Summary of Ideas and Inspiration - Refined

Summary of Ideas and Inspiration - Refined

After filming scenes of our original plot, we encountered some difficulties concerning filming the dog. We did get some footage of him however, it turned out to be a lot harder than we had first thought it would be, the owner was very cooperative but it was extremely difficult to get footage without the owner in. Furthermore, the dog doesn't look very vicious in the film that we shot therefore we have decided to alter the plot slightly so that it is more obvious to the audience. We did edit together the shots of the original plot however, having asked people to watch it we discovered that it was not clear that the dog was attacking the protagonist.
 

 

Refined Rough Plot: 

• The film would open with a birds eye shot of tree tops and forest land using a drone to establish the setting which is a convention of the mystery thriller sub-genre. Non-diegetic parallel, eerie music.

-------> One of the film openings that I deconstructed was Inception, although a lot of the effects from this film are done in post production, birds eye view shots are used a lot therefore, we have decided to incorporate this into our opening sequence but with a darker twist of the forest land however, this is also appropriate because it establishes the location for the opening.
(Candice Flannery)

• A panning shot of an open field with trees around will then further establish the location for the opening scene.
• A small montage of close up framed shots will then finalise the establishment of the location, these will consist of more forest land; perhaps close ups of leaves and trees blowing in the wind with a grey sky to enhance the eerie atmosphere of the opening.
•  A girl (the protagonist) will be walking onto the private land, we will use a low angle here to increase tension and show her walking over the private land sign.

-------> From the research that I pursued of thriller conventions, I found out that it is very common in thriller films that low angles of someone walking are used because you can hear their footsteps, this increases tension and adds suspense to the particular shot which is necessary in a thriller movie.
(Chloee Allen)  
-------> In the opening sequence of Mad Max, a low camera angle is used to show Max himself treading on a lizard, this increases tension and demonstrates the movement of the character which can introduce them in a different way.
(Lucy Harris)

• The camera editing will now switch to a slow pan of the farmers location, a shed with trees and shrubs around it. Other mise en scène will include faux fur and flesh that is bloody and ripped as if the farmer hunts but also has human flesh, this will intensify his creepiness and the mystery element.
• We will have point of view shots of the girl wandering up to a shed, she will pass through hanging bloody fur, we have decided that we will definitely use point of view shots here because it will be more dramatic and therefore cause the audience to feel more involved.

-------> One of the film openings that I deconstructed was I Am Legend, this film inspired us to include a dog in our opening sequence to increase the level of threat towards the girl, however, since the dog shots didn't work we have decided to still use fur in our opening. Also, thriller and horror movies sometimes contain a wild animal or beast that is used to further scare the audience.
(Lucy Harris)

• The girl will then wander into the shed and see the antagonist about to chop part of an arm with an axe, his work space is also accompanied by raw bloody meat, skin and bones.

-------> I analysed the opening sequence of Gone, which is a film that includes a big hole that is dug into the earth in the middle of the woods. Inside this hole are human remains; bones. We decided to take this idea and adapt it to our storyline.
(Chloee Allen)

• Being so shocked at what she has seen, she steps back and drops her bottle of vodka onto the floor which obviously makes a noise resulting in the antagonist pausing his actions and turning around to see her running away.

-------> From the research that I pursued of thriller conventions, I found out that it is vital for thriller films to have a little bit of gore in them, depending on the rating of the movie. Therefore, we are adding mise en scene that is bloody and gory.

(Chloee Allen)

• Finally, a montage of shots of the farmer walking with his gun, a sound bridge of the girls heavy heartbeat and breathing will end the opening. The farmer will raise his gun into the distance and shoot, the title (which we are yet to decide on) will appear at the end of the opening sequence.

Rough Character Description:

• Protagonist - Innocent and vulnerable, pale with dark hair, young female and petite to emphasise the inferiority and danger. Wearing simple clothing, perhaps jeans and a hoodie.

-------> The inspiration for this character and her outfit came from a mixture of the films that we have deconstructed, in Gone Jill Conway (the protagonist) wears simple clothing which mirrors her experience and actions, therefore, we are planning on dressing our protagonist also in clothes that mirror her actions and mode of address. Her manner in terms of her outfit will be promiscuous, she is also drinking which portrays her in a specific stereotype - for example, one wouldn't see a librarian wearing this outfit! Furthermore, it is typically expected in some thriller movies and horror films that someone dies before the opening credits (this is a convention of the slasher genre), this person is usually of a promiscuous nature and impure - which is why they don't survive.
(Chloee Allen)

• Antagonist - Recognisable as a farmer, combat clothing or dungarees, maybe with splashes of blood as if he has been hunting. Facial hair, older male and stern, creepy mode of address.

-------> Inspiration for the antagonist also came from many different areas of our research and deconstructions. In Gone, The Dark Knight and Se7en all of the antagonists are dressed unusually which gives them a creepy and eerie vibe, in Gone the kidnapper is based in the woods therefore, we have taken this aspect for our own film opening and have adapted it to suit our plot.
(Chloee Allen)

Prop Ideas:

• To add a gory vibe to our film opening and also to enhance the location of a farm, we would like to have some hanging dead animal skins/furs and fake human flesh by the farmers workhouse as if he hunts for his own food and guts the animals himself. The human flesh will add a mysterious anticipation to the personality of the farmer and his back story.
• We are also going to decorate his shed with old rustic farming tools, for example a rake, spade, spears etc.

-------> All of the props that we have decided to include in our opening sequence share the purpose of enhancing the gore and thriller aspect of the film opening. From thriller movies that we have analysed we have discovered that they all have at least a small element of gore, for example a cut with some blood etc.

Title Ideas:

Currently, we have a number of ideas for our title. Since the plot of our opening is about private land we think that the title "TRESPASS" will be appropriate because it is simple but clearly labels the film and gives the audience an idea as to the storyline before they watch it. In addition, there are other ways to phrase this title and other ideas that we have had:

• Trespasser
• Private Land
• The Farmer
• The Farm
• No Trespassing
• Disturbance

Typography Ideas: