Four Thriller Ideas

Idea 1:

• Opening Sequence Idea:
• A person enters a house/hallway/building in a harsh manner, and begins walking through the house calling out someone’s name. As time passes, the person becomes a little more panicked, which is seen in their increase in pace and their louder and more worried calls. The person ends up looking through rooms, until finally they reach the final room, looking into it, pausing at the door. They then slowly enter the room, an expression of relief on their face, slightly chuckling and then saying something along the lines of “come on, I know you’re here” / after not receiving an answer from the person they were calling out to, they simply sit down. Then, behind them, only shown briefly – their face not shown, they say: “I’m here”, and hold a loaded gun in the direction of the character. In their hand you can see a flash of metal, meaning that they are holding some kind of artefact.
• Idea for continuation of the movie: The story jumps back in time to talk about the artefact the woman had been holding in her hands when she is about to shoot the person in the back of the head. The artefact turns out to be a very valuable item for gangsters that everyone had been looking for, but can’t find. It keeps being in possession of others, therefore nobody knows the clear location of.

Feedback Transcription of Video 1:

• MIKE: I'll go first then. I love the idea of it starting off down a corridor, I like the idea of someone panicking and speeding up, and then being relaxed; there's something really intriguing in your opening sequence of someone being relaxed just before you get killed, like „Oh my god, I'm panicking, I'm panicking, get in, phew – okay.“ BANG, dead. There's something nice about that, I don't know what it is; different, it's, it's not a typical „Oh no you have a gun, don't shoot me!“ - it's the- they seem happy that they've been caught, that they're getting shot. I like that. Artefact, I personally think confuses it, you're trying too much, too empathic with the rest of your idea, you don't know about that. There's something very nice about someone being relaxed before they just get killed – it would be difficult to do in a way that's not comical, it would be difficult to make it in a way that doesn't make the audience go „what?“, but I like the idea of someone panicking, and then relaxing just before they get killed. There's something nice there, I don't know what it is, I think it's just the juxtaposition of it or anything else, very intruiging, very nice idea. And I like the idea starting off with him running – it's kinda like the scenario of the typical girl in a hole in the woods- she's running, she's scared, she's out of breath, she screams – she dies. You're doing it in reverse. He's running, he's scared, he's panicking, he slows down, he's like „okay,“ - BANG, dead. It's nice. Very effective.
• AMR: No, I like the idea, I really like the idea, and it's the girl who shoots him and says – what does she say again?
• EVELYN: Well he goes in the room and then he's like „I- come on, I know you're in here.“, and then she's like „Yeah, I'm here.“
• AMR: Okay, ah, no I really like the idea, but, like my only criticism would be like, if, like the length of time, cause you know it's fast paced, so when he's running it's, he's not running for like, a long, you wouldn't like have him run for like a minute, I don't know... And then it's just like, how would you fit it all in, maybe from the beginning, like something in the beginning, I don't know, like, he realises someone is after him, and then starts running, just to extend it longer, to draw it out. It gives it a bit more context.
• DAISY: I think maybe it was a tiny bit too long – was this the first one? Oh, no no no, I think it was perfect timing.
• SAM: This is a question, but not really a question. One of your pictures was of a dark hallway, so I think it could be quite nice if it were to be sort of, flashes of light, you know, chinks of light, as they're trolling through the – whereever they are.
• NATASHA: Also with the corridor, I think it would be nice to have a strange lighting, like a green, like from the exit sign, I think it would be quite cool, just to take into consideration.
• MIKE: I think the thing with your first idea is that, what's great is that people are visually seeing it; you always know you're on to something when people are visually seeing something, cause your idea, your thought is inspiring art direction, and that's always something quite hard to do; so in that sense, you've nailed it. 

• Idea 1 Development:
  • Opening Sequence:
    • Occurances:
      • The anti-climax of the person running into a room and relaxing is the USP of the thriller opening; therefore this must be kept in, or exentuated.
    • Technical Aspects within:
      • Following up from the feedback I had gotten from my peers, I believe that lighting up the corridor the person will be running down should be quite eerie, or dark, to build up more suspense within.
      • The timing of my thriller opening has to be influenced; it could be that the opening is too short – even though we only have two minutes, a person cannot just be running down the hallway for a minute. Therefore, I believe that it would be a good idea to implement a greater „searching“ aspect into the opening sequence. As I had mentioned, the person is running down the hallway looking for someone, calling someone's name; they could also be looking in rooms (e.g. Walking up to the door, looking inside, and then continue running).
  • Story Line of Thriller:
  • The overall storyline of my thriller was rather confusing, as I attempted to bring in some kind of artefact that made little to no sense. I think that since there is a person running down a hallway, looking for someone, and that someone then shooting the person in the head could indicate some kind of family rivalry with the mafia; even though the continuing story of the thriller isn't as important, the aim of what the movie is going to show is quite clear.
    I think my idea for the rest of the movie could be about the woman that had shot the male in the opening, and her rise to mafia-boss status. In the opening sequence I have imagined the woman to be quite powerful, being the one who holds the upper hand, and wants the power over her brother, who obviously is the pick to be the next mafia boss. Her, obviously being quite compeditive, and who wants the power, won't let her brother have the power, so the only resort is to shoot him to get what she wants. I think that this idea would make more sense to tie in with the opening sequence idea and gives the overall idea just a little more flavour to it.
  
