Mind maps & Notes..

From watching and analysing the film openings in our initial research it has inspired us to come up with many different aspects we could include in our film opening. We made a mind map of these potential aspects that we could use:



Although we have come up with a range of different aspects to include in our film, we won't be using them all. We have to be decisive to make sure our film opening is successful in including the correct aspects to make the viewer want to watch more.

Disregarded Ideas

Genres..
We didnt like the idea of an action film as most action films have extremely high budgets due to the stunts performed in these films. As we have a small budget, even trying to attempt an action film would end in a disaster as we wouldn't have the money to create a huge stunt, for example a car crash. We decided against creating a comedy film as it is very difficult to create a successful comedy film due to peoples different senses of humour. It would look ridiculous if we created the film opening and nobody found it funny. We also decided against creating a chick flick as it would only appeal to females. Also chick flicks are very cliché and predictable.

Settings..
As we decided on a thriller/horror genre we have chosen to go against setting our film opening in a house, shopping mall or a theatre. This is because these settings wouldn't create the right effect for a thriller/horror film. Settings such a houses and shopping malls are too 'happy' and 'light-hearted' to set our thriller/horror film there.

Character..
We decided not to chose a male or older character for the main role as they wouldn't fit the role correctly. Our film opening needs an innocent, vulnerable character so an older person wouldnt give this effect as people would assume that they can fend for themselves. Males would also give this effect that they can fend for themselves.

Sound..
We decided against using any dialogue in our film opening, as we want to create the feeling of confusion for our viewer so they want to watch the rest of the film to see what happens.


This initial mind mapping and decision making has helped us to finalise some of our ideas for us to begin story boarding. This is what we have come up with:




The Chosen..

Genre: Thriller/Horror
Why?: We decided to chose a thriller/horror genre for our film as we thought that we could use an array of media skills whilst shooting. Also thrillers tend to have messages that they want to portray and have the most effect on an audience. This makes the genre appeal to most people.

Setting: Woods/Club
Why?: Most of the shots will be filmed in the woods, as we believe the setting will ephasise the vulnerability and fear of the character. The flash back shots will be filmed in a club, as this was the most apt setting for our character to be 'drugged'.

Character: Young female
Why?: We have chosen to cast a young female as our main character as it will create the right effect for our film opening. A young female will create a more innocent, vulnerable and petrified image, as the gender stereotype goes young women tend to be portrayed as weaker than males and more emotional.

Sound: No dialogue, great music, sound effects [foot steps/heavy breating]
Why?: The fact we have chosen to not include any dialogue is to create the impression of confusion, it enables the viewer to use their own imagination to figure out what happened to the character. We have decided to include some sound effects such as foot steps and heavy breating as it will emphasise the feeling of fear for both the viewer and the character.