Proposal

1. Proposal
Idea Summary:
Our productionideaisinnovative,engagingandrelevant,particularlytoourtargetaudience.The
narrative followsayoungboynamedAlex,who,asanaspiringartist,iscurrentlystudyingatanart
school.WhenAlex wasachild,hisbrotherwasimprisonedasa resultof physical violent –an
incidentwhichhasremainedwithAlex.He becomesincreasinglyconcernedwithhisbrotherbothas
a person,andin relationtohimself,andexpressesthese thoughtsthroughart.Hisdrawingsconsist
of hauntingimagesregardinghisfearssurroundinghisbrother,whichsoonstarthappeningin
reality.The eventswhichhe drawsbegintonegativelyaffectbothhislife,aswell asthe life of his
bestfriend,Sophie.Asaresult,he growstorn betweenthe ideaof beinga ‘good’and‘bad’person,
questioningwhatthismeansandthe self-identitysurroundingthe labels. Alex obsessesoverthese
ideas,creatingasense of moral conflictwhichdrivesthe movie forwardandproducespsychological
themes.Conflictsurrounding identityis notonlyhighlyrelevanttowardsyoung people;howeverthe
theme of moral questioningthroughoutthe narrative provokesthoughtamongstaudiences,
attractingthose in searchor innovative andengagingmaterial. AsdemonstratedbySteve Neale’s
theoryof repetitionanddifference,ourproductionwill remainconventional tothe thrillergenre,
howeverwill inevitablyincorporate elementsof individualityanduniquestyle.
Group Roles:
I am workingalongside threeteammemberstoproduce thisfilm –as a result,we have each
undertakenindividual andspecificroles.Iwill be directingthe production;Bailee Brookswill be
producingit;ChrisWottonwill be operatingthe cameraand MilesCappwill be the editor. These
roleshave beenallocatedbaseduponindividual strengthsandskills,allowingustocreate the
highestqualityproductionpossible.
Characters:
We believe thatcharactersholdimmense powerwithinall stories,oftenactingasaforce which
drivesthe narrative fromitsinitial equilibrium, throughtoitsdisruptionandfinallytoitsnew
equilibrium(asdictatedbyTodrov’stheory).Ourproductionwill featurethree leadingcharacters –
Alex,hisbestfriendSophie,andhisbrother.
Alex isthe protagonistof the story,arguablymaking himthe ‘hero’(Propptheory). Hischaracteris
incrediblygentle,compassionate andthoughtful,asisdemonstratedthroughthe nature of hisart.
As previouslymentioned,he isanartistof age 16, whousesdrawingas a formof self-expressionand
escape fromfear(conveyedthroughdrawingsof hisfears,generallysurroundinghisbrother).He has
beenbestfriendswithSophie (anaspiringscientistof the same age) foralmostthe entiretyof hislife
– hence she hasan understandingof hissituationandthoughts.The pairarguablyrepresentabinary
oppositionthroughpersonality –where Alex appearsweak,gentle andreliantonhisfriendssupport,
Sophie isstrong-minded,independentandoftenbrutal.Thisis,however,areversal of the
conventional binary oppositionbetweenmenandwomen; whereinmenare stereotypicallydepicted
as strong andpowerful,asopposedtothe stereotypical naïve andemotionalnature of women. The
reversal of thistwistsaudience expectationssurroundingthe charactersandtheir actions;however
will continue topromptaudience identification –eitherwithcharactersof the same gender,orof a

