TREATMENT:

MEDIA STUDIES ASSIGNMENT 2 :  A treatment is done keeping in mind all visual aspects of a film, being aware of how to keep the camera just as we use our eye. The camera plays the role of an eye the entire time. It’s a true game of camera shots and camera angles taken within a period of time limits and thus, the film shoot is done from scene to scene. Keeping my film in mind, I plan to shoot my film in a way that the meaning, expressions and feel is conveyed just as I imagine it to. And in order to be able to do that, I need to be very visual and careful towards the camera shots I take since my film relies on these shots completely.  My film will be shot at the famous Empress Market of Karachi. In order to show the ‘when and where’ aspect, I will start with an establishing shot of the market which will last for not more than 3 seconds. Next, I would take the shot of a car stopping at the main gate of the market, the camera turns to the ground, taking the shot of my character’s foot stepping out of the car and then it would be followed by a mid shot of the boy, who’s my lead, as he looks towards the market where he is entering for the very first time. This mid shot will enable the audience to notice the physical appearance of the boy, who will be shown as a very weak and over powdered kind of person under the dominance of his mother who would be shown by the help of a long shot showing her posture and physical appearance that would enable my audience to recognize her as the person who is very dominant and is likely to be the reason why her son seems to be so under confident. This concept will become more obvious later within the start credit, but it would help to give the audience an idea of the concept and story behind the scene.  Followed by that, I mid shot of the guy will be taken as he looks towards the market and then scene will be cut to the next scene where the camera becomes the boy’s eye and a long shot of the market will be taken for not more than a second. And so they start walking. Now the camera is behind the boy and his mother taking their mid shot along with taking a master shot of the entire scene when the walk along the area crossing the hip and happening shops of the overcrowded market. Now the camera becomes the boys eye again. He turns his head around often, looking at the things happening all over the place. Keeping in mind that I have to show that the guy isn’t comfortable with everything happening and he feels weak and odd and disturbed, I will take intense close ups of the boy’s expressions along with the activities happening around.  I will do this by the help of Inserts. An insert is a quick shot of an activity, regardless of having characters within the frame. So the guy turn’s his head, he see’s a butcher chopping meat, close up taken, not more than a second. He turns his head the other way, he see’s chicken flapping their feathers restlessly, another close up of this scene, again for at least a second. Then I’d show him through a mid shot, making his expression evident, showing he’s feeling stressed and awkward. Then again id take another master shot of the shops, being the boy’s eye, but things will start to show slightly blur in order to give an expression of the  guy feeling dizzy.  And then the boy turn’s again towards a particular store, that is a store where cloth is dyed. Id take a close ups of the pot in which they boil hot colored water in which the dye cloth stirring it with a huge wooden plank. And then I’d take a long shot of another man in the same store whipping wet bright red cloth harshly in order to get it dried off. And id take another close up of the guy where he’s continuously looking weaker and as if he’s feeling loss of breath. This process of scene to scene, shot by shot will be taken within quick seconds, however I’d be using slow motion a little in between in order to give the feel. Then again id keep taking short inserts of all activities within the market, like men spitting out ‘pan’ and other things that usually happen in our markets along with which I’d keep taking close ups and mid shots of the guy. Coming to the end, I’d take a low angle shot of the guy with the sun showing it the camera right on top of his head and showing his weak and clumsy posture. And then I’d take an extreme close up of the guy’s eyes showing them slowly rolling up.  Now the camera is the guy’s eye again and slowly the camera drifts away going from the sight of the markets towards of the sky leaving the frame empty and giving the imagine as if he’s fainting and his eyes are slowly rolling up. Next I’d take a mid shot of his mother who’s turn back to take a look at what’s happened behind her back and the camera become’s the mother eye and she see’s her son dropped down to the ground with people gathered around him, everything become’s quiet, and the start credit ends.  By: Sakina Ali

SYNOPSIS

 Arham is an under confident lonesome and emotionally weak boy, and the main reason for such behavior is his over practical and inconsiderate natured mother. All his life, he stayed under her dominance which lead to his vanishing self pride and belief till one fine day, his mother decides to never let him get out of the house as she thinks he's incapable of showing good and over 'posh' social skills that she expects from him. In short, she thinks he's crazy. Arham remains locked up for six years. As these years pass, he is a grown up now, but only physically, emotionally, he has a heart of a child. This is because when he needed love and care, he was locked, and now, when he's finished on the inside, his mother finally decides to take him out. And so they enter the famous 'Empress Market' of Karachi.
Being over crowded, noisy and extremely happening has always been seen as the components of its personality. To the world, it might be amusing, but as slowly they enter, it doesn't seem quite amusing the way Arham sees it. They keep walking, till now things are normal, he's still slightly alien to what ever is happening, mainly because of his six years' experience. But things do not take time to scare him. As they walk along the narrow congested streets, he turns his face around, somewhere seeing men weighing vegetables, flapping them harshly, scaring off the flies resting on them, while on the other hand he sees people spitting out the so called 'pan'. He feels disgusted and sick. But he's still walking, having the mother walk way ahead of him, not caring where he is, or how he's feeling. He keep's seeing things until he crosses the fish stall. Slimy dead fish laying on top of each other, while the stall man keeps staking more over them, creating the sound of their wet texture being clapped together. Shrimps shifted from huge baskets into ice water, splashing is all over, that smell, that agony, he feels it all, not knowing what comes next.
And so he walks, feeling weaker in the knees, so many people around him. He's pushed as they walk. Some step on his feet, some bang their shoulders against his. His palms and forehead begin to sweat. His shoulders feel heavy. It seems as if life is slowly extracted out of his body. More images, more noises, more weakness.
And just then he hears the sound of someone chopping meat. That sound of metal against hard wood and that piercing flesh, it really gets to him. He turns and so he sees. Just what he thought. Meat being chopped, chickens flapping their feathers, their painful cries, the butcher's guilt less eyes. He moves back out of shock and disgust. looking at the hens in their cages walking around, not knowing whats happening just on top of those cages, that feeling of not knowing what comes next frightens him. It's like he relates to them. He's disturbed to all levels. He moves a step back, breathing heavy, feeling dizzy, while a car behind him honks without a stop, but slowly, his eyes roll and next thing you know, he fall's to the ground, people surround, but how sad for him, before his eyes close, he see's all sorts of faces, but his mother appears nowhere.

