Coursework : Planning - Plot synopsis

PLOT SYNOPSIS

Plot outline of current idea for the film opening and where the film as a whole would go if you were to make the full film.

After much debate, analysis and exploring, we have come up with our current plot and now are planning the other elements to the film opening. Our idea for the film opening is very simplistic:

The idea is to film a character's hands, and only the character's hands, working and making different, slightly creepy, things. We plan to film from various angles, and shoot several 'scenes', where the character can be creating different things. We want to focus, specifically, on props, lighting, the character and the titles.

The props the character will be using could be things such as: scrapbooks, sewing onto images, using software, etching into plastic and painting pictures of people. The profession of our character is an artist, so it makes sense why the character would have access to these things, only this is revealed later in the film, so it makes this as an effective film opening as the audience think the character's unusual. We plan the lighting to be dark, so it can add to the 'creepiness' and act like the character enjoys making things in the darkness. For example, a shot could be the character only being lit by the computer screens light, when typing or printing out photos etc. For the rest of the film, the lighting I'm sure wouldn't stay as dark all the time, but would flicker between different lighting options to create that sense of suspense. The character is important, and while we only really get to know them later in the film, it's still important to get the first impression. We have several ideas for who the character may be (check Character Blog), but we know that the character will be lonely, unusual and wayward. As the character develops throughout the film and as the viewers get to know the character, we aim to show as little as possible so that not all is revealed (hence only showing the hands). When it comes to the titles, we felt these were important to focus on, to get the correct introduction to the film for the audience. This is where the titles can help, because even though they may not thought of as a component in a film, they can add a sense of the film that may otherwise be missing.

In terms of where the film as a whole would go if you were to make the full film, we have a few ideas. We think it would go along the lines of the character going out to his job during the day whilst continuing making these creepy creative things in his home, until someone (a colleague perhaps) finds him suspicious and breaks into his home. From there, our character starts to draw the suspicion away from himself by killing the colleague's wife and then framing the colleague. It would either end by our character getting away with the murder and the colleague going to prison or our character then killing the colleague and getting away with both murders.

LR