ROMANTIC SUPPER (TREATMENT)

DRAMA CENTRIC OR ADS SHOW STUFF

SYNOPSIS:

A romantic dinner of two old flies. The wife cooks food, husband - pouring wine into glasses and lighting candles. This is an elderly couple, they are really old. The husband has a bald head (hairstyle in the style of “lake in the forest”), but wife has a magnificent, neatly stacked, albeit gray, hairstyle from the 60s.

The old romantic music is playing on the patho. The wife brings dishes to the living room, where the husband is already waiting. She carefully pours soup into his plate, and they sit down to eat. The husband scoops up a spoonful of soup, blow on it, and then gently eats. The wife looks at him lovingly. Then the husband with love in his eyes and voice says:

Fly husband: - Mmmmm, tasted like shit!

And the wife smiles in response to him and says:

Fly wife: - Thank you, dear.

Then they continue to eat.

PACKSHOT:

(VO) - Tasted like shit! Environmentally friendly fertilizers by X-BRAND (any brand that produces fertilizer or chicken manure).

VISUAL STYLE (FELT TOYS)

Visual style - puppet animation. At the same time, the dolls themselves are made of felt or wool, that is, it is clear that they are made of natural material. That is, villi, hairs and so on stick out of them.

The doll's tuning style is due to the fact that they are felt, they look slightly sloppy, but at the same time very nice (round eyes). They are dressed in ordinary clothes (blues, shirt, dress).

MUSIC MOOD (lyrics from 40s)

CHARACTERS

I think they should be anthropomorphic first of all. That is, human-like. This means that they have legs and arms. True, they can have 4 arms instead of 2. Flies have 6 limbs. They have wings on their backs, but their overall body is more like a human one. In addition, they wear human things - pants, shirts, suits, dresses, etc. That's about the overall appearance.

However, they shouldn't look like real flies, because I agree with you, that would be creepy. I would like them to be more cartoonish to be more appealing. In other words, they are human-like flies =) It should just be understandable that they are flies, but with human features.

I think this can also be achieved with the help of recognizable movements of flies. That is, they rub their legs all the time in a characteristic way (before eating and in general). I think this will also help.

WIFE AND HUSBANDS

I see this couple as very sweet, loving and, you know, so completely harmless (gentle old man). We call such people as a dandelion old man, I don’t know, if there is such an idiom in English. In short, it is written on their faces that this is an elderly couple who have been together for a long time, they are educated, harmless, live in peace and harmony and are fond of some harmless old-lady hobbies (ornithology or stamp collecting).

I found several actors whose images remind me very much of this old married couple of flies.

HUSBAND

HUSBAND'S CHARACTER

He can be described as a lively guy - one of those cute old guys who dance a little and always hum something under his breath. However, he does not do it in a sweeping and wide way. Rather, he minces and his movements are more stubby and minimalistic, because of this they look more cute and neat. Our character is in anticipation of a good evening, he is in a great mood.

WIFE

WIFE'S CHARACTER

She can be described in a couple of words - meek, soft, submissive, good-natured and loving.

CLOTHES AESTHETICS

Since this is an elderly couple, they are dressed in the fashion of the old years, as if from a bygone era. That is, this is the Classic 60s - balloons, suits, trousers, sweaters, suspenders, shirts, dresses, etc. IMPORTANT! Their clothes shouldn't look formal, but homely.

ATMOSPHERE

In terms of overall mood, we are creating a warm romantic dinner atmosphere. However, unlike the first reference below, I want the atmosphere of our romantic dinner to be significantly lighter and warmer. Despite the photo being romantic, but also too gloomy dark.

That's perfect atmosphere (considering the fact that it is not a romantic diner)

THE INTERIOR

The interior of the apartment reminds you of visiting your grandmother. That is, it is an apartment in a house built before the First World War. And the interior itself is filled with old things, books, records and old furniture. Nowadays, this style would be called Grandmillennial Style.

In short, this interior is old-fashioned, rather poor, lovely in a way, warm and european. In other words, it looks like the most ordinary interior of elderly people living somewhere in the center of some old European city in the yearly 50s (Prague, Warsaw, Berlin, London, Petersburg, Amsterdam). Everything looks as if time has stopped in this apartment a long time ago.

