Planning: Choosing an Idea (Brief)

We must create a 2 minute film opening that conforms to the conventions of the thriller genre. As this is an opening for a film we have decided to follow an open narrative in which the story does not have a clear conclusion at the end of the 2 minutes.

After researching thrillers and other film openings within this genre, we have been able to select certain aspects of other films that will fit our own narrative. For example from my research on the opening of the film 'Black Swan', I have found that by altering the Ident of the production company, making it ominous and more appropriate for the film type, the tone of the film is set early on. This is something that I will definitely be considering using in my own production as I found that it provided considerable impact on myself as the viewer. This film also used dreary and suspenseful music that created tension and made the scene appear more daunting and theatrical. Costuming was also important in this opening as it represented the character traits of the dancers. This is something we will include in our own production as black connotes death and grief and our protagonist will be wearing this colour as she begins to deteriorate.
I also found from my research on the film opening of 'Cabin In The Woods' that ambiguous film openings are very effective in this genre. By confusing the audience with a dual narrative is sets an uneasy tone to the beginning of the film as you are not sure what will happen next. Although we will not be using a dual narrative in our own production we will be juxtaposing pleasant memories with sad and more desperate ones in order to create a similar sort of confusion within our audience, as has been done in this film. This narrative technique creates a false sense of security within the audience and creates a greater overall impact when the truth is revealed later on in the film.

Our film will be following two main characters, both acting as the protagonist. The characters are both female and around 16 years of age. We will follow their friendship through a series of flashbacks, beginning with fond, happy recollection then leading into arguments and dark scenes. Through this time line of events the audience will see one of the girls deteriorate. Through the use of make up we will make her appear more vacant and ill. In later scenes the other character will begin to blink in and out of existence, leading the audience to question her authenticity. The opening ends with the first girl sat alone. As she looks into distance we see that she has significantly changed, looking run down and terrifying. She looks into the camera, blinks, and then screen flashes to black.