Consent treatment improved
- 1. Consent Matters By Rachel Moffat
- 2. Working title: My working title for this film is ‘Consent Matters’. This is a simple title which captivates the point of the film in just two words. It is direct and memorable and will affect people and make them think before they have even watched the film. Length of the film: Approx. 10 minutes. This should allow enough time to develop my story and bring across a clear moral whilst still keeping the audiences interest. Tagline: The tagline for my film will be ‘We will fight for the right to consent.’ This shows the moral of the film as well as alluding to the possibility of a fight; in my films case the fight is a protest. I used the word ‘we’ rather than ‘I’ as it is not just the main character’s (Noah) struggle, it is the struggle of everyone, and the fact that there is a protest where people come together as a team to fight for what’s right is very important for the story. The person standing in the main characters way is the Head teacher of the school as well as many staff members who do not want the students to ruin the school’s reputation. My story is unique as sexual consent is as issue that many sixth forms are afraid to address properly. We do get taught to ensure that we have consent before engaging in any sexual activity, however that is clearly not enough. People need to learn form a young age that this is serious and it really does affect people every single day. Key characters: Noah- main character, an18 year old girl who is fed up with the way people are being treated and the sixth form staff who want to silence her voice. Riley- the friend, a 16 year old girl who meets Noah at a fresher’s party after being harassed by a drunk student. Riley decides to help Noah with the book and the protest. Mr Andrews- the head teacher who tries to stop the book and the protest in hopes of protecting his school’s reputation
- 3. Synopsis: Scene 1: My story starts as Noah walks into a fresher’s party, she looks around to see students drinking and dancing and although Noah is a student she seems slightly out of place as if she is not enjoying the drunken atmosphere. Later in the evening she sees Riley with a boy looking very uncomfortable as he dances with her, Noah then witnesses as the boy attempts to kiss Riley even though she is pushing him away. Noah steps in, pushes the boy out of the way, puts her arm around Riley and drives her home from the party. Scene 2: The next scene takes place in sixth form the following Monday as Noah see’s Riley and pulls her to one side to talk about what happened at the party. At first Riley pretends that she doesn’t remember and that it wasn’t a big deal; but once she hears Noah say ‘How many people does this or worse have to happen to before someone steps up and does something about it.’ Riley agrees to help Noah and asks what they could do. To this Noah responds ‘I have an idea’. Scene 3: We then cross cut between many different scenes of Noah or Riley talking to many different people saying ‘we are creating a book and we need all the help we can get. If you could submit a story, poem or drawing about an experience you have had, something you have witnessed, it could reach someone somewhere who is too afraid to seek help. All of the entries will be completely anonymous and you can be as broad or specific as you like. We need to show everyone how many people this has effected, as well as how to cope and seek help.’ After this we will see many people writing, and giving letters to Noah as she and Riley start creating this book with voiceovers of people reading out lines from their own stories. This scene will be incredibly hard hitting but will also bring about a sense of togetherness as we finally see them working together to face this head on. The scene will finish with a shot of Noah and Riley printing and preparing the final copy of their book which they title ‘consent matters’. Riley looks at Noah and asks ‘you ready?’ to which Noah replies ‘let’s go’. Scene 4:
- 4. The next scene will take place in sixth form as copies of the book is being placed on the reception desk and passed around the common room. We will see many students reading and talking about it until Mr Andrews walks into Noah’s Media class and asks her to leave to come and speak with him. Scene 5: In Mr Andrews’ office Noah is asked to confess that she was behind the book and is told that it will be banned from sixth form immediately due to inappropriate topic matters and how it makes the school look. Noah tries to argue that she has free speech and this book could help hundreds of people. However she ends up being silenced and asked to leave by Mr Andrews. Scene 6: The last scene begins in Noah’s bedroom where she and Noah are creating big signs that read ‘we will fight for our right to consent’ and ‘give us back our voice’. We hear a voiceover of Noah planning a protest and she her phoning lots of people asking for help yet again. The film ends with a long shot of Noah and many other people holding up signs and walking up to the school gates in an arrow formation as a voiceover says ‘consent matters, and we will fight.’ Target audience: The target audience for this film should be absolutely everyone as it is such an important message that people need to hear. However as it involves some very serious themes, I would suggest anyone under the age of 15 should only watch with parental consent. I think that the main audience will be anyone between the ages of 15 and 25 as it is important for this age group to learn about consent as they are growing up and experiencing new things. I would also expect anyone who has strong beliefs on gender equality to take an interest in this film as it highlights a large feminist issue. I will reach my audience by insuring that the film is accessible to them through social media platforms such as YouTube. I also hope that this film could be used in sexual education within schools and collage’s as well as in any young person’s health fairs. Form and style:
- 5. Consent matters is a political drama film so I would like to go for the most natural look I can to ensure that people don’t feel like they are just watching a flashy film. I will use lots of ambient light and ensure I have good continuity editing. I want my audience to be able to relate with some of the characters and try to understand how they might be feeling. Marketplace: My film is a low budget short film so I shall make it accessible on the internet through platforms such as YouTube or other short film websites. I could also enter my film into some film festivals to get it out there as that is a good way to get your film seen in the amateur film making business. I could also approach schools, sixth form’s/collage’s, and local town councils and suggest that this film would be suitable for exhibition within sexual education and health fairs.