Treatment by Michel Meyer version 1 04/04/2010

bilbor

«The untouched land»

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Bilbor water is unique because it has a well-kept secret. It comes from a very special place in Romania: a lost and untouched valley protected by high mountain ranges and miraculously left un-spoilt by pollution and human development, as if forgotten by the modern world.

The idea of the film is to take the viewer through an epic and breathtaking journey discovering this very unique and remote birthplace and to make him understand that all this natural beauty, this pure air, these towering mountain peaks, these ideal climatic conditions, create a natural alchemy that give Bilbor water its unique qualities and make it apart from the other mineral waters.

It is as if we are telling a legend and sharing a secret, unveiling to the viewer the sheer beauty of Bilbor’s birthplace.From the high altitude, through the thick forest, filtered by the mountains and the rocks, Bilbor is like a gift from the natural elements; it has the “purity of the heights”. When you drink it, you drink a masterpiece produced by Mother Nature in this preserved and remote little paradise.

“Bilbor, puritate de la ultimate”

In its principle, the film more or less tells the story of the cycle of the water. We start in the purity of the heights, where the clouds chan-ge into snow and ice and after showing the mountain barriers that guard the Bilbor sanctuary; we go down the slope to discover a specta-cular cascade. By following the trail of the stream cascading downwards, we make it obvious that the water’s purity is coming from high up.

Idea & principle

All the film is shot in the actual Bilbor location.The place is presented as a sanctuary where the forces of Nature have been preserved and left untouched.With dramatic and spectacular shots we discover the raw natural beauty of the place surrounded by the majestic Bistritei and Surhard mountains, the Caliman range and the thick pine forest that protect the Bilbor valley like a natural fortress. Starting from high up in the mountains our trip follows the trail of a mountain stream that starts in the altitude, in the pure white snow cap of the peaks, flows down the rocky slopes towards the green enshrined valley, goes through a deep misty forest and ends by a beautiful cascade with crystal clear water sparkling in the sun.

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settings

The real heroes of the film are the natural elements: the sun, the sky, the clouds, the mountains, the rocks, the forest and the water. All these elements have a purpose in the film as they participate in the big natural cycle that creates the mineral water. The mountains and the forests are not just impressive landmarks but act as sentinels guarding the purity of the Bilbor water.In the shots they are much more than settings and are treated like living entities that protect the valley and give the water its unique qua-lity.

The only human that we see in the film is a mountain ranger. Very much like the mountains, he is another guardian making sure the sanc-tuary is left un-spoilt and unthreatened. His appearance is that of a man in his late 40’s, strong and well built with a natural charisma and a deep and intelligent stare that inspires instantly trust and confidence.Looking at his tanned face we immediately feel that he is an experienced out-door man, who perfectly fits into the wild natural settings where we meet him. There is no doubt that he is born there as well and knows the place perfectly.

casting

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One important dimension of the film is its visual quality. We offer the viewer a moment of sheer beauty in which the lights, the landscape and all the elements combine to offer us a magnificent and natural show of epic proportions. To film Nature and make it look extraordinary beautiful, there is no secret: you have to be in the right location at the right time, in the early morning or in the late afternoon when the sun is a bit low and gives a sculptural quality to the landscapes and the vegetation. Our goal is not to shoot pretty postcards clichés of the region but rather to make dramatic and spectacular shots of it that that will empha-size the huge scale of the natural forces that inter-act together. In our film Mother Nature is awesome and grandiose.

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image

Throughout the film there is movement. It is as if we are moving from one place to another following the guide of the voice over.There are no static shots and a progression leads us from the start at high altitude in the pure air surrounding the snow covered peaks, to the crystal clear water of the cascade. The goal is to visually link one to another to make the viewer understand that the purity comes from the altitude.

high altitude & early morning light

It is as if the camera is some kind of wind or spirit moving freely through the mountains, unbothered by gravity, flying over the peaks, gliding towards the valley and its forest, and following the sparkling trail of the mountain streams.To match the scale of the settings, only a helicopter will allow us to make significant camera movements. With a nose mounted camera we will be able to make subjective shots as if we are looking at the landscape from a bird’s eye perspective and pass very close by the natural features. Our purpose is to be breathtaking and make the mountain and the forest look more impressive than they actually are with angles that magnify their size.

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fortress like mountains

misty guardian forests

On the ground we will continue the principle of movement using a crane or in some case a steady-cam, depending of the location scou-ting. The idea is to continue our trip on a more human scale, framing nature as if seen through the ranger’s eyes.

I also find it interesting to oppose to the wide aerial shots some extreme close ups of nature, especially next to the cascade, like for ins-tance some leaves moving in the breeze or due sparkled moss on a rock. The idea is Zen inspired; we show the huge scale as well as the small one, as they are all related. We show the power of Nature but also its fragility.Another interesting technique I’m thinking off for the beginning of the film, is to make time-lapse sequences of running clouds unveiling the peaks and of shadows moving on mountain slopes. I would like to start the film with a mysterious almost mythical atmosphere.

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an untouched valley

The close up of the water and the drinking part are filmed like beauty shots and, if necessary, we will use artificial lights to enhance the natural lights and make the water look pure and crystal clear.The pack shot bottle is either shot in studio or made in CG.The transition from the last landscape shot to the water drop and to the bottle is done in post using CG techniques.

