Character Bios and Treatment

Working title: Dance-O-Matic

Character Bios

Considering this is a very isolated event we do not really dive to far into the characteristics of these characters. We also are not really inclined to become intrigued with the backgrounds and histories of the characters. Their personalities are what will be predominately portrayed through the action of the scene.

Dance-o-Matic

Just a box that, when someone pushes its button, will slap a helmet on the person and make them dance continuously.

Man #1

Man in his mid twenties. All we can gather from his character is information based on what he is wearing, and his body language. He seems to be young and hip. Wearing clothing that would suggest he is outgoing, and fun.

Man #2

Looks to be shyer. He wears glasses, and is holding either a book, or multiple books in his hands. His clothes are certainly more sophisticated in appearance than Man #1.

Man #3

Only on set for a matter of seconds, but he is wearing a jogging suit, and has ear buds in his ears as if he was jogging.

Treatment

We first see a metal box with a painted “Dance-o-Matic” logo on the side and top. There are no other distinguishing factors about the box other than a play button on the top face, and a note stuck above the button that reads “DO NOT press this button!” A man, texting on his phone, walks into frame and past the box. As he is almost past the box he notices it and he stops. He puts his phone away, reads the note, and begins to examine the box.

At first nothing happens, but after a few seconds of touching the box the man’s foot begins to tap. He stops touching the box and so too stops the tapping. This happens a couple more times as his head bobs, and his fingers start to snap. He puts together that the box is what causes the dancing. He is then tempted to push the button. Hesitant at first, and slowly more persistent he eventually covers his eyes and presses the button.

Mechanical arms come out of the box, and slam what looks like a mind control helmet on the man. We get a zoomed angle of the box and see the sides light up with a dance style. The man breaks into whatever dance style is on the sides, and he cannot stop himself. He is now a slave to the box. After a few styles another man, seemingly oblivious to the box walks into frame. Man #1 moonwalks past Man #2, grabs his shirt and gets his attention. Man #1 tosses a note to Man #2. Man #2 reads the note, which says, “Help! Can’t stop. It’s the box!”

At this point Man #1 looks tired, and is starting to slump in his movements. Man #2 runs after Man #1 and tries to rip the helmet off, but while he pulls, the dancing man continues to move. The helmet is too tightly strapped so Man #2 walks over to the box and examines it. He presses the play button a few times, but nothing happens. Man #1 continues to dance in the foreground while we see Man #2 in the background trying various pulling methods to open the box.

Man #2 kicks the box and it changes the genre of dance to Salsa. Man #1 assumes a ballroom dancing position and begins salsa dancing around the box. At one point he grabs Man #2 and starts to Salsa with him. Man #2 pulls away and eventually works his way up to grabbing a sledge hammer, and jackhammer. He dents the box, and damages it enough that it finally conks out, and shuts down. Man #1 stops dancing takes off the helmet and throws it to the ground. Man #1 walks back up to the box, grabs the original note from the top of the box, writes something on it, and slaps it back onto the top of the box. We see that he has simply made it now read, “No, really! Trust me, DO NOT press this button!” He then kicks the box in a fit of comical triumph.

Blackout

The scene fades back in and another man is standing in front of the box. The machine shutters back to life in a glitch-like fashion. The lights flicker back on, and just as the third man is about to push the button Man #1 runs into frame, and tackles him.

Blackout

The credits will be a playful arrangement of either just Man #1, or the first two men dancing and interacting with the credits as they roll by, but it will be presented most likely with black titles in the same white non-descript room as the main storyline.

Fade to black