2. differentgender.Furthermore,thisoppositiontostereotypesactsasa methodof breakingstigma
surroundingmale emotion.Despite Alex beingacharacterof intense emotionandthought,he
continuestopersevere anddisplaystrengthinformsotherthanphysical power.Sophie,despitenot
beingthe protagonist,canbe deemedthe Propp‘hero’due toherpossessionof commonheroic
traits,as well asher jointeffortwithAlex toresolve the disruptionof equilibrium. Women,
therefore,are representedinamannerwhichisunconventionalof gender,butconventionalof
character traitswithinthrillermovies(thisbeinganexample of SteveNeale’srepetitionand
difference theory).
The final character isthat of Alex’sbrother. Hisidentityisgenerallycloudedbyenigma,relatingto
Barthes’enigmacode,inwhichitisstatedthat thiselementof mysteryengagesaudiencesand
drivesthe narrative forwards. Alex’sbrotherisinprison,andoftenfeaturesinAlex’sdrawings –his
actionsleadAlex toquestionif he tooislike hisbrother.Asaresult,the character alsofeatures
withinthe mainnarrative,uponAlex’sdrawingshappeningin reality. Intermsof representation,
Alex’sbrotherdoesnotfitthe stereotype of a‘criminal’.He appearsmundane andordinary,
seeminglyblendinginamongstotherboyshisage.Thisisusedinorder to heightenAlex’ssenseof
distortionsurroundinghisidentityinassociationwithhisbrothers,andthe possibilitythatanyone
(evenhimself) canbe a ‘bad’person – a line of thoughtwhichmaybe reflecteduponthe audience,if
theytoo are able to identifywithAlex’sbrother. Furthermore,thisblursthe distinctionbetween
‘hero’and‘villain’or‘good’and‘bad’,thereforeestablishingthemes of moral conflictwithinthe
narrative.
Locations:
Withinthe openingsequence,onlythree mainlocationswill be used –an art room, Alex’shouse and
an alleyway.The settingof anart roomis usedduringthe title sequence,inwhichAlex’sdrawings
are displayed,surroundingbyvariousartsupplies.Thisallowsconnotationstotheme,characterand
narrative tobe drawnand established,therefore makingitaneffective settingtoopenwithmovie
with. The locationof Alex’shouse (primarilyhisbedroom) isvital toestablishingcharacter,whilst
alsoprovidingthe audience withamore personal andintimate insightintohislife. Hisroomappears
mundane andconventional tothatof a teenage boy(thuspromptingaudienceidentification
amongstthe target audience of youngmales);howeverisalsodecoratedwithhisdrawings,this
creatingan elementof uniqueidentitysurroundinghischaracter.The final locationisthatof an
alleyway,inwhichthe kidnappingscene drawnbyAlex will occurinreality. Thislocationishighly
conventional of the thrillergenre,therefore fittingwithaudience expectationsof the narrative.This
audience expectationwillallow tensionandsuspense tobe built,makingviewersfeel asthough
somethingisabouttohappen,andkeepingthemonthe ‘edge of theirseats’ –thus servingthe
purpose of a thrillerfilm.
Costume/Props:
The costume for mostcharacters will appear incrediblymundane and ordinary,thusmakingit
identifiable withthe audience.Alex andSophie will bothwearclothingwhichisrelevantand
appropriate toyoungpeople of theirage,againpromptingaudience identificationandmakingthe
characters appearmore ‘real’and‘human’.Bothcharacters, however,will wearelementsof black
clothinginorderto provoke asense of enigma,aswell asforeshadow darkerthemessurrounding
boththeircharacter and the narrative as a whole – forexample,Alex will wearahatto suggesta

3. sense of concealedidentity. Alex’sbrotherwill be dressedentirelyinblack,thereforemakinghima
more conventional ‘villain’ withinthe openingsequence,allowingviewerstorecognisehisintentions
surroundingAlex andSophiewithinthe kidnappingscene. Ideally,hisentire bodyandfacedwill be
coveredinblackclothing,thusentirelyconcealinghisidentity.Thiscreates enigmawithinthe
audience (againrelatingto Barthes’enigmacode),howeveralsoestablishesasense of unknowing
and mysteryamongstthe characters – despite Alex mentioninghisbrotherinconversationand
throughhisart, it isnot made directlyclearthathe isinitiatingthiskidnapping,butisinsteadonly
implied.Thislackof definiteidentityagainheightensenigma,encouraging audiencestocontinue
watchingbeyondthe openingsequence (thusmakingiteffective).
Soundtrack:
The main soundtrackforthe productionwill be playedduringthe titlesequence,inwhichimagesof
Alex’sdrawingsare displayedonscreen.Despite the contentsof these drawingsbeingdarkand
haunting,the theme of arthas no directconnotationstothe thrillergenre –hence whya ‘thrilling’
soundtrackisrequired.The audioclipwouldideallybe matchthe tone of the drawings,thusbeing
dark and eerie, communicatingtwistedandpsychological themeswithinthe movie.
A vastmajorityof the openingsequence,however,willbe takenupbythe conversationbetween
Alex andSophie.Thisconversationshouldcontainminimal backgroundnoise,asthe absence of a
musical soundtrackcan oftenbe usedbyproducersinorderto twistaudience expectationsand
implythatan unexpectedeventisabouttooccur. Uponthe endof thisconversationandthe
introductionof afinal scene,however,Ithinkthatsome formof audiowouldbe requiredinorderto
pickup on thistension,andfurtherbuildonit.Thiscouldpotentiallyincrease inpace until the endof
the scene isreached,constantlybuildingaudience anticipationand,asa result,keepingthem
engagedwiththe film (thisbeingthe purpose of anopeningsequence).
Effects:
Our productionwill likelyinclude minimaleffects,inordertomake itfeel as‘real’aspossible.We
will use aneditingsoftware toanimate the titleswhendisplayedonAlex’sdrawings,however, other
than this,Ido not thinkthatspecial effectswouldbe requiredwithinthe openingsequence.