Planning - Initial Ideas: Film Brief

Malevolent Phantom

Initial Ideas: Film Brief 

Overview of the film - People are being followed home late at night, they are targeted when they're alone and terrified. There is a serial killer who is on the loose and is destroying people's lives across the country, having slipped out of America is adamant on picking people out and providing them with a gruesome death. With a mysterious background and ever growing a list of the dead do you choose to run and hide from this malevolent phantom or instead get to the bottom of this horrific crime? Is there more to this story than what meets the eye and are these people actually innocent at all.

Genre: The genre of our film is going to be horror because we can create more impact with this genre and create suspense making the audience engage with the film. We are planning to film the scene in the woods as this is a horror genre convention and also we can use the setting to create and isolated effect.  The main focus of our film is 'fear of the unknown' which attracts the audience as they want to find out the identity of the mysterious figure so that the  audience would be more engaged and also hooked wanting to find out more.

Use of Camera: The scene will use a variety of camera shots from the high shot of her entering the woods establishing part of a setting, to a medium shot of when she is walking. Close up shots will also be used to highlight the characters facial expressions and create suspense and also show the fear in which the girl has. We will use long shots of the girl walking to suggest a long journey in which anything could happen also the long shots would feature a malevolent phantom in the distance which she is not aware of. During the conversation at the beginning with the two girls we plan to use shot reverse shot which will show both characters emotions and create more of a realistic aspect to the scene. Also many high shots will be used to emphasise how vulnerable she is and show her to be a weaker character in the scene.

Characters: The female lead will be wearing an neutral colour clothing with an bright red scarf so the audience can sense danger and they can recognizes the main protagonist easily as it will stand out. The lighting is important to show the setting and the character so we will be using different type of lighting especially low-key lighting so we can create a sense of danger when the protagonist is in the woods. The music we use will nicely complement the tense atmosphere of the scene in order to build suspense and use the 'fear of the unknown' aspect to our advantage.

Sound: The opening sequence is going start with a calm non-diegetic sound however as soon as she enters the woods; the sound is more sinister to show a change of mood within the scene. We’re going to be using diegetic sound such as the dialogue from the characters and the sound of bushes rustling, the wind which will build on the tension already in the scene.

Plot: The plot will follow the pattern of an alone girl in an isolated setting being preyed on by a mysterious figure creating fear and suspense within the audience. Two friends are returning from a night out and part ways to go home, the main protagonist who’s the main focus of the scene will be decide to go through the wood which is a faster journey home than the twisted roads that she doesn't know much about. Whilst she’s making a decision a call comes through - it’s her mum telling her to hurry home so she chooses to go through the woods. The setting is going to be dark so she can barely see the direction so she has her phone out however she realizes that her battery is about to die. This is another horror convention; it makes the audience emphasis with the protagonist as they will have an idea of the ending. The girl tries to rush through the wood but in the scuffle she drops her phone, when she’s bending down to pick it up the audience see a 'malevolent phantom' in the distance in which she is completely unaware of. The girl gets back up and carry's on walking, then she starts to hear rustling from the bushes which makes her more uncomfortable and suspicious of her surroundings. The girl becomes more worried and terrified which attracts the audience and engages them with the scene as they know the antagonist is following her. As the girl walks the phantom gets closer and closer to her then suddenly he grabs her, we are going to cut the scene on a cliff-hanger while there is a very disturbing sound of her screaming leaving so the audience use their imagination to think about what has happened to her.