COLOR PALETTE

WARM + A BIT DISSATURATED COLORS / MOSTLY WARM ANALOGOUS PALETTE WITH ACCENTS FROM COMPLEMENTARY PALETTE.

In the references provided, I like that the overall tone is warm and slightly desaturated, and that all the colors are next to each other on the color wheel - this creates excellent harmony. I especially like the red and yellow accents. I would like to use red in clothing (it gives a nice accent) and in the interior itself. At the same time, I am not at all against small and nice accents in the interior in colors from the complementary range (green and blue).

MISE EN SCENE

I would like the apartment space (its layout) to always allow us to create multi-dimensionality regardless of the camera position. For example, when the characters are sitting at the dining table, we see other rooms behind them (bedroom, toilet, hallway, etc.). Or when the husband is doing something in the living room, in the background we see the kitchen where the wife is cooking. In short, we should create multi-dimensionality - see other rooms/hallways, etc. behind the characters to achieve multi-dimensionality of the mise-en-scène. I want to achieve this, among other things, through the initial layout.

1) For example, one character is doing something in one room, and the second is busy with something in another (cooking dinner). However, we see both characters at the same time, but on different planes.

2) We shoot the characters from another room/corridor. This puts them in the middle/background, and in the foreground is the room or doorway.

3) The characters are dining in the living room, but behind them you can see the hallway, the bathroom, and other rooms. This creates a sense of multi-dimensionality and space. At the same time, we don’t necessarily have to build the rooms that we see through the open doors. We just need to create a visible piece of those rooms to create the impression that there is a real room further on, etc.

4) Foreground objects also help create multidimensionality. They provide the foreground, while the characters are in the middle ground, with other rooms visible behind them. Flowers, tables, lamps, doorways, or other characters that we see out of focus can act as foregrounds.

LENSE (SHALLOW FOCUS)

I WANT TO USE A SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD AS FREQUENTLY AS POSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE A PLEASANT BLUR BETWEEN THE FOREGROUND AND BACKGROUND. THAT IS TO ALWAYS HAVE A CLEAR VARIETY (+ A PLEASANT BOKEH) AND CONTROL OF ATTENTION. THIS APPLIES TO BOTH CLOSE-UPS AND LONG SHOOTS.

LIGHTING (BOTH SOFT AND HARD)

SOFT

Soft light for close-ups and faces.

HARD

Hard light for shadows on walls from blinds, window frames, lamps and other objects that create texture on flat walls.

CHEMESTRY OF LOVE

This is the key element of our storytelling. Since we are very limited in resources, we need to show our characters' love visually. This is achieved by the characters avoiding direct eye contact and looking at each other only when the other character is busy with something and is not looking at them. At this moment, the impression of love is achieved.

For example, our husband looks at his wife when she is busy pouring soup into bowls. She is not looking at him, she is busy. And at this moment, we focus on the husband and his look at his wife, she should also be in the frame, but out of focus. The main thing is that the husband looks at her when she does not see it!
The wife looks at her husband when he is busy scooping up a spoonful of soup, blowing on it and carefully tasting it. At this moment, he is busy and not looking at her, so our focus is on her and the way she looks at her husband. The feeling of being in love occurs when one character "secretly" looks at another when the other is busy with something and does not look back/or does not know that they are being looked at.

POST-PRODUCTION

IN POST-PRODUCTION I PLAN TO USE OLD FILM EMULATORS (Dehancer): COARSE GRAIN, SUNNY BLACKS, RED GLOW AROUND OBJECTS AND A LITTLE FUZZINESS IN THE IMAGE, WHICH ALL COMBINE TOGETHER CREATE AN OLD MOVIE LOOK.

ADDITIONAL SHOTS THAT CAN ADD VARIETY AND AESTHETICS (if it's possible)

1. SHOTS FROM OUTSIDE / THROUGH THE WINDOWS

2. FRAMES

3. REFLECTIONS (if it's even possible)

4. CAMERA ANGLES (if possible)

The End

by Mikhail Wolkonsky