The document outlines an initial plot idea for a thriller film. The opening sequence would start with a voiceover by the protagonist hinting at his job as a hitman over a black screen. It would then show the protagonist in a parking garage and getting in a lift, cross-cutting to scenes of his men preparing to kidnap a victim. The scenes would continue cross-cutting until they meet up and the protagonist opens the boot of a car to find the kidnapped victim, ending on a cliffhanger. The film would hybridize the thriller genre with crime and action genres and target males aged 26-40.

1. INITIAL IDEAS

2. PLOT
FOR OUR PLOT WE WILL START WITH A BLACK SCREEN WITH THE PROTAGONIST
NARRATING OVER IT. THE PROTAGONIST WILL BE GIVING SUBTLE HINTS ABOUT THE
PLOT OF THE FILM AND WILL ALSO MENTION HIS JOB AS A HITMAN WITHOUT
ACTUALLY REVEALING WHAT IT IS. THIS WILL LAST FOR AROUND 15-20 SECONDS AND
AFTER THIS WILL SHOW THE PROTAGONIST WALKING THROUGH A CAR PARK,
CARRYING A BRIEF CASE. AS HE ENTERS THE LIFT, WE WILL CROSS CUT TO THE
PROTAGONIST’S MEN PREPARING TO KIDNAP THE WANTED VICTIM. WE WILL AGAIN
CUT BACK TO THE PROTAGONIST EXITING THE LIFT AND THEN WALKING DOWN A
BUSY HIGH STREET. WE WILL CONTINUE TO CROSS CUT BETWEEN THE TWO SCENARIOS
UNTIL THEY EVENTUALLY MEET UP AND THE PROTAGONIST OPENS THE BOOT OF THE
CAR TO FIND THE KIDNAPPED VICTIM. THE SCENE WILL END ON A CLIFF HANGER
HERE.

3. SUB-GENRE/HYBRID
DUE TO THERE BEING A KIDNAPPING, WE WILL PROBABLY HYBRIDISE THE THRILLER
GENRE WITH CRIME AND ACTION. THIS WAY WE WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE THE PLOT
MORE MYSTERIOUS AND GRIPPING FOR THE AUDIENCE BY INCLUDING ELEMENTS
OF VIOLENCE TO CREATE SUSPENSE. OUR TARGET AUDIENCE IS MALES AGED 26-
40 SO STEREOTYPICALLY THEY WOULD BE FAMILIAR WITH THIS SORT OF GENRE AS
THEY ARE MORE MATURE AND WILL ENJOY A MORE COMPLEX PLOT.

4. INTRODUCING THEMES
IT IS PROBABLE THAT WE WILL ONLY REVEAL PARTS OF THE NARRATIVE
THROUGHOUT THE OPENING SEQUENCE TO LEAVE THE AUDIENCE ASKING
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CHARACTERS AND THE PLOT AND TO ALSO LEAVE THEM
WANTING MORE. BECAUSE WE ARE USING CROSS CUTTING, WE WILL INTRODUCE
THE LOCATION AND CHARACTERS SIMULTANEOUSLY TO NOT GIVE TOO MUCH
INFORMATION AWAY. THE NARRATIVE WILL BE SET LATER ON IN THE FILM AND
AFTER THE OPENING SEQUENCE THE FILM WOULD GO BACK IN TIME AND LEAD UP
TO THE KIDNAPPING.

5. REPRESENTATIONS
IT IS UNLIKELY THAT WE WILL USE FEMALE CHARACTERS IN THE OPENING
SEQUENCE BUT IF WE DO THEN THEY WILL BE REPRESENTED IN AN ANTI-
STEREOTYPICAL WAY AND AS BEING QUITE ROUGH AND AGGRESSIVE. THEY
WOULD BE PART OF THE PROTAGONIST’S GANG OR TEAM AND SO WOULD BE
FAMILIAR WITH HOSTILE OR COMBAT SITUATIONS AND SO THIS IS WHY THEY
WOULD BE REPRESENTED IN AN ANTI-STEREOTYPICAL WAY.
ON THE OTHER HAND, MEN WOULD BE REPRESENTED STEREOTYPICALLY AS
FORMAL AND CONFIDENT AND THIS WOULD BE SHOWN PRIMARILY THROUGH THE
PROTAGONIST’S PERSONALITY. WE FEEL THIS PERSONALITY WOULD APPEAL TO
THE TARGET AUDIENCE BECAUSE MANY OF THEM WILL BE ABLE TO RELATE TO IT
IN SOME WAY.

6. GRASPING THE ATTENTION OF THE AUDIENCE
THE MAIN WAY THAT WE WILL GRASP THE ATTENTION OF THE AUDIENCE WOULD
BE BECAUSE OF HOW WE INTRODUCE OUR OPENING SEQUENCE. BY OPENING IT
WITH A BLACK SCREEN AND A VOICE OVER, THE AUDIENCE WILL BE IMMEDIATELY
GRIPPED BY HOW UNUSUAL THE OPENING IS AND WILL INSTANTLY START TO ASK
QUESTIONS SUCH AS “WHO’S VOICE IS IT?’ AND ‘SHOULD I BE SCARED OR
REASSURED BY IT?’. THIS WILL CREATE A MYSTERIOUS AND SINISTER TONE RIGHT
FROM THE VERY START WHICH WILL INTRIGUE THE AUDIENCE.