As we are now embarking on our Thriller opening sequences we were told to invent ideas for four film ideas in their entirety and then explain what the opening sequence for that film would be. These ideas not only had to be creative but also feasible for what we could achieve in only one day.
1. It is a political thriller. The plot is based around an independent anti-government organisation who reek havoc by anonymously assassinating various world leaders in order to gain power. We follow a highly specialist police team faced with there most difficult challenge ever to identify and capture the organisation before the world is left without power or direction.
The title sequence will be set in a public speaking/conference room (theatre) that is lit strategically so that the size is not obvious. This is to make it appear bigger than it is. In the centre of the stage there is a podium and there is a row of photographers crouched in front of an audience of government officials and senators. On the back wall is a Russian embassy flag. There are several establishing shots before an adult emerges wearing a suit. He is suggested to be the prime minister of Russia and proceeds to give a speech in which he gesticulates heavily. No diegetic sound is heard but there is some classical music playing over the top which contrasts what is about to occur. We see various different shots going close to his face and from behind him facing the audience. Mid way through his speech the prime minister goes to take a sip from some water on the podium. Only seconds later this appears to have an immediate effect on him. We experiment with extreme close ups of the way his facial expression changes as well as those in the audience. We then have a shot with the camera on the floor as we see the prime minister fall to the floor in slow motion and then his mouth starts to foam and purple veins emerge from his head. His eyes remain open in a piercing look as he is now dead. The music stops at the same time as the screen goes black to create a sudden and definite end before the title of the film appears on screen from a fade.
2. The film follows the life of a man who as a child was declared medically insane and a danger to society after committing a horrific crime as a teenager. We follow his struggle through a young criminals institute and then the challenge he faces after rehabilitating himself and becoming a successful scientist completing astounding work as well as starting a family of his own. It is the aim to challenge the resolve of the audience and create controversy as to whether they root for him or not as he is neglected by society for his past convictions despite do no harm any longer.
We see an establishing shot of an empty looking school later in the evening. We then have a pan across a mundane looking classroom to then see a teacher tied to a chair with his mouth gagged and a bloody gash to his head. As soon as the teacher comes into shot music starts, that is dark and murmuring. The camera then continues to pan round until we see in the corner of the room a boy (15) sharpening a pencil with a razor blade sitting on a chair staring intently at the teacher. He is sitting next to a tall lamp that is flashing on and off as it was used to smash round the teachers head. The boy is wearing head phones. There is a extreme close up to his face where he see his gaze. The teacher opens his eyes and begins to orientate himself at which point the boy removes his headphones making the sound decrease as we realise that the music was what he was listening to. He then walks around to the teacher and starts a monologue in which the audience learn that he is a very intelligent student who has massive scientific potential and enormous pressure from his farther. We learn from him that he is a reserved and shy boy who was wrongly put in detention. This amongst other things has caused him to snap which is why the teacher is in this position. After establishing the scene, his character and bringing the audience up to speed he then stabs the teacher in the chest and lets him die. The actual stab does not have to be seen. Then a cleaner walks past outside the room, sees what has happened and continues to run away in panic clearly going to tell someone. We see her run away in a over the shoulder shot of the boy before he then turns on himself to face the camera and expose his numb yet menacing expression. The screen then cuts to black.
3. A drama/thriller based on the life of a middle aged heart surgeon who is enduring a tricky divorce and starts to have a midlife crisis with quite extreme anxiety issues. He then gets caught up in quite a public court case after losing a patient due to improper surgery caused by his excessive shaking and nerves. Will he or won’t he be convicted of manslaughter?
The scene will be a flash-forward to the event where he loses a patient. It will be set in an operating theatre and lighting will be specifically used to darken most of the background meaning that minimal medical props are needed. The lighting will be bright and impactful to covey not only the sterile environment but the high intensity of the situation. The majority of the shots will be based around the man in attempt to avoid the patient as of course there are limits in terms of prosthetics and make up. We will see an extreme close up of the man as sweat drips down his brow as e is becoming stressed and starting to shake mid surgery. The beeping of a heart monitor will be a constant throughout the scene. This beeping will suddenly alter because of a jerk from the man. We will then get reactions shots from other nurses as they tell him to stop operating and let someone take over. He snaps back a refusal as he wasn’t to prove he is ok. The beeping then changes to a long constant to show the patient is dead. We have a close up on the monitor to show this.
4. This is a crime thriller based around one of the world’s most successful assassins. The assassin is characterised by the fact that he has only one hand. Over the course of the film we follow his journey to understand that despite being paid to kill he is an good man simply making a living, who has a family and kids who believe he is a well-paid banker. The assassin of course makes enemies and these enemy’s put his family in danger and put him to the test.
This is a far more traditional opening sequence where effectively nothing is revealed, similar to Se7en. The sequence displays various different mini scenes in which miscellaneous people suddenly are killed. Their murderer is never revealed and is seen at most in a shadow. The only thing we ever see of him are his hands, or hand more specifically. Many of the shots are POV to put the audience in the assassins shoes and give the sequence and edgy archaic feel. The music throughout is highly paced and not overly morbid, yet it does have dark undertones.
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