Treatment/layout for key frames

Frame no.1

The first frame will be set in the disruption, scene 8 of the film. The frame is set in the kitchen, and is a medium close up containing Penny, holding a home-made birthday cake on a yellow tray. She is fake smiling and staring directly at the camera. Here, the camera acts as the voyeur, replacing Stan, and portraying the shot through his perspective. The frame will be taken as Penny welcomes Stan home, saying ‘Happy Birthday honey!’.

Penny is wearing a red shift dress and an apron tided around her waist. She wears kitten heels and her hair is backcombed into a beehive, black eyeliner has been swept across her eyelids.

This frame will link to the aspects explored through my textual analysis. Although the setting is not as remote as those portrayed in Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained, however, I have adapted this theme to fit the era and modernity of the film. The setting is arguably remote as it is within a domestic, private area, where only the two of them share. Therefore, this aspect of Mise en Scene links to my textual analysis; Tarantino using remote areas to ‘reinforce the surreal narrative.’ These suspicious areas therefore add suspense to the narrative.

Frame no. 2

The second key frame will include Stan devouring his birthday cake. He is sitting at the dinner table hunched over, eating the cake with his hands and chewing it, grossly, with his mouth open. He eats it as though he hasn’t eaten in years.

The shot will be a medium long shot of Stan devouring his cake, his eyelids getting heavier as he increasingly grows tired. His elbows rest on the table, his head resting on one of his hands, the other in his cake.  Stan is wearing his work overalls; they are unbuttoned, so that his dirty once-white vest is visible. His sleeves are rolled and pushed up on his arms, his tattoos visible. We see Penny standing over, behind Stan, she is holding a dishcloth stretched out and has an evil smirk.

This key frame links to my textual analysis by the costume juxtaposing characteristics. Here, Stan wears a stereotypical masculine manual workers costume, however soon he poisoned and tortured in a few seconds, his weakness and suppression here juxtaposes his dress. Similarly, Penny wears a very female costume; a red dress, apron and heels. However, her characteristics juxtapose her clothing, as she becomes the dominant in the relationship, holding all power over Stan. The colour of the dress symbolises her strength and power against Stan.

Frame no. 3

The third frame includes both Stan and Penny. She begins to wrap the semi-conscious Stan around with washing line, tying him down to the chair. The shot will be a medium close up of the situation. Stan holds a shocked but helpless look on his face. We do not see much of Penny’s expression as she ties the washing line, however she is still standing, and hasn’t knelt down to make the action easier. This portrays her strong hierarchy over Stan. The half eaten cake still sits on the table in front of Stan.

The shot is taken as Penny asks Stan how the cake is. Subtly hinting that the cake is poisoned ‘I made it myself. You feelin’ it yet Stan? Tired? HUH?!”

This frame links back to my textual analysis by the use of ‘objects that one may think would not symbolise violence’. Throughout the film, Penny’s home seems to hurt and oppress her, especially when Stan uses these objects against her. However, now her previously oppressed position has empowered her, making her the superior. These household objects being used as weapons link back to the whip used in Django Unchained and the baseball bat in Inglourious Basterds; highlighting stylised violence and the theme of the oppressed becoming the oppressor.

Frame no. 4

The fourth frame will be a close up shot of Penny laughing, throwing her head back. This frame will subtly link to Inglourious Basterds, when Shoshanna laughs on the cinema screen, saying ‘You are all going to die’ to the Nazis. This shot will portray the ‘taste of your own medicine’ effect, as it also does in Inglourious Basterds. Like Shoshanna’s revenge, Penny has tortured her oppressor in the same, and similar ways that he did to her. This creates irony and makes the violence stylised. The spectator sympathises with Penny as we understand and align with her due to her backstory, therefore the violence and torture forced on Stan becomes justified and stylised, giving the spectator an emotion of thrill seeking revenge.

Frame no.5

Medium close up of Penny holding Stan’s lighter in front of his face. Stan stares at the lighter, looking uneasy. We do not see Penny’s face; her back is to the camera.

