Planning Individual Narrative

Introduction

The purpose of a narrative is to tell the story of the film and to set the scene. This should engage the audience so that they want to finish watching the film. One way of engaging the audience is by creating an enigma so that they want to find out the answers that they are being questioned throughout the film.

My idea for a two minute opening sequence will be about obsession. There will be a male that has an obsession with a young female. She lives on her own and he goes into her house whilst she is asleep, takes her possessions, cuts off some hair and smells her perfume. This shows that he has a mental illness and that he needs psychological help. He has this obsession because he thinks she is beautiful and he knows that because he isn't normal, he will never have a chance with her.

In this sequence, I will use mise-en-scene by having the setting in a house which the girl lives in on her own. This tells the audience that she is alone and won't be saved if he kills her. This will create tension for the audience as it is conventional to the thriller genre.The iconography will be the bed, perfume, scissors and jewellery which he will steal. This shows that he is in a girls bedroom and tells the audience that he really likes her.The costume the girl will be wearing will be white as this shows she is innocent. This also shows her purity so the audience know she isn't bad. The antagonist will be wearing darker colours like black as this symbolises death and evil. This also tells the audience that he is the antagonist and he is the one that will hurt the victim. The girl will have peaceful facial expressions as she will be sleeping. Whereas the antagonist won't be shown as he is will be wearing a mask to hide his identity creating an enigma for the audience. As she is sleeping, it means that it is night so all the lights in house will be off. Here, there will be low key lighting as this will create shadows and silhouettes making it scarier for the audience to watch. The back light will be the bed side lamp which will be turned on so that the audience are able to see the characters. This light will help create the shadows and silhouettes. Whilst the victim is sleeping, the antagonist will be walking around her bedroom. Near to the bed will be a dressing table where all her perfumes and jewellery are placed.

There will only be two characters in my two minute opening thriller sequence. These will be the antagonist that has the obsession over the girl and the victim whom is the young girl.. The antagonist watches over her as she sleeps which shows that he is a dominant and powerful character whereas because she is a female victim, it shows she is weak and vulnerable. This tells the audience that she is in danger creating tension as they don't know what the antagonist is going to do her. This also creates an enigma keeping the audience engaged in the rest of the film.

The conventions to the thriller genre in my sequence are that suspense is created as the antagonist wears a mask so the audience have no idea who he is and what he is going to do to the victim. This also creates an enigma so the audience stay engaged in the rest of the film. Having a mentally unstable antagonist is also conventional to the thriller genre because the audience don't know what is going to happen next so it helps them build up a relationship with the victim as they become scared for their safety. It also helps the audience build up a negative relationship with the antagonist. A final convention to the thriller genre is the use of low key lighting because it shows darkness and danger making the audience feel scared. This also creates tension as the audience don't know whose shadows are being created so it is an enigma.

The narrative is conventional to the thriller genre because it is psychological meaning that he is out to get her and make her his. It also means that the antagonist has something wrong with him like a mental illness and need psychological help. It also keeps the audience engaged in the film because there are many enigmas like the antagonist being hidden by a mask and the audience not knowing why he has an obsession over his victim.

Summary

As my target audience is between 15 and 18 year olds, it appeals to them because it is realistic making them feel more scared. This means that they want to see what happens because the victim is nearly the same age as them. This tells them that they should be aware of the people around them as they don't know what might happen. I will share this with my group by explaining that the antagonist has an obsession with a young girl that's in her early twenties whom wants to have her to himself so no one else can.