Ben Bailey proposes two initial ideas for media projects: 1. A psychological thriller trailer involving a disillusioned person who may have committed murder. The antagonist's identity would be ambiguous to create mystery. 2. A short crime thriller film about a renowned detective investigating a murder while becoming paranoid that clues point to him as the culprit. It would be inspired by films where the main character has an unknown double life. He provides inspiration from films like Shutter Island where the main character's actions are unknown and Fight Club where the protagonist lives two unbeknownst lives. Bailey is comfortable with the thriller genre having done past projects and understands typical conventions like close-ups, lighting, and tension-building techniques. He requests

1. Media Initial Ideas
By Ben Bailey

2. Ideas
When it comes to deciding on a storyline I like choosing storylines that involve a
lot of mystery and plot twists that no one sees coming.
I am a particularly a big fan of psychological thrillers because often the antagonist
is revealed at the very end of the story if at all allowing the audience to make up
their own ideas about characters and speculate what is going to happen next.

3. Initial Idea 1
My first idea is a thriller trailer.
The sub genre of it is most likely going to be psychological/stalker as
then I can use a lot of dark scenes and give the audience very vague
ideas about the plot line and add hints throughout the trailer.
The concept would be something along the lines of a person who is
disillusioned with public life and it is implied that they have murdered
someone. However, there is no proof that they did do it and this would
allow me to add twists to the plot.
The actor’s features would never be properly shown which helps
dehumanise the actor and allows for audiences to have their own ideas
about the ‘antagonist’. The colours and lighting throughout would be
dull adding to the effect of fear and suspense.

4. Initial Idea 1 Inspiration
Shutter Island: The idea that the actions of a character are
unknown to the audience is where I got the inspiration for initial
idea 1 (and partially for idea 2) from. This is because in shutter
island Leonardo Dicaprio plays a character who throughout the film
is perceived to be a normal person but actually is the complete
opposite

5. Initial Idea 2
My second initial idea is a short film for a crime thriller.
It would follow a well renowned detective who recently has been having health
issues and has been passing out a lot.
He is currently investigating a murder but as time progresses more and more hints
turn up that suggest that the detective himself actually committed the crime.
The detective at first strongly believes that he is being set up and covers up the
clues leading to him, but as time goes on he becomes paranoid about the situation
he is in and his colleagues start to pick up that something is wrong. Eventually it is
uncovered that the detective did commit the murder and he goes on the run.

6. Initial Idea 2 Inspirations
Fight Club: I have got inspiration from fight club by how the main
character in that film lives two lives one of which he is not aware
of this leads him to undergo actions that he does not even realise
he is doing himself.
Seven: Seven follows two detectives who are investigating a
string of murders that all relate to the seven deadly sins. However,
one of the detectives becomes personally involved when a person
close to him is murdered.

7. Thriller Quote
According to Vera Dika, the stalker film, (a subgenre of the Thriller genre) can be distinguished by; ‘The
representation of the films' major character: the killer. Kept primarily off screen for the duration of the film,
this killer is usually made knowable by a distinctive shot or series of shots. The Stalker film can also be
distinguished because of the particular combination of setting, character, and plot conventions it presents.’
This quote by Vera Dika reveals how the killer in a stalker film is usually hidden from view, which builds
suspense for the audience and keeps them guessing at who the killer could be, often creating an enigma.

8. Thriller Conventions
I have done a past project on a thriller and so that is why I am more comfortable
with doing thrillers and I already have knowledge of what codes and
conventions are used in typical thrillers such as:
Extreme close ups
Low key lighting
Quick cuts
Shadows
Tension sounds (diegetic and nondiegetic)
Changes in the angle of shots

9. Comments
If there are any comments about how I could improve the ideas or which you think
is the better idea then please let me know.