Frame no. 6

The sixth key frame will be a split screen. The first screen shows Penny taking a kitchen knife from the drawer, holding it in the air and pausing. The shot will be taken at this point, it is a close up shot; we still do not see Penny’s face here. The second screen in this frame will be a close up shot of running water trickling from the kitchen tap down the plughole. The running water symbolises phallic imagery, foreshadowing what is going on between Stan and Penny, however the camera pans away, leaving the spectator’s mind to wonder, and therefore creating stylised violence. This is an aspect that Tarantino typically uses and can be prominently seen in another one of his films, Reservoir Dogs.

 Meanwhile, Ray Charles – I Can’t Stop Loving You plays on the radio. This links to my textual analysis. Although it is not exactly the same type of instrumental as La Resa or La Casa the music juxtaposes Penny’s strength and creates irony. The title of the song juxtaposes the situation and relationship between Penny and Stan, creating irony and referring to Penny’s backstory and mental state.

This frame also links to my textual analysis by hinting at Tarantino’s violence on the crotch and emasculating the once dominant male oppressor.

Frame no.7

The next key frame will be a point of view shot from the fridge. It will be a close up of Penny taking out a ‘tupperware’ box from inside the fridge, containing Stan’s manhood.

This is also a reoccurring aspect of Tarantino’s, a point of view shot from an object or item, often a car boot, for example.

Frame no. 8

Close up, low angle shot of Penny eating the quiche that she baked for the Tupperware party she is hosting. The shot will be taken as Penny holds the fork with the piece of quiche on the end, hovering it near her mouth, her elbow resting on the table. She is paused and smiling, looking down to the side.

The low angle shot subtly conveys Penny’s new power and hierarchy.

Frame no. 9

The last frame will be a medium long shot. Penny is sitting in front of the television; her legs are stretched out and crossed at the ankles, resting on the coffee table. Penny is wearing a fur coat, her hair and make up the same as before. She has a lit cigarette in between her fingers, her elbow resting on the arm of the sofa. Stan stands beside her wearing Penny’s old apron over his vest. He holds a plate of bangers and mash on a yellow food tv tray.

Prop Report

Stan's overalls and white vest:
I wanted Stan to be a stereotype of the 1960s, playing the role of an abusive husband who works as a manual labourer, alienated in his career and taking it out on his wife, Penny.
I decided to use these blue overalls as part of Stan's costume as I feel that they have an authentic feel, whilst the white vest will be slightly visible in the disruption scene when the overalls are unbuttoned. This will help Stan to look scruffy and therefore more in character.

Stan's cigarettes and lighter:

I decided to cover a pack of cigarettes with the cover of Red Apple Cigarettes.  This brand is used throughout many Tarantino films when cigarettes are used, to stop product placement. I decided to incorporate this into my film as I have created an artefact of Tarantino's work, therefore this acts as a subtle nod towards Tarantino's work.
The cigarettes will be used towards the end of the disruption scene, when we see Penny smoking them, whilst Stan is serving to her every need. However, the cigarettes will be kept in Stan's breast pocket of his overalls.
The cigarettes will subtly hint towards the change in the couple's relationship, and incorporate phallic imagery into the frames.


Stan's lighter: 
I wanted the lighter to look authentic and representative of the 1960s. I decided to use this dark green 'clipper' lighter. Although this is actually a modern day lighter, I feel that the aesthetic resembles the 1960s. This lighter will be used as a threat towards Stan, and therefore link to my textual analysis as Tarantino explores themes such as the oppressed becoming the oppressor, exploring stylised violence with objects that are not typically associated as weapons, and using personal belongings of the previous oppressor to inflict violence upon them. (For example, the whip used on one of the Brittle Brothers in Django Unchained.)

Penny's dress:
The keyframes are set after Penny has experienced a stereotypical 1960s make over. She wears a red shift dress, her hair is tied tightly at the top of her head and is covered in stereotypical 1960s make up. I decided to use this red shift dress in this scene from 'Whistles'. Although it is not authentic, I feel that it creates the mood and look that I am trying to achieve. The use of the red subtly hints at Penny's new position of power and strength. The short dress could portray her through the male gaze, however due to her power and control over the scene, Penny is not sexualised.



