Scale Productions - Gino (Camera)
A TREATMENT FOR
THE CHEF'S KISS
Prepared by Scale Productions, Gino Pauling
It is proposed that the film will be 2 minutes long and filmed in one continuous camera take. It will be shot inside a modest, slightly run-down apartment that doubles as a kitchen/dining area. The cramped and imperfect setting gives it a natural, gritty feel, highlighting themes of hidden darkness beneath everyday life. The continuous take will keep the tension building naturally without any visual "escape" for the audience, trapping them inside the moment with the characters.
This film will include the following conventions of thriller films:
TIME:
The real-time aspect is key. The film happens without a single cut, forcing the audience to stay locked into the Chef's movements and the unfolding dinner. This single-take technique (inspired by Adolescence) builds tension by giving no relief from the action. There’s no skipping ahead or looking away — every slow step, every small choice matters. Time drags out deliberately, making simple actions like tossing salad or setting the table feel unbearably suspenseful.
The audience knows something is wrong — the powder, the lingering camera — but has no way of predicting exactly when or how tragedy will strike. By the time the couple leaves for their car, a heavy sense of doom is inevitable.
LIGHTING:
Lighting will be naturalistic and slightly dim, similar to films like The Good Nurse. Harsh fluorescent kitchen lights and muted lamps will give the scene a sickly, off-putting look without feeling overly "horror movie" artificial.
The dim setting will make small details—like eviction notices pinned to the fridge, unpaid receipts, and scattered past-due bills—feel even more important, adding visual clues about Chef Remi’s hidden life. These environmental hints slowly create a psychological portrait of a man under intense pressure, although his face remains unseen.
SOUND:
Sound will play a huge role in building dread. The key sounds will be:
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The chopping of vegetables and scraping of knives against boards (uncomfortably loud).
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The subtle crunching sound as the crushed powder poison is sprinkled into the salad dressing.
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Muffled conversation between Paige and Ryder in the background as they wait for dinner, laughing unaware.
When the camera follows the couple to the car, there's a chilling silence — no dramatic music, just night sounds.
After the screen fades to black, the news report voiceover cuts through the silence, cold and clinical: reporting a fatal car accident, implying the couple's death without ever showing it.
FILM INSPIRATION:
- Adolescence (TV Series):
Inspired by the one-take, real-time style that immerses the audience directly into the moment without escape.
- The Good Nurse (Film):
Draws on the idea of a seemingly normal worker (Remi) whose quiet, methodical actions hide shocking evil. The film mirrors the real-world horror of evil hiding in plain sight.
- Date Night (Film):
The casual, relatable couple dynamic between Paige and Ryder draws inspiration here. They are light-hearted, familiar, and believable—making their deaths feel all the more tragic because they feel "real," not like movie stereotypes.
Problems Encountered:
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Lighting: Naturalistic low lighting will be tricky with a one-shot film. We will need to carefully block the scene so the camera never exposes too brightly or too darkly while following the characters.
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Camera movement: A steady cam operator will be needed to pull off the flowing movement through the tight apartment space without jolting or awkward angles.
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Actors' timing: Since there are no cuts, everything from food prep to eating to leaving must be perfectly timed and rehearsed for naturalism and suspense.
CHARACTERS:
Remi (The Chef):
A bald, white male around 40–50 years old. His face is never shown clearly — only the back of his head, side profiles, or arms/hands working at the kitchen counter. This anonymity makes him feel like a void — someone you might pass in everyday life without a second thought.
Subtle environmental storytelling (eviction notices, overdue bill receipts, signs of poverty and struggle) suggests that Remi is under massive financial strain, possibly fueling his quiet resentment or loss of control. But crucially, the audience never learns a clear motive — the chef poisons because he chooses to, echoing the unexplained evil from The Good Nurse.
Visual hints of backstory include:
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Eviction notices posted sloppily on the fridge.
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Crumpled, rejected job applications on the kitchen counter.
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An "Overdue - Final Notice" envelope lying open by the salt and pepper shakers.
