Planning: Final idea - Mrs. Quinlan

What is a Final idea? Why is it important?

Final idea is the scheme that you consider for your definitive project. When planning the final idea you should consider about the advantages and disadvantages as well as how to overcome them. Additionally, this idea must be agreeable from every member of the group, whereas there will be conflict which will lead to a rubbish opening thriller. Lastly, final idea is important because it organised your plan and make sure that it has it's own sense and see if there are any anomalies that can be improved.

Final Idea:

Title: Who is that Woman?

Sub-Genre: Psychological thriller

Narrative/Plot:

The opening begins with pieces of paper ripped on the floor. Once in a while these will create the typography for the opening credits. The eerie music will accompany extreme close ups of beheaded women in newspapers which has been cut out or scribbled on which will help to introduce the mood as well as the theme of hatred. Moreover there will be short and quick cross cuts to someone putting on a hand bag, lipstick and tights as well as other clothes. Simultaneously the camera will dispose a mystery character putting on clothing on a mannequin; as if trying to put up a new outfit together. This will be accompanied by cross cuts of fashion newspapers of famous and expensive magazines such as Glamour or Elle with models. The anonymous character starts to take the outfit from the mannequin and puts it on themselves. The final shot will reveal the male who wears this costume and walks out the room. (Fade to black).

Narrative Structure:

• Aristotle: the different themes should evoke meaning and response from the audience, whether emotional or physical. For example the theme of mystery will intrigue the audience who will be curious to know who the mysterious character is.  

• Barthes: the idea of cultural references will be explored by the idea of a male putting on females clothing and being interested in becoming the other sex. Also the theory of semiology will be explored by the use of denotations such as magazines or lipstick and their different connotations.

Characters:

• Unknown character: the main character is the antagonist however his identity is only revealed at the end. The way that the shots will be framed and the contribution of lighting and cinematography will show that this character is evil.

Mise En Scene:

Costume, Hair and Make-Up:

• Antagonist: male antagonist in female clothing such as tights and blouses or dresses. This will subvert the conventional image on an antagonist but will be interesting to explore and develop in order to create an effect on the viewer. The Make-up should be heavy so it will be easy smudged in order to reinforce the idea of evil nature.

Lighting and Colour:

• Throughout, lighting will be mostly low key with highlights of top lighting and under lighting. The low key will allow the audience to feel the thrilling atmosphere. The top light will be used when the character begin to write in the mirror which allow to highlight the important iconography or typography which is relevant to the narrative. Moreover the under lighting will be used when the character puts on tights to help to create the chilling atmosphere as well as create a representation of the antagonist and reinforce his evil intentions.

Setting:

• The unknown setting will help to make the audience feel insecure because they are completely vulnerable and exposed to their surroundings as everything is hidden and mysterious. Because of the use of lighting it will look like they are surrounded by darkness.

Iconography:

• The newspaper cut outs which will also play as typography.
• The Mannequin.
• The magazine pages.
• Lipstick which will be used to write the title of the film.

Facial Expression and Body Language:

• The antagonist will have an aggravated facial expression to show his anger and frustration towards the magazine models. In addition he will also feel hatred towards these covers. His body language should look feminine in order to suggest that he is imitating the female models, however because this doesn’t work he becomes stiff and has rigid movements.

Film Influences:

• Seven - this is because there are many cut outs and highlighting just like the character from the Seven opening did. Also we plan to use lighting in a similar way to the opening of Seven where there were many light bulb flashes and yellow highlights to create fear among the audience. 

• Silence of the Lambs - this is because the antagonist in the film had brutal  tendencies towards the female gender and tried to become one by murdering his victims and taking their skin. Simultaneously he has an obsession with mannequins and make-up, similarly to our character.

Advantages of the Idea:

• Its original
• Influenced by a classical thriller
• It is chaotic and will make the audience question the material
• Doesn’t give away too much of a narrative which is what an opening should do

Possible Problems and how to overcome them:

• The possible issue that will occur is to find a dark enough location that will allow the lighting to work effectively. This could be tackled if we film during an evening or night.
• It can be difficult to find a mannequin , this could be tackled by either creating a simple one or change our narrative.

• It will be difficult to find a male actor that will be fine to wear a female dress. this could be tackled bu compromising with different costumes or finding someone professional to do this role.

Why is it a Conventional Opening?

This idea is conventional to the thriller opening because it evokes the right audience responses. These include fear from the anonymous as well as obsessed antagonist. Moreover the use of themes such as mystery, obsession and hatred are often explored in thrillers which will also cause the audience to feel tense as well as enhance the narrative. Furthermore, this opening doesn’t give a lot of information about the film but has just enough to intrigue the viewer and continue to watch. Lastly, from the use of cinematography of different shot such as close up and extreme close up it will allow to create a professional opening thriller as well as using different movements such as tilt shot and panning shot. Also the use of low angle will not revels too much about the character's identity.

Possible Themes:

• Mystery
• Morality
• Obsession
• Hatred
• Revenge

Audience Response:

• At the beginning the audience is likely to feel confused as they are kept in tension because of the lack of knowledge about characters and narrative.
• During the cross cuts of beheaded models in newspapers the audience will feel disgust and fear as well as curiosity because they are unsure of what is going on.
• As the Audience are exposed to the shots of putting on lipstick, tights and hand bag they can become more relaxed as if thinking that this is all a mistake and someone is just getting ready to go on a night out.
• When the audience are finally introduced to the antagonist they are probably shocked to see that it is a male and will feel uneasy. They can also feel confused and question what is he up to and why does he feel so strongly about these models and fashion.  
• At the end they will find themselves terrified and insecure because the sequence leaves them with no answers to their questions.

Conclusion:

Overall, producing a final idea from the initial plans was beneficial because it gave me a solid idea to develops later on. This final idea is conventional and will work well because it's original and realistic which have meaning and response from the audience.