Penny/Stan apron:
I decided to use this vintage 1960s apron as I feel that the floral pattern creates a stereotypical, oppressed housewife feel. However, this therefore links to my textual analysis when I describe that Tarantino juxtaposes stereotypes of costume to characteristics. When Penny is wearing this apron she is not oppressed but the controller, therefore her costume juxtaposes her position in the relationship. When Stan wears this apron at the end of the keyframes, the floral pattern instantly emasculates him, placing him as a weak, house-husband. Therefore the apron will convey the change in the relationship, symbolising irony.



Dishcloth and washing line:
I decided to use a J-cloth as the dishcloth that is used to gag Stan. This is because it can be easily stretched and would have been used in the 1960s.
I also decided to use a bright blue washing line to restrict and tie Stan to the kitchen chair. I feel that this is also representative of the 1960s. Both of these objects would not be stereotypically seen as weapons or that they could inflict violence in any way. Therefore this links to my textual analysis as Tarantino often used items that would not typically be associated with violence to make the violence in the said sense become stylised.


Kitchen knife:
I decided to use this kitchen knife with a wooden handle as, again I feel that it resembles the 1960s well. This knife will be used to emasculate and 'remove Stan's manhood'. Although, we do not see this scene, there will be a keyframe taken including the knife, so that the mind wonders. Similarly to the cigarettes, the knife incorporates phallic imagery into the film.

Kitchen table props:
To reinforce the 1960s theme of the film even further, I decided to use these vintage 1960s cake and dinner plates, cup and saucers, sugar pot and cafetiere.

Recce Report

Penny's kitchen:

The disruption scene is where my keyframes are based. The majority of the scene is set in Penny and Stan kitchen. This is to reinforce the aspects that I have explored throughout my textual analysis. I decided to use a kitchen as it can be seen as an isolated domestic environment, only shared by two people, in this case, Penny and Stan. This therefore links with Tarantino's styles and themes used in Django Unchained and Inglorious Basterds as he commonly uses isolated areas to build suspense. 

I decided to use this kitchen as it has a 1960s feel to it, therefore it will fit the context of my film as this is when it is set.  Because of the 1960s feel to the kitchen, I will not have to dress the set as extensively as opposed to other sets. 

Penny's living room:

This set will be used for the very last key frame, which will portray Penny being waited on by the  now submissive Stan. Similarly to the kitchen, this room also conveys a 1960s theme. The large window located at the back of the room can be used to manipulate the use of light, and to signify Penny's loss of worries and problems in her life. I will ensure that the TV is not incorporated into the shot as I feel that this is the only fault in the setting, and portrays a modern feel, which I do not want in my film. 

The location of the settings are all located within the same house. This therefore makes the keyframes become more convenient. The location is easy to access, and due to it being an actual house increases the realism of the film. Previously I was going to use displays in IKEA for the locations of my film, however I feel that there were not many authentic and realistic looking displays. This the location of using IKEA would also have been less realistic and inconvenient to portray the keyframes in the film, such as the kidnapping aspects of the film. 

Casting Considerations

Screenplay

Synopsis

The film is based around Penny and her relationship and revenge with her husband Stan. The film is set over a year during the late 1960s.
Penny is middle aged and has no children. She is a stereotypical 1960s housewife who tends to Stan's every need. Whilst Stan, is the breadwinner and demands that Penny is constantly being the perfect wife.
The film adopts a linear structure, telling of Penny's history before the disruption and resolution scene. We therefore align more with the protagonist.
Throughout the majority of the film, Penny is oppressed and abused by her patriarchal husband. The keyframes will begin from the disruption, ending scene (8). Here, the roles have reversed, instead of Penny being oppressed, she has become the oppressor towards Stan, switching the stereotypical, patriarchal gender roles. (This links to my textual analysis of Django Unchained and Inglourious Basterds as Tarantino typically makes the oppressed become the oppressor.)
The disruption scene explores Penny's liberation and power, and Stan's development to being the submissive 'house-husband'. We see Penny's characteristics develop from a passive housewife to a psychotic. This is portrayed through the music that plays on the radio whilst she carries out the abuse on Stan. The film results with Stan physically and emotionally losing his male pride and manhood. This aspect of the film links to those explored through Tarantino's; the aiming the gun to the crotch scenes in Django Unchained and Inglourious Basterds distinctly portrays emasculation.
The film ends with the gender roles being reversed, giving Stan a taste of his own medicine, through a psychotic but satisfying method.