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The music and the voice over have a strong influence on the epic tone of the film.The symphonic orchestral music feels like a feature film soundtrack, creating drama and suspense that emphasizes the visual progression from the high altitude summits to the cascade.The voice over feels like telling a legend with a poetic accent.

soundtrack

water from the heights

Here is a first approach of the shooting script. Obviously it will get more and more precise as we go through the different PPM meetings and the location scouting.A precise shooting board, detailing every shots and camera moves, will be drawn before shooting.I added a few shots in order to have more options for the editing. I rather have one or two shots too many than the contrary.

Sequence 1: Intro – we establish the high altitude.

The film starts high up above the summits.In a spectacular aerial opening shot we are flying through the clouds. Everything is white for a second and then suddenly there is an opening: the clouds tear up like a foggy curtain revealing us the majestic and snowy mountain peaks behind it. It is early morning and the sun is rising behind the summits bathing the scene in an almost biblical light.(The shot is filmed with an helicopter and the clouds opening are added in post as we are not sure to get the right climatic conditions on the shoot)

Super or voice over:“There is a place that Nature loved more than others…”

We cut to two panoramic wide shots showing the movement of the clouds on the mountains and on the Bilbor valley. They are shot in time-lapse in order to capture the motion of the natural elements frame by frame. In the beautiful morning light we see layers of clouds and haze moving by the wind and revealing us the valley underneath. Shadows are also moving on the mountain slopes as the light of the sun is rising.(Technically we will use a photo camera run by a computer program and a motorized rotating tripod head, like the one used in astrono-mical photography that allows us a panoramic step-by-step movement).

Super or voice over:“And Nature protected it as she knew best…”

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shooting script

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Sequence 2: the guardians – we establish Bilbor as a very special place.

We cut to a spectacular aerial helicopter shot of the Caliman massive. Like a bird we closely glide past a rocky snow covered outcrop. It first blocks our view but as we pass it, we discover the impressive mountains behind it, forming that look like a formidable giant wall of rocks and snow.

“To the West, she put the rocky Caliman massive…”

Going on with our aerial journey we cut to another helicopter shot revealing us the Suhard Mountains. They too are filmed like is they are some kind of natural fortress guarding a sanctuary.The shot starts on the mountain slopes, tilts up to the summits and finishes in the sky…

“To the North she put the tough Surhard mountains…”

With a matching movement (enhanced in post) we pan down from the sky to discover the Bistritei mountains from a breathtaking aerial perspective.

(We will find the most spectacular way to do so, like in the mood film for instance by flying through a narrow rocky defile, but it will depend of the location scouting and how the mountain is shaped.)

“… To the East she laid the tall and dangerous Bistritei Mountains…”

With another helicopter shot we follow the silver trail of a small stream cascading down the slopes and disappearing into a thick pine forest.

Cut to a fly over of the pine forest. The camera is gliding above the top of the trees almost as if we can touch them.Underneath of us, in the warm and hazy morning light, the pine trees look like an army of sentinels guarding the valley…

“And to the South she put a barrier of thick forests of strong pine trees…

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We cut to a crane move filmed from inside the forest. The atmosphere is misty and foggy as we are still in the morning and the sun is shimmering through the layers of trunks as the camera moves through the forest…

“… To make sure the place is well guarded…”

Sequence 3: the ranger – another guardian

Cut to a close up of small herbs or moss with due drops: the camera tilts up from the fragile and green plants and change focus to frame the mountain shoes of a ranger passing in the frame…

“… Because there is something so precious here…”

Following the man from behind with a crane movement we go out of the forest with him to discover the beautiful view of the valley lying underneath of us in the morning sun…

“… That it is worth guarding well…”

Cut to the face of the ranger in the warm light of the sun, he turns around and looks up towards the summit of the mountain.

“The place is called Bilbor…”

Sequence 4: revealing the cascade

The camera takes the subjective point of view of the man and follows the cascading trail of a mountain stream falling down beautifully from a rocky outcrop. The water catches the light of the sun, glittering with silver sparkles.

With a wide crane shot we see the ranger going closer to the water.

“… And from here comes the most pure water of all…”

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Close up of the hand of the ranger taking a cup of crystal clear water in the stream.

Medium close up of the ranger lifting the cup to his face: he starts drinking.

Cut to a close up of the small herbs moving in the wind in slow motion and receiving drops of water from the cascade…

Cut to a wide aerial shot of the tiny silhouette of the ranger standing on a rocky outcrop next to the cascade and drinking the water. The tiny silhouette contrasts with the majestic scale of the mountain setting.The camera slowly widens the frame…

Transition to the packshot

As the frame widens we discover that the beautiful last wide landscape shot is reflecting on the surface of a beautiful crystal clear drop of water…As the camera widens the frame more, pine needles enter the frame and we discover the shape of the water drop…As the frame widens even more we discover that the drop is on the label of the Bilbor bottle…

Finally our zoom out stops nicely its movement framing the crystal clear bottle in its entirety against a neutral white background.

Packshot signature and claim:“Bilbor, purity of the heights”