressive control over the women of the work place), and Thelma and Louise (Thelma's housewife role towards her husband). As the film continues, we experience a abrupt turn in gender roles when the women confront their boss. We see the women give their boss a taste of his medicine by inheriting his bad traits; similar to Thelma and Louise. I've chosen to end my film with a plot twist of the three women's revenge upon Marlon was all a daydream, with Marlon appearing into the kitchen whilst they are daydreaming. He awakens them with his usual demands. This relates to my research of the independence of women in a "mans" world not being liberated in the film industry. I saw through my films that as the years have gone on through my primary texts; both independent and Hollywood, the role of the feminist film theory has been slowly represented. However even in the most recent film out of all my primary texts: Thelma and Louise, ends with them driving off a cliff. They rather die than be oppressed in a mans world; representing that female independence is not possible within the film industry. 

Casting Considerations

Reece Report

Location 1: Elite Logistics Office

Location: Leigh Technology Academy-Chaucer Business Classroom

Pros to this location

This location is ideal to play the role of the Elite Logistics main office as it is of a large sizing and provides me with the business scenery decor that I need, therefore not needing me to set dress the location a lot. The classroom alos consists of a very bland colour scheme, expressing the humdrum lifestyle of Cortina's workplace that I want to achieve.  The location is definitely suitable for my scene as its large sizing while emphasize the isolation of Cortina's character as well as the organised structure of the classroom allows for the theme of restriction t be portrayed through this imprisoned location. 

The picture was taking at daytime which has allowed me to have a clear viewing to how the finishing product will look like, however due to the vast amount of windows within the classroom, this presents a lot of natural daylight into the room, which wouldn't be apparent in a high-story business office. Although, I can use photoshop to decrease the brightness of the photo. 

Cons to this location

Alternative Location: Photoshopped Image

Pros to this location

Cons to this location

Elite Logistics Office

Location 2: Marlon's Office

Location: Leigh Technology Academy- Upper Floor of the School Library

Pros to this location

Cons to this location


Alternative Location: Photoshopped Image

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Cons to this location

Location 2: Staff Kitchen

Location: Greenhithe-Grandads Kitchen

Pros to this location

Cons to this location

Alternative location: Bluewater-Forever 21 Staff Kitchen 

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Cons to this location

Screenplay

Layout for 20 Keyframes