Our short film is set in rural Northern Ireland, and the main idea of it is that a girl who lived in the 1700s that was drowned has been resurrected and has come back to where she lived in 2017. It is the opening for a film so naturally we can't give away the plot of the film but the idea that we aim to leave the viewers with was that she was drowned as a form of the death penalty for being found guilty of witchcraft.
This was not uncommon in Ireland in these times, the most famous witch trials would be the Islandmagee Witch Trial which took place in 1710-1711 in which eight women were found guilty of witchcraft. The area in which we will be filming is secluded and untouched by modern life, it is also not far from where the Islandmagee trial happened.
Screenplay Treatment
The film opens with a shot underwater, of a strand of hair floating across the screen. The music that we want to have will be created on Garageband and will be eerie and atmospheric.
The next shot is above the water. The audio will cut and there will be the silence of the rural setting in which were filming, probably with the sound of trickling water around.
After this is an underwater shot of Meabh's hand, floating lifeless. The music from underwater before will resume playing. Then the shot from before repeats, with the still and isolated countryside and no audio.
Suddenly, Meabh bursts out of the water, as if risen from the dead. She is panicked and has no idea what is happening. She is breathing heavily. There is a close up on her face and we see the terror and confusion.
After this is an underwater shot of Meabh's hand, floating lifeless. The music from underwater before will resume playing. Then the shot from before repeats, with the still and isolated countryside and no audio.
Suddenly, Meabh bursts out of the water, as if risen from the dead. She is panicked and has no idea what is happening. She is breathing heavily. There is a close up on her face and we see the terror and confusion.
Then, a black screen will appear and our title, Origin will appear.
After this we aim to have a side profile shot of Meabh with very heavy breathing and a Point of View shot of the sea and the skyline. Then, a wide shot of Meabh struggling out of the shallow water and sitting on rocks. To give the impression that a little bit of time is passing, we will get lots of the same sort of shots from different angles and have Meabh gradually get drier. By the time Meabh is on the move, her hair is damp and her clothes drier than they were.
Following on we want a shot of the road, which will be an extreme long shot and gradually we want it to lose focus, almost as if it is Meabh's confused eyes.
Along a trail close to the water we want a shot of Meabh walking, from a low angle and then a close up on this. Around the trail is a bridge (seen above) and we want a shot of a vehicle passing over it. Meabh's face (as we see in a close up) is terrified and she backs away. Then she quickens her pace and is on the verge of running.
We want to switch location then, to a nearby forrest, with Meabh running up the path and through the wall at the entrance. Meabh stops after a while and we see a close up of her face looking horrified. We are envisaging a shot of a ruined cottage and the intensity of the music continues. Meabh's breathing is heavy and she is on the verge of screaming.
After this we want a shot of Meabh falling to her knees from behind. As we zoom in on her face we have her looking around, stunned. On the soundtrack we want voices, a baby crying and laughter to be audible. These are to be perceived as Meabh's memories, which are flooding back to her in her family's house which is now in ruins.
Finally we will cut to the scene of the ruin, with no soundtrack - completely silent except for the sounds of the surroundings. We will have a reverse zoom of the ruin to close to film.
