Doll Face TREATMENT

Title Sequence
ACTION
A variety of little girls playing with dolls (brushing hair, playing tea parties, dressing them in pretty dresses)
A variety of dolls laid out in a line, all with unusual and scary facial expressions
MUSIC
Children laughing and singing with scary music played all the time
Act One:
- A women is applying her makeup at a bathroom mirror; she sees her reflection covered in scars, the camera pans 180 degrees to show the women’s face appearing to be normal. The woman begins to cry and frantically applies more makeup (foundation, blusher, eyeliner, mascara). A tap is dripping in the background.
- In the mirror her makeup appears very over done and doll-like
- Cut to an establishing shot of a modern bedroom, the room is very tidy (clothes folded neatly, no mess on the floor, bed made) however at second glance (360 pan) the room appears to be slightly strange with disfigured toys and a cracked mirror which seems to be slighting unusual strange pictures, photographs in which the women’s face has been scratched out, a broken mirror and unusual toys.
Then an extreme close-up shows a very strange disfigured china doll laying on the women’s bed (with scars, burns, and a tear of blood)
- The women then begins to get ready for work however instead of wearing the clothing that is laid out on her bed, she goes to her wardrobe, opens a box (which appears to be like an old dressing up box) and pulls out a very pretty red dress and does her hair identical to the dolls (plaits) and there is a split screen shot of both the women and the doll to highlight the similarities between her and the doll to the audience. We then see the women look into the cracked mirror and smile to herself
Act Two:
- Flashback of a girl finding a doll in an old dingy antique shop, a very strange old lady gives her the doll for free
- Cut back to real life, a series of tragic events occur for the women. It starts with her beginning to have a recurring dream; in which firstly a child is playing happily with a innocent looking doll, and then suddenly it turns on her, and its face becomes disfigured and the little girl becomes violent and aggressive. She wakes up screaming
- One morning after having one of these nightmares, the women wakes up bleeding. She and her husband go to the hospital to find out that tragically the woman has had a miscarriage. However both the husband and the doctor are horrified as the women reacts by laughing hysterically.
- She begins to have serious problems with her husband due to the miscarriage, and she locks her self in her room and just plays child-like games with her doll all day, not going to work etc. and they have an argument and he threatens to burn the doll. This ends in row where the women scratches her husband down the face, making him bleed.
Act Three:
- After the row, the husband packs his bags and leaves the house.
- The woman begins to have a break down, and goes into her bathroom and takes some pills. After taking the pills she runs back into her bedroom and frantically pulls the heads and cuts her old toys and dolls around her room.
- She then notices the doll on the bed and in a dramatic scene tries to burn the dolls hair, but ends up she burns her own hair. Then the women pulls off the dolls ‘tights’ and wraps it the dolls neck, then in a blurred shot the audience would she the women walk to her wardrobe and pull out a pair of tights (to show the women was about to hang herself)
- The husband arrives back with flowers, as he opens the door he rushes upstairs and realizes his wife is dead, the audience notice how the previous scars on the dolls face have disappeared. In a frantic rage the husband throws the doll out of the bedroom window. It then Cuts to a little girl playing on the street and notices the doll and picks her up off the street. The evil continues.

Analysis Of Our Intitial Film Sequence

DENOTATION

· Establishing wide shot, man opening door.
· Focus pool on girls face and the opening of the door
· Extreme Close Up of feet walking
· Variety of high/low angle over the shoulder and mid-shots conversation between two people
· Extreme Close up on mobile phone
· Longs shot of man exit
· Mid-shot of half girls profile

CONOTATION

• Focus pool on the girls face (looking afraid) suggests she is a victim
• The extreme closeup of the feet makes the man look powerful and intimidating
• The fast jump cuts create suspense and fast-paced action
• The lighting was diffused because we hadn't yet learnt about Three Point Lighthing however if we had, i think we could have used under-lighting for the man so that he would look dominant and scary

Initial Film Sequence

Pre Production

What we did to facilitate the shoot
To facilitate the shot our group blocked and rehearsed the actors and decided what camera angles and shots we would like in the sequence.
What was done for us?
The camera was already set up in place; we had a script and a storyboard.
What we could have done better
Our group could have used a different location and used our space better.

Production
We filmed a conversation between two people; we took guidance from the storyboard of Camera shots such as close-up, over the shoulder and wide shots. I was director for the sequence, Millie Driver was the camera operator and Sinead Melloy was the continuity girl. I thought that our team worked really well together, we made effective decisions and we came up with original ideas for the camera angles and shots.

Post-Production
I thought that our sequence was effective and that our group had a variety of unique camera ideas and shots. I think that our group successfully fulfilled the brief required for the sequence. However I think we should have used a better location possibly outside and I think as the director I should have used the space better. I really enjoyed filming our sequence; it taught me how important a successful team can be. Also as I was being the director it showed e what an important and responsible job it is, as I needed to be organised, focused, make decisive on the spot decisions and direct the group in a positive way by listening to their suggestions which I really enjoyed. I also learned about the restrictions of camera rules such as 180degree and learned the effectiveness camera focus can have on a sequence.