  
  
  An example of green light that could be used in a hallway

Idea 2:

• Opening Sequence Idea:
• A woman wakes up in the middle of a forest, not knowing where she is (connotes that someone else had dragged her there), she sits up and starts looking around. It’s dark, and she hears rustling in the leaves – it shows a close up of the leaves moving, and makes it seem like the wind is going through them. She calms down a little, and gets up properly, when she hears more rustling – this causes her to stop her actions and look around again: this time, there is a fast tracking shot going through the leaves, connoting that there is something within the forest. It crosses cuts between her expression and the mysterious actions within the bushes, when suddenly she looks at a specific part, and she hears a loud crack and some sort of scary noise. It then zollys into that area, and cuts back to her facial expression, then further away, when she then starts running from whatever is lurking in the leaves.
• Idea for continuation of the movie: The movie is actually about a detective that is trying to uncover a murder mystery of the woman who was in the opening sequence, who ends up being found dead in the middle of the forest. In the end, they find out that a clever murderer had done it and is on the loose, which they have to try and find in the end.

• Feedback Transcription Video 2:
• VICTORIA: I really like the anti-climax in the first part, and then where she freaks out and then realises that there was nothing, it was just the leaves or whatever – yeah, I think that's very powerful.
• AMR: It's very stereotypical, the idea, having the woman running through the woods, scared.
• MIA: I really like that it's set in the woods, it's a really typical thriller, but I think that's good, I think it's- I get- like, that creeps me out that it's just an empty wood and she's on her own. And is it, night, did you say?
• EVELYN: Yeah, it's dark.
• MIA: Yeah, that's creepy.
• OLIVER: It really goes towards the genre. It sort of prepares people – it's very good for an opening sequence cause it prepares people for the genre and it makes them aware, sort of, of, what's following.
• NAOMI: I think it's a really good idea, but, have you thought about how, when it's at night; obviously it's going to be dark, how're you going to... show that? Obviously the images, cause it's dark.
• MIKE: Cool, technical, doesn't hurt to think about – here's my thought for you; it works. Tried, and tested. Girl, woods, serial killer, it works. It's gonna be nice and dark, very easy to film, everything else. My main feedback to you, your first idea was original, I feel like your second idea isn't. Nothing wrong with your first and second idea, it works. I just feel like it starts up, it's something I've seen a few times before. That's not a bad thing, if that's the way you wanna go down and you think you want to add something to it, and I don't feel like that means you should put a spin on it, I think it works, I think it's a good idea; I like your first one, because that feels like that's „Evelyn's idea“, that „she came up with“, „Oh have you seen Evelyn's one“, like „Oh have you seen the one with the serial killer in the woods?“ - „which one?“ - „Um...“ - you see what I mean? First one has a personal touch that I'd explore more, the second one definitely works, you've got all the right elements there, I just think that it's very basic, is my honest response, and I think, given your first idea, there's more there. I think if you want to develop your second one, you need to put the spin on it that you've done. 
• Idea 2 Development:
  • Opening Sequence:
  • Occurances:
    • Having a woman in a forest, lost, alone, and in the dark makes a lot of sense for a thriller. But this idea already exists. And it's been done over, and over, and over again. Therefore, I have to add something, or do something to the thriller idea to make it a little more unique; to make it memorable.
  • How to make the thriller more unique:
  • Because the opening sequence is about a girl getting murdered in the woods by a serial killer, and I don't think I should move too far away from this idea, however change it so that it is more original, I think that I could bring the detective aspect into it a little more. Instead of having the woman run away from the serial killer and then being killed, she is found dead immediately in the opening sequence. My idea now is that either it jumps right into the investigation, where the detective is looking at the body, and you can literally see the body and the area around the body being inspected. The other idea revolves around a person/couple walking through the forest in the morning/in the evening, and them seeing traces of blood/someone being in the woods on the floor, trees, etc. They then decide to investigate a little bit, and eventually find the body in the middle of the forest; it then shows their shocked faces whilst they run away/call the police.
  

Perhaps what the forest could look like at some parts to illuminate the action and show more

Idea 3:

• Opening Sequence Idea:

Two people get “friendly” with one another somewhere, when suddenly it cuts to a person walking down a hallway. They are loading a gun whilst walking. It parallel cuts in between the couple and the person walking down the hallway, until they enter the room and hold up the gun to the couple kissing. When they go apart in shock, the male is only seen; until another click is heard from the direction the female he was just getting “friendly” with, which is also holding a gun to his head. Something along the lines of “I wish it could’ve worked, but in the turn of past events it just won’t work.” The female then pulls the trigger and shots the man whilst he looks her dead in the eye. The person who had entered the room is never properly revealed.

• Idea for continuation of the movie: The movie is actually about two twin sisters who go around the country and interfere with gangster businesses and such, as they had previously had a negative endeavour with their family. Therefore, they plan on getting revenge.

Idea 4: 

• Opening Sequence Idea:

The opening sequence consist of cross cutting in between someone writing something on a wall in blood and a person washing blood off of their hands, and a series of weapons shown on the wall. It also cuts to scenes of someone brutally murdering someone else. In the end, you see the character writing something in blood on the wall walk away, leaving the title of the thriller opening on the wall.

• Idea for continuation of movie: The movie is all about the story of a murderer, namely the one who had been writing stuff on the walls in blood. He is also the one cleaning his hands, and has the collection of weapons, and who is killing someone in the opening sequence. It is basically about the state of his mental health and how it deteriorates over the course of the movie, driving him completely mad in the end.