Paige:
An 18-year-old, warm and bubbly, dressed casually for a relaxed dinner. She jokes, teases Ryder, and texts briefly while waiting at the table. Paige feels very real and very alive — making her fate heartbreaking.
Ryder:
19 years old, a little more awkward but clearly smitten with Paige. He nervously checks his hair in a window reflection, clearly wanting to impress her. His charm and normalcy contrast heavily against the cold precision happening just meters away in the kitchen.
MOOD & TONE:
The film will feel grimly inevitable. From the first frame, the audience will sense something is wrong — yet will feel powerless to stop it.
The banality of evil — evil happening not in a grand showdown but in a quiet kitchen over a tossed salad — is what makes The Chef's Kiss so disturbing. There is no dramatic music, no chase, no screaming — just normal actions masking horrifying intent.
IDEOLOGY:
The film plays with the idea that danger often hides behind "normal" faces and places. Remi is not a traditional villain; he's not angry, ranting, or obviously disturbed. He is methodical, careful, and terrifyingly casual.
The film also critiques how society ignores or overlooks people like Remi — until it's too late.
THEMES & MOTIFS:
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Ordinary evil: Remi is not shown as a "monster" — he's just another face in the crowd.
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Isolation: Despite being surrounded by signs of Remi’s unraveling life, nobody notices.
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Time ticking down: The slow, real-time progression toward the couple's death.
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Hidden Motive: There are clues (eviction, poverty, job rejection), but no clear "why" — just empty, senseless death.
NARRATIVE:
The film opens with Remi quietly preparing a salad in his cramped kitchen. As he chops, the camera weaves around the kitchen, revealing eviction notices pinned sloppily to the fridge, receipts for overdue bills, and a half-empty cupboard.
Paige and Ryder sit chatting at a small dining table, oblivious. The Chef silently grinds a white powder into dust between his fingers and sprinkles it into the salad dressing, mixing it in carefully. He plates the salad and brings it over with a simple nod.
The couple thanks him casually, joking about how fancy it is. They begin to eat.
The camera lingers awkwardly — not on the couple — but on Remi’s hands as he silently wipes down the kitchen counter, his movements slow and almost ritualistic.
When Paige and Ryder finish eating, they laugh and thank Remi again. The camera follows them shakily to the door as they leave, heading for their car, young and full of life.
Remi stands at the kitchen window, silently watching them get into their car.
The screen fades to black.
A cold, detached news report crackles in over blackness:
"Breaking news tonight: two young people have died in a fatal car accident. Police are investigating the cause of the crash..."
Then silence.
LOCATION
Photos of props and items I printed out for our Final Portfolio
- Shaky camera
- Making sure crew aren't visible
- Confident actors
- clear accurate shots
- no reflections
- and choreographed acting and sequence of events
CONVENTIONS WE HOPE TO USE
Video 1: How to create suspense through camera movements:
- Subtle Dolly movement
- Anticipating motion
- Push on nothing (walking into an empty hallway)
- make the audience wait for something terrible to happen
- limited view creates tension of the unknown
- silence nerves us, music stabs like a knife
- tension isnt about whats happening its about what might happen'
- "make audience suffer for as long as possible" - Hitchcock
- tension is about control, the more we wait the sweeter the release
- Font for credits, Layered sounds
- Dim colour
- Flashes to black
- Wind sounds
- Scratching sounds
- Darkness
- deliberate music, action
- Lots of tension of the unknown
- limited view shots
- limited view
- supernatural elements
- sneaking around
- creaking doors
- close cowboy shots
- appropriate lighting
INSPIRATION ABOVE
NEW SCALE PRODUCTION LOGO IDEA No. 1
- same background, just clouds merged to one object\
- new Se7en font
- red VHS effect over the font
- I prefer this logo with a 4 colour gradient overlay
- brings more effect to the genre of Thriller
- coupled with a glitch sound and maybe a Pleosanic score this will be very nice.
MOOD BOARD
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