Planning opening to

thriller

Initial concepts/ideas/influences

Plot
The plot revolves around Billy who is running in a forest
with headphones in. However he is being stalked by Holly
who is watching and following him from behind trees.
Holly came from her house where she was preparing to
kill him by cleaning her gun or knife (havent decided
which one yet) and concealing her identity. Billy is
running in the forest and starts to notice that he may be
being followed, so takes his headphones out and starts to
look around. Holly comes out from hiding within the trees
and points a gun at Billy/holds knife up. Holly then
murders Billy and conceals his body. In the opening we

Planning edit (rough/initial ideas)

Fade to black, we will use it more than once, so the audience know that there are two different scenes
in different settings. Also it can mark the end of our opening, the darkness will make it mysterious as
we dont get to see the rest of the story.
Cross dissolves, these will help the audience know that the two separate scenes within our opening are
linked and accompanying each other.
fast cuts, we will use these a lot and at a fast rate so the audience is conventionally disorientated and
cant fully see what is going. We will also use it to reflect how the character Billy is feeling.
Sound bridge in the beginning, to inter textually reference Kill Bill, and so it immediately draws the
audience in, as the screen will be black with loud noise drawing them in, they will want to find out
what its for.
Shot reverse shot, to make the audience have a sense of what the character Billy is feeling when he
finally sees Holly staling him. And to establish a sense of binary opposition between the two
characters.
Parallel editing, we will use this mostly throughout our opening, for when Billy is running through the
forest and Holly is preparing to kill him.
Match on action, for continuity and so the audience doesnt get bored of seeing the same shots and
angles of when Billy is running.

Locations
A forest:- the forest we are using looks isolated and remote because it will make the character
Billy look more trapped in this remote and secluded location, however it also to looks tranquil
as well because it implies Billy is unsuspecting and just wanted to go for a run in a peaceful
place. Additionally the natural setting will create a sense of predators hunting prey. Also a
muddy floor will intertextually link to Heavenly creatures, and reinforce the idea of being
trapped and hunted, as its like Billy will be stuck in mud, stopping him from running away.
Furthermore the forest looks repetitive and similar, therefor the feeling that this place is an
labyrinth will construct suspense as it suggests no matter how far Billy runs he will not be able
to escape Holly coming for him, that his death is inevitable. Additionally the trees are in a way
that create many vanishing points, which emphasises the labyrinth idea, and inter textually
references The Third Man. Moreover we chose to film it in winter because it meant there would
be n leaves on the trees and the whole mise en scene and colour pallet would look colder and
more dismal.
The house (where Holly is preparing):- we chose the house because it gives no indications of
where it is, or how far it is from the forest. This adds more mystery to the opening leaving the
audience asking questions like how and why? Therefore draws the audience in to want to find
out more. Furthermore the colour pallet of the house is dark therefore constructs connotations
danger and mystery creating suspense and anxiety for the audience.

Costumes
Billys
He will be wearing running gear, that is suitable for the weather
(winter), so a jumper and tracksuit bottoms, not a t-shirt and shorts.
This is so it looks more realistic, instead of a fake and deliberately
made up costume that will just simply suit its purpose. The colour
pallet of his costume will be dark, however not as dark as Hollys to
reflect the characters personalities and intentions. Furthermore the
costume will be simplistic and unsophisticated to reference Essex Boys
and the character Billy. This is to represent him to be naive and
unsuspecting, that he is an everyday person caught up in a dangerous
and not everyday event/situation, which is generic of thrillers.

Costume
Hollys
Hollys costume will be dark and concealing to coincide with the narrative of
our opening. At the end of the opening the audience find out that Hollys
intentions throughout the opening have been dark and murderous, so
therefore we chose to have the colour palette of this character as mainly all
black. This is because black creates connotations of danger, darkness, fear
and mystery which suits this character and is conventional of thrillers.
Additionally we decided to make her have a big concealing coat that hid her
identity, the colour of this coat is brown so camouflages her in the forest, and
there is a big hood that covers her face so her identity is hidden. Moreover she
will be wearing black gloves which suggests she has planned this murder and
doesnt want to leave any finger prints or evidence behind, therefore adding
mystery as the audience want to find out more to the story.

Props and Objects

Knife: this is one of the possible murder weapons we have decided to maybe
use because its small so easily concealable. It also intertextually references
the thriller film Psycho, so the audience will make the reference, especially
because if we use it we will mimic how the knife is held up.
Hand gun: this is the other possible murder weapon we have decided to
maybe use because its small and concealable. It is also a more modern
method of murder, and our thriller is modern, challenging many outdated
patriarchal thriller conventions, so could help emphasise this. Additionally we
could incorporate some good conventionally thriller camera angles and shots,
such as looking down the barrel of a gun. Similarly in the thriller film The
Bourne identity, hand guns are used for killing people.
Headphones: these will be used to make Billy look even more unsuspecting of
Holly.
The lamp: create chiaroscuro lighting, which is a convention of thrillers.

