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.