Category: Component 3: Production

Production: Treatment

The camera pans down to an old man, sat at an office desk with books and papers strewn haphazardly across the floor and walls. He is dressed in a dark suit but his shirt is untucked, buttons undone and looks generally unkempt. He cuts a lonesome figure as the door to his office creaks open to reveal a younger woman. She is dressed smartly, wearing lavish jewellery and carrying a folder. She closes the door to the office and looks inquisitively towards the man. She passes him a note, to which he reads slowly, sitting down, trying to comprehend the magnitude of what he has just seen.

There is a close-up of the note, informing the audience of the dilemma that the two officials have to deal with – the country’s infrastructure can no longer support the population, some 500,000 residents must be culled, to avoid lethal damage to the economy.

“It’s easy then” announces the woman, “we have got to ensure the viability of our country going forwards, there is no question of if, it’s of when”. The man slowly blinks a few times as his shock is immeasurable, before asking “are you out of your mind”, “how can you possibly think that this will work, in three years we will be in the same situation again, if not worse and then what, it becomes some kind of perverse tradition”. Before the woman has a chance to reply, a knock on the door subdues the hostility momentarily, a picture of a young couple is slid under the door. Both characters gaze at the picture, before the woman points at the date on the photograph ‘1962’, suggesting that “they lived a good life – 60 years ago”, pushing the picture away. The man shows his agreement, nodding his head timidly. The woman seems relieved, asking the man “you’ve come round to my way of thinking, then”.

“Before I agree to anything, I want to know who will be chosen” the man exclaims. The woman presses a button. A map suddenly appears on the man’s computer screen, circling a small coastal area just to the east of the country. A slideshow begins, showing images of a busy seaside resort and bustling restaurants. This slideshow takes up the entire screen, showing a montage of different people, having a nice time. This is accompanied by a non diegetic score of Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks. The montage abruptly ends after a picture of a baby, with there being a zoom towards an extreme close-up of its eyes. When the action returns to the office, the cut is from an extreme close-up of the baby’s eyes to the woman’s eyes, where the shot lingers for a few seconds.

There is a cut back to the man, where he looks pale-faced. He stands up and begins to pace slowly around the room. Asking the woman “okay, one more thing, what will happen to me after, will people know that I did this”. The woman stands up and reassures him that he has complete anonymity. The man reluctantly nods his head, sits down and signs a piece of paper, which the woman takes and exits the room. Unbeknownst to the woman, a photograph drops out of her jacket. The man picks it up and stares at it in awe, the camera slowly reveals that it is the very same picture of the baby that was present on the slideshow and that the man has mercilessly agreed to slaughter the woman’s family, friends and neighbours.