Characters
Billy
Billy is a fit and healthy runner, he is what you could a
normal everyday person, who is generally not
conventional of thrillers. However he is being placed in a
dangerous and not everyday situation is conventional so
that is what we will do. This is because he has a dark
past that has caught up with him, the audience doesnt
know that dark past to add mystery and suspense of the
opening.

Characters
Holly
Holly is named after Holly out of the thriller The Third Man, this is because Holly is
also a concealing character stalking another character. However there is the
difference of gender between these two characters, in our opening Holly is female,
and in The Third Man Holly is a male. We chose to have our murderer in our
opening as a female to challenge traditional but turning outdated patriarchal
archetypes within thrillers. Where its mostly males who are presented to be
capable of being powerful and murderers, and if women are capable they're still
undermined by men. For example Kill Bill, where the main character is powerful
and capable however the male antagonists is still one step ahead and more
powerful, or Essex Boys where in the opening women are not even recognised or
seen to be able to be a dangerous criminal. Holly will be presented to be a slightly
psychotic and dangerous murder therefore challenging gender roles within thrillers.
She is a smart and deadly character who is a force to be reckoned with.

Casting of characters
Billy: we chose to use Louis as this character because
he looks everyday; he looks fit and healthy so suits the
runner character that is Billy; he looks young so this
reinforces the sense that he is nave and unsuspecting
of the events that will occur in the opening. As he is part
of our group he will also be easily available and deeply
understand the role he needs to play in order to make
this a thriller opening.
Holly: our group have decided to cast Ella (me) as Holly,
this is because I am easily available for filming and
understand what is expected of me for this role in order
to make it into a thriller.

Soundtrack ideas
We want to use a simple and orchestral soundtrack that
creates suspense and tension, we dont want it to be too
loud or have many components to it in order so it doesnt
distract the audience from the story. However we would
like it to have possible layers to it so it adds tension
because it would go along side the narrative, the
audience would be finding out more information, and the
more this happened the more layers to the music there
would be. Furthermore we would find a soundtrack that
we would be able to synchronise with Holly, we want to
do this to make her look more powerful and in control

Shooting schedule and equipment

We will film in winter during the morning and midday so there is
enough natural sunlight for the audience to see all the forest. We
will film in the forest first and then inside the house so we dont
waste the time we have for when the sun is out, as when were
inside we are using artificial chiaroscuro lighting, so daylight doesnt
matter.
Casting characters from within our group means its easier to
schedule when we are filming.
Video camera, with hand held capabilities and the ability to be
attached to a tripod. And a built in microphone.
Tripod
Gorilla pod

Typeface ideas

Intertextual references
Kill Bill: sound bridge in the introduction of heavy breathing and starting with a black screen. We used this because it
establishes mystery as the audience dont know why there's heavy breathing, furthermore heavy breathing is associated
with alarming situations such as being chased, or hurt.
The Third Man: vanishing points in the forest and that its isolated with no one else there. This is to give the sense of a
labyrinth and mystery, which is its effect in The Third Man. And the characters name of Holly.
Nosferatu the Vampyre: The pale face created through lighting for Holly, making her look slightly psychotic, sinister and
deadly because of this link the audience should recognise.
Heavenly creatures: The muddy and forestry setting, linking to the predatory hunting/hunted theme within a certain
scene in Heavenly Creatures. Also that this film portrays women to be capable killers like ours, not presenting them to be
damsel in distress.
Essex Boys: the characters name Billy, to make the character look nave and juvenile constructing them to be victimised
in some way.
Once Upon a Time in America: switching on the lamp in the dark room to create chiaroscuro lighting, which is very
conventional of thrillers as it creates more shadows around the focal point, therefore suggesting that something or
someone is hiding in them and preying on something. In the case of our opening, Holly is in the shadows.
Psycho: if we choose to use a knife as the murder weapon then it links to the iconic shower scene. We would mimic the
way Norman Bates holds up the knife before he murders Janet. The audience would recognise this and it creates ultraheightened expectations which is conventional of thrillers.
The Bourne identity: if we choose to use a handgun as the murder weapon then it links to many scenes within this film of
when handguns are used as a means of killing someone. The gun will establish the theme of murder so the audience
straight away recognise this with the first shot of it.