Choosing an idea: Planning

We decided that our opening will follow two characters, the victim and the antagonist through their involvement in the accident. The antagonist will be a male but to make sure his identity is not fully revealed until later on in the opening. We decided that this character would be a male as males stereotypically have traits such as strength, agility and intelligence which would be needed to plan and carry out a criminal act. In addition, males are often portrayed as antagonists for these reasons. When compared to a female, we concluded that the male would appear more powerful. To subvert this stereotype slightly, we decided to cast a male as the victim. However, the character would be older and therefore present the stereotypes of an individual who is vulnerable and slightly naive; dusk making them seem like a likely victim of crime.

One side of the narrative would be mainly in the point of view of the female protagonist apart from some over the shoulder shots to establish her costume and the location. Most of this proportion of the narrative will be located in a dark, low- key lighted room in which she will appear to the audience to be vulnerable and in turmoil. The low-key lighting helps to connote darker themes within the narrative. This room will feature props such as a sofa and a picture of two people on their wedding day to develop the idea of a family setting. The contrast between this setting and her turmoil should spark confusion and intrigue from the audience.

Another prop we were thinking of using would be an investigation board. This will signify obsession and mystery as well as to build up suspense to the time of the crash. We decided to use a chip board and attach images of multiple male characters, as well as maps and letters to build a stronger narrative. This can then be used to establish a broader narrative without having to explain so much of the narrative in the other shots. Close ups and extreme close ups of this prop with reveal more to the audience within the opening scenes and throughout.