Initial Ideas

For my production piece, we are making an opening of a film. Our main task is of follows: "The titles of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes." This opening can be a genre of any choice, although I have decided to produce one under the Thriller genre, due to research upon it in class and analyzing a series of these themed films. Therefore, I feel I have more influence behind this subject, and feel more comfortable behind it. I am working in a twosome group alongside Jessica Turner, where together we have drafted out a series of ideas, in order to decide what opening we may produce. Here are our initial ideas:



Fixed Start:

1. Starts off black and fades to a medium shot of window



2. Pans right (slowly) along a bookshelf



3. Just ambient sound - possibly owls, crickets - typical nighttime sounds. Credits begin to show (probably in white, to contrast low-key lighting of shot)



4. Same shot, pans to end of wall and stops then pans to left gradually. The camera will then tilt towards the bed, showing an individual asleep



5. A cut of a close up of alarm clock on bedside table - lasts approximately 4 seconds, lingering and foreboding. This is to emphasize the time and the silence as we hear the clock ticking



6. Cut of camera from windowsill - high angle shot - of persons face in bed. The person will move in their sleep



7. An aerial shot of person asleep



8. Non-diegetic narrative of individual - sleeper's - speech over the top of the shot, as she begins to describe dreams. She will talk for about 15-20 seconds whilst stating how she thought the dreams were normal at first, then gradually weird, but then became recurrent



9. The camera will return to windowsill or bedside table, showing her repeating part of a routine every night - e.g. change of pajamas, turning over in bed, putting cream on her hands, taking her make up off or plumping her pillows. This shows her usual routine before bed, as well as how the dreams got to her every night even though some things were different/same in her every day life



10. A shot-reverse-shot of the previous birds eye view of her asleep, as this dissolves into her bizarre dreams
    

Alternative dreams:

1. A girl being filmed - at first happy, then serious, then screaming - showing gradual trauma. This shows someone may be distressing her. Shot reverse shot of this alongside dreamer



2. Girl in red hood (ideal, iconic prop) shot in different places, although the audience never sees her face. Recurring dreams become spooky. Maybe dreamer sees her in person, to realize it's not just a dream? - may be difficult, as time limit



3. Her dream's in retrospect and what happens at the end of the film appears in her dream, but she can't make sense of it until the end.



4. Credits are silent, going on to cut into part of the dream. Cuts in/out of dream and credits Therefore, the opening will begin with the dream - possibly with non-diegetic narrative over the top, or something horrific happens within dream - comes face to face with girl, for example - and she wakes up, concluding the opening.



5. Previous idea, but dream is short - one part of dream, alongside credits - finalizes on a shocking image. Then combination of idea 9 - she's talking in narrative text, whilst continuing routine to emphasize it happens every night.

We will discuss these ideas, in order to choose what we will converge for our media thriller opening