Video Treatment

A Blind Date in Plain Sight

My purpose in this video is to entertain the audience with the idea that not everything in the world is perfect. More specifically, this video shows that dating and relationships don’t always have a happy ending. In the video, Fred never notices character two’s pink top nor does Alex notices the single rose that Fred is holding. The pink top and the rose both symbolize that there are things in romantic relationships that people overlook or don’t acknowledge at all about their significant other. These things can happen earlier on in the first few dates or in this case, a blind date, and can lead to the demise of the relationship.

Fred’s rushing around his room trying to get ready. He walks out of the bathroom and into his closet to retrieve a shirt. As he’s walking towards his desk and finishing his shit he glances over at his calendar. He looks at the unsuccessful dates he’s had this month. He glances lower to todays date that reads: blind date. He picks up a marker and circles it. He grabs the rose off his desk, and walks out the door. In another apartment, Alex is getting ready for the date. She walks out of her closet towards her bed to grab her bag. She looks up at the pictures of her and her ex on her bulletin board. She reaches up and rips them off her bulletin board, tears them up, throws them in the waste basket and walks out the door.

It’s in the middle of the afternoon in downtown Pittsburgh. Unlike the busy main streets of the city, Fred is in a back street standing in front of a coffee shop. He’s holding the single rose he grabbed off his desk. He stands nervously as he looks up and down the street. Every few minutes he glances down the street and continually looks around anxiously and nervously. Fred turns around to look at his reflection in the coffee shop window. He straightens up his shirt to make sure he looks his best. He glances up and to his right to see his friend Kerri walking down the sidewalk. She waves and smiles and starts walking towards him. The two greet each other and begin to have a conversation.

Meanwhile, Alex slowly walks toward the coffee shop in the opposite direction. She timidly glances around looking every direction. She stands in front of the coffee shop window and reaches into her pocket. She pulls out a piece of paper and unfolds it. “2 pm. Verdi Good Beans. Rose.” After reading the paper she refolds it and places it back in her pocket. She glances up and looks around. Fred is still conversing with Kerri. They are having a cheerful conversation and laughing happily. Alex is still standing outside of the coffee shop. She grabs her compact and lipstick out of her bag and reapplies her lipstick and fixes her hair. We see Tony walking briskly toward the coffee shop in Alex’s direction. Alex puts her compact and lipstick back her in bag. She looks up and sees Tony and calls to him. He comes towards her and they embrace and start chatting with one another.

Glancing back over at character Fred and character Kerri they are still in the midst’s of their conversation. Alex and Tony are enjoying their conversation. Fred and Kerri are saying good bye to one another. Kerri walks away passing character Alex and Tony. Fred is still standing in the same spot glancing to his left impatiently.

Glancing back over to Alex and Tony they are still conversing and laughing together. Fred continues to look around he glances around. Frustrated and sick of waiting, Fred begins to walk away to his right before walking across the street, he pauses to look at the rose and throws it on the ground beside a building and continues on his way. Tony says good bye to Alex and walks on past the coffee shop. Alex is left alone in front of the coffee shop. She takes out her cell phone to look at the time. She puts her cell phone back into her bag and looks around hopelessly. She pulls out the paper from her pocket and reads over the invitation. Angrily, she crumbles up the paper and throws it on the ground. She begins walking away from the coffee shop to her right. We see he paper that Alex crumbled up being carried by the wind and it ends up stopping right beside the rose.

Characters:
Fred: The leading male role. He has had numerous girls cancel dates with him and hes hoping that his luck will change on his blind date. He’s anxious and nervous about going on his date. He continually looks at his watch to see the time. He’s also concerned with his appearance because he wants to look his best.

Kerri: The female friend of Fred. She spots friend instantly and begins a cheerful conversation with him.

Alex: The leading female role. She just recently ended a serious relationship and is hoping that her blind date will help her to move on and start over. She’s shy to meet her date but has no problem yelling at her friend Tony when he almost walks right past her.

Tony: The male friend of Alex. He barely notices her as he walks down the street. However, he’s excited to see her and welcomes a conversation.

Location: I chose to shoot in front of Verde Good Beans. It’s not on the main streets of the city and therefore has less traffic. Because of less traffic it should be easier to shoot and less of a chance that I will get interrupted.

Props: The blind date papers, rose, lipstick, photos of Alex and her ex, and compact are the props I’ll have to supply my actors with. The blind date papers let the audience visually know whose going to be on the date and what they are to look for. The rose goes along with the invitations so you know the audience knows he the main male role is. The lipstick and the compact are what I feel a majority of women carry with them and many women spruce themselves up before a date. The photos of Alex and her ex show why she’s going on the date.

Visual Style: I plan to shoot in a second and third person point of view. Using a wide shot as the opening, various medium shots, over the shoulder and close ups shots. I also plan to use natural lighting for outside shots and low key lighting for the inside shots so it appears more sad and negative.