Production group name here
The Treatment
Programme title: Saviour of the Heart
Client: Cambridge Regional College
Writer:Alatina Selkirk
Date: 23/04/2017
The Blurb
“Saviour of the Heart”will be a romantic silent film fantasy drama about Al Tino, an artistic, loving young man and his sadness and longing for a special love in his life. After enjoying the swing music and dancing of the era with his friends as a weekly habit at the Witz ballroom, one evening, a romantic couple on the dancefloor catch his attention and bring up the dream of the lover he never had. He longs for time be alone and wanders into a corridor to sit down in a secluded room away from the hubbub of themain hallto think about his life that evening, though sadness begins to overcome him until he breaks into sobs over his plight. However, hiscries are heard by angelic lady who materialises into a real life tap dancerfrom a painting on the wall while the piano in the room magically begins to play by itself as his tears rain on it. This ladyis the lover he has always dreamed about. To his absolute delight, she extends her hand and he responds to be lifted off the ground for them to dance together in a passionate and unique fusion of tap, swing dancing, tango, and classical music routinestarting from a slower tempo becoming gradually faster, then slower once more before she fades back into the painting leaving a melancholy piece of music to play to conclude the film while he looks on in awe.
Character Biographies
Al Tino: Leading Man:
Al Tino is apolite, uniquely romantic, artistic, be-suited younggentleman in his 20s from an aristocratic family. As an ultimate lover of the arts with brown, doe eyes and dark hair who’s passionis to visit the Witz, thelocal jazz and swing ballroom and feel the music swing his feet and move his soul at the end of every week along with his Cats and Chicks (his friends). The atmosphere and the soul of the band that plays there captures his imagination like nothing else could. Though, deep within, he is consumed from the loneliness of being without a lover. He longs for a lady to become a soulmate to share his life with.
Michelle: Leading Lady:
Michelle is a materialisation of Al Tino’s dream lover. A striking, charismatic lady with dark hair and brown eyes, she is angelic, unique, romantic and empathetic. She hears Al Tino’s cries as he is overcome with sadness and the piano in the room plays to introduce her materialisation from a painting on the wall into an angelic lady tap dancer in a dazzling white suit and spectator tap shoes. She extends her hand to him and lifts him off his feet to passionatelydance up to the ceiling together in a fusion of a swing music and tap dancing, giving him the most exquisite experience of his life. She is an angelic being however, and cannot stay too long on earth, so as the music slows, she gently lets go of his hand as they part, then fades back into the painting leaving a trail of glittering light.
The Swing-tators: The big band:
The Swing-tators are the house band of the Witz. Dressed to the nines, they thrill their audience with their sharp and slick choreography and soulful covers of Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong songs, including their originals that simply burn the stage!The Swing-tators play the music that entices Al Tino and his friends into the Witz and they begin to dance for a few hours until Al Tino begins to feel his inner feelings coming to the surface one evening.
Al Tino’s friends and the crowd at the Witz ballroom:
Like the long-time friendsAl Tino and his cats and chicks (friends), many other people generally in their 20’s and 30’sshare the friends’ passion to go and swing at the Witz.
The romantic couple:
An romantic couple embracing each other amongst the cats and chicks on the Witz dancefloor catch Al Tino’s attention and really bring up his hidden sadness over having no success with love.
Statement of Intent
Saviour of the Heart will begin in a euphoric way with Al Tino and his friends making their way to the Witz ballroom being drawn in by the soulful singing and music being performed. They enjoy this together for several hours as their weekly thrill until a romantic lady and gentleman dancing with their arms tightly around each other and sharing a passionate kiss catchAl Tino’s eye, stopping the young man in his tracks and igniting the sadness within him over not having a lover and the music slows, fades and changes the emotion of the film into a melancholy mood with Al Tino needing time to be alone. The emotion intensifies even further when Al Tino is completely overcome with sadness but the mood rapidly alters to delight and awe when an angelic being hears and responds to his cries by materialising into a his real life dancing lover who lifts him up to dance and give him the most thrilling experience of his life and leaves him with both the emotions of awe and melancholy at the conclusion of the film. I hope that this film encourages people to not be afraid to dream and that it will recreate the romance, thrill and magic that has been lost to a large extent in films and real life nowadays.
The Storyline
The first scene of Saviour of the Heart will begin with a wide and tracking shot of Al Tino and his friends dancing and laughing together while making their way to the Witz ballroom to swing for a while. At the entrance, a wide shot will show their reactions of delight and the venue light reflecting on their faces including a wide shot of the band and their swinging audience inside as the friends enter the venue where there is a wide shot of them dancing for a few hours, fading to reveal the hours ticking away on a clock, then zoomingin to a medium close up of Al Tino focussing in on a couple, the man of which bears quite a resemblance to him and is embracing and kissing his lady romantically (close up of the couple). Next, a medium close up of Al Tino shows him slowly turning away in slight sadness as the music slows and there is a slow motion shot showing him turning away as he leaves the main hall to enter a corridor of rooms, one of which he sits at a piano to be alone and think, but gets so sad that he breaks into tears, but an angelic being, Michelle hears him and music plays by itself to introduce her materialisation from a painting into his dream lover in real life. She is a swing/ tap dancer and extends her hand and lifts him up to dance with her at the ceiling, thrilling him, but in a few magical moments, when the song concludes, they have to part and she fades back into the painting as she cannot stay on earth too long. The shot types are still to be confirmed.
“Saviour of the Heart” will centre on an adaptation of my original song “I Cried In Your Arms Tonight”as the soundtrack that will create the entire emotional effect and atmosphere throughout this silent film drama. In place of the use of dialogue, the visuals and music combine to create an emotional impact.
The film will be filmed on broadcast standard video format and will cost more than £120. The exact amount is still to be confirmed.