Location Pictures

CHARACTER PROFILING

This is a midshot of my actor, showing him from head to torso, allowing the camera to capture his posture and expression closely. Such a shot is usually taken when the actors action is to be shown, e.g, while being in conversation with another person, this shot is more appropriate. Also, as you can see, it very clearly establishes the actor's physical appearance. In reference to my actor, it is but visible that he is weak and thin looking, having a pail complexion and a rough hair do followed my a stubble on his face and his droopy shoulders. The appearance plays an important part into the character's personality.

This is another midshot, taken from the right side, showing his side profile, again, establishing his facial expression along with his face structure, complexion, how he's worn his hair and his neck to shoulder posture.

This is a long shot of the character, clearly showing him from head to toe, that enables us to see how he's dressed, that is, his type of clothing, style, how he's standing, what action he portrays and also partly his surrounding, that actually forms this long shot to a wide angle long shot. As shown, this shot tells us most about the character's posture, body structure, and entire physical appearance, exculding his facial expression, since that is established by a close up, not by a long shot.

This is a close up, since it allows us to observe the character's face structure and facial expressions very closely, establishing all his features like his eyes and nose etc. I made him smile in order to be able to capture some sort of feeling so the purpose of this shot is understandable.

This is another close up. again, establishing his face structure, expression, that allows to convey feelings and thoughts that the character delivers.

This is an over the shoulder shot that shows the chracters side profie from the back, usually taken at times when the character's in conversation with another or if he's looking at something that is important to be shown within the frame in order to allow the viewer to understand the action reaction, and the relation between the character with whatever else is in the frame that he has his front to.

This is another over the shoulder shot, showing a little more of his face, establishing the same feel as written above.

This a mis shot taken from the side, showing him from head to torso, but from his lef side, showing his posture and appearance along with action.

STORY BOARD

SHOT DIVISIONING

SCENE DEVISIONING

Description:  screen goes black. (voice over)  As the dialogue ends the famous Empres Market appears on the screen.

Dialogue: “I thought having a “boy” as a child was supposed to be a special thing, wonder why Ma thinks its not, or does she? Well, shes hard to reach, and I don’t have the strength to ask her…….

Description: The market street and on the ground, two shadows appear, one of a boy and one of a women, having the womans shadow of the women is more prominent. Foot steps of people in the market are shown following different paths sslowly going up towards the heavily crowded look of the market. The mother is sshown argueing with the vegetable shop keeper.

Dialogues (mother): “bhai ye tho app ahi nahi kerahe na, aap sahi daam lagayen tho he hum apke pass dobara ayenge.

(vegetable man): baji ye tho subha subha ek dum fresh sabziyan laya hun, aap kya baat kar rahi hain.

(mother): bhai ye apne sahi nahi kiya!

Mother pays to shopkeeper

(mother to Arham): here hold my bag.

Mother hands her bag over to Arham (her son) who’s standing behind her, aroused by the happenings of the market and he quietly takes the bag.

Translation (mother): Brother this isn’t right, please put a reasonable price, only then I will come to your shop again.

(vegetable man): sister I got these vegetables freshly in the morning, what are you talking about.

(mother): brother this is unfair.

Description: the market is shown as Arham sees it and followed by that his face appears scanning the entire scenario. And so they start walking along the street. He turn’s his head right, see’s shop keepers weighing fruits and vegetables, and to left, where he see’s sugar cane being crushed, followed by all other things that appear into his vision. As he keeps walking, the scenario tends to change. (diegetic sounds appear on a constant pace). He keeps walking following his mother, and he sees all sorts of different things happening until at one point, what he sees starts to disturb him. His eyes catch the fish stall where he can see the man flapping fish on top of one another, stacking them up. All sizes, all textures, and his partner shifting small shrimps from one basket into another. He feels disgusted until he turns his head the other side and she bright red cloth in air as another shop keeper whips it in the air. He feels breathless ass it comes as a surprise. (Dialogues and diegetic sounds along with the back ground music appear on a constant pase).

Things keep coming to him as a surprise within seconds and he keeps loosing breath, feeling claustrophobic. He looks around trying to spot his mother who’s busy bargaining around and does not care enough to turn back and take a look at him. Next he sees the meat stall. The butcher harshly chops meat, while chicken heads and claws are carelessly scattered on the table, but nothing stops the butcher. An ordinary job seems so disturbing to Arham.And his forehead starts to sweat, arms feel heavy, till everything goes blur and slow. Arham falls to the ground, people gather, and now, his mother decides to turn and look. (Opening credit ends).

TIME: Day

CHARACTERS: Arham (lead), Mother, Shop keepers, People in the market.