1) The opening alternates between flashbacks of two girls in the woods being stalked by a man and a present day scene of one girl returning to the woods.
2) Scenes will use low lighting, quick cuts, and tense music to create suspense and draw in the target audience of 15+ males and females.
3) The opening will end on a cliffhanger with the girl coming face to face with the man, creating a hook for audiences to want to learn more.
2. Genre
The genre of our 2 minute opening of a film is a thriller with a sub genre of
horror.
Typical conventions that we aim to include in our film are: quick cuts, low
key lighting, variety of angles and tense music to draw in the audience.
The horror subgenre generally includes extreme low key lighting, so we will
try to consider this when filming.
3. Pitch – narrative Alternates between present and flashback, starting at present
Flashback
1) Two girls walking through the woods,
laughter and cheerful.
2) A twig snaps and the mood changes
as the girls start to worry
3) Visually see the man, girls start to run
through the forest
4) They stop look around, and the man
comes from the side and kidnaps one
of the girls
Present
1) Girl walking through the woods, with
glimpses of a photo she’s holding
2) Over the shoulder shot of a man
looking at the girl in the distance
3) The girl approaches a memorial and
there is a shot of the photo on flowers
4) Twig snaps and the girl looks around
before walking away
5) She walks around and comes face to
face with the man – the screen goes
black and there is a muffled scream
4. Target audience and story archetypes
Our target audience is people aged 15+, both male and female as there
a female who is dominant in the film, but also a male antagonist so it will
appeal to both genders.
The archetype that our film fits in to will be flight and pursuit; as the
unidentified male will be pursuing the female in order to kill the main
female character.
We plan for the opening to be left on a cliff hanger as this will hook the
audience’s interest and entice them into wanting to find out more.
5. Mise en scene
The location of the film opening will be set in a woodland area, where we
will have to rely on natural lighting and sound. By setting the film in the
woodland it is meeting the conventions of a thriller with the eerie
atmosphere.
The woodland creates a sense of realism which would appeal to the
target audience.
A scene with black and white effects would be used to increase the
intensity of shadows to form a more thriller like feeling to the film. Colour
links to emotions and thoughts so dark grey and black could connote
confusion and uncertainty.
6. Mise en scene
The man in the film opening will be wearing a black hoodie which
connotes seriousness and a dark atmosphere which will appeal to the
target audience.
The main female character will be shown as being fearful through the use
of her smudged eye make up, to show that she has been crying which
displays her anxious emotions.
Having a big open space as the setting means that the characters are
open to the elements and that anything can happen.
7. Sound
The music will be used to create suspense and tension within the
audience and to make them feel frightened. The music will build up with
a climax when approaching the penultimate shot; it starts off slow pace
and increases in speed.
It will have a dramatic feel to it, to instill fear into the audience.
8. Camera angles
We will use a variety of camera angles within our film opening, for
example a lot of low angle shots will be used to present the protagonist as
it signifies to the audience that she is vulnerable and scared.
Tracking and panning will be used to create an establishing shot, and also
to show that the antagonist is following the girl.
Canted angles will provide confusion in the audience as it disorientates
them and will add suspense to the narrative.