The planning stage-Genre and narrative

Planning

Genre

After research into many different genre's such as comedy, sci-fi and horror, we decided to choose thriller as it was a genre that all of us as a group enjoyed and has strong conventions that can be played on. Films that inspired and influenced us were Disturbia, Unknown, Eagle Eye, and Rear Window.

Narrative

Our film opening will begin with a fade into an over-the-shoulder shot of the protagonist watching tv, and flicking channels. The character will eventually settle on the news, where a zoom in to a close up of a news report on a new government coming in to power will immediately set the scene as one of totalitarian dictatorship, as the newsreader states some of the new laws that are being introduced, such as the constant surveillance of the civilians of the country. The newsreader will adhere to typical stereotypes of a newsreader, dressed in a suit. The non-diegetic voice-over of events will introduce the audience to the setting and situation of the protagonist. A dissolve or wipe will then be used to show the TV being switched off, with possibly a close up of the protagonist pressing the power button. The protagonist then will stand up, and proceed to search for a small package, with a fast cutting speed used to show the fast-paced and frantic nature of the protagonist. The contents of the package will not be shown to leave an air of ambiguity. The protagonist will find the package and will leave the house, with a possible close-up shot of the door handle being opened to build tension. A diegetic soundtrack will now be introduced, building up tension as the protagonist checks his phone to see a text telling him to meet someone (close-up shot). Shots that appear to show the protagonist being followed by CCTV will be used, as the names of actors and other key members of development will appear in white text on these shots as he walks. The protagonist will eventually reach his destination, an alley, where another man will be shown waiting and a close-up of the package being quickly swapped will be shown to build the tension. As the music reaches a crescendo both men will walk off in seperate directions, with our protagonist seeming to escape, and the use of the red-herring in the tension build-up making our audience wonder what will happen. The man who has been given the package will be shown with an over the shoulder shot, walking away, until he is suddenly dragged away, with the immediate shock of the crescendo of music being used to show the state of shock the man is in. A wipe to black will be used with only the title of the film being shown, and a diegetic voice over of a man saying "Nothing is left unpunished", or something along these lines, being used to leave the audience on a cliffhanger and prepared for the rest of the film