In my foundation portfolio I constructed a thriller opening called 'One Step Ahead' . My film opening was a hybrid that was classified within the man on the run /political/ action sub-genres. the bulk of the plot in 'One Step Ahead' is about a government agent ,who overhears classified information that reveals himself and others are at risk and he is now on the run. When the film opens we see the after effects of his discovery.
When constructing my film I had to consider whether I would adhere to the narrative conventions or challenge them .
Todorov states that there are five steps that occur within the narrative during a film. Our film opening 'One step ahead' challenged the conventions as it opens with a disruption rather than an equilibrium. The mise-en scene such as the dark lighting suggests that the protagonist is in hiding and all is not what is supposed to be. In addition the voice over states that the character had been fired which shows that there has been a disruption within his life .This is further highlighted with the use of a flashback where the female protagonist reinforces the disruption with her message to the protagonist; this also hints to the audience that the opening is indeed a man on the run thriller. The flashback also indicates a non-linear narrative as this reveals that the narrative may not be chronological . The panning across the wall as the scene opens reveals that the hero may be trying to repair the damage that has been done .
Levi Strauss devised the theory of binary oppositions that may occur within a narrative or film; we decided to adhere to this narrative convention.
The flashback indicates that there is a binary opposition within our opening as our male protagonist is on the run from the powerful people who are threatening his life (the antagonists) .We thought having a good vs evil concept within our narrative would help drive the narrative forward . During our research and planning we came across Propp's theory on character types.We decided to include certain popular character types such as the donor ;during the flashback the female protagonist acts as a donor giving the protagonist vital information that would send him / help him on his journey. In the flashback we used a range of mid-shots showing our female protagonist. We thought this was a successful method ,as we wanted to show her slight panic in delivering the message to the male protagonist; This could suggest how vital the information is for him. In addition we decided that the soundtrack would crescendo to show that the "donor's" role is of significance during the flashback.Some would argue that the female protagonist may act as a side-kick to the male protagonist aiding him with his escape and hiding .However our film opening does not have a 'Princess or a damsel in distress' which also confers that the antagonist's schemes would not focus on one .
There are many ways in which we decided to create suspense and build up tension within our film opening Ronald Barthes suggests that action and enigma codes are essential for the successful creation of suspense and tension. as the camera pans across the wall the audience are shown documents which indicate that assassinations and conspiracies have taken place . We then are shown the protagonist searching frantically for an unknown object ;his uneasiness or desperation is highlighted by the fast jump-cuts of different angles, it is then revealed what our protagonist was looking for. The audience may not be aware of whether our protagonist is a villain or hero which creates mystery for the audience. The wall of documents is shown in greater detail as the protagonist continues to scan for information revealing more of his motives such as a map on the wall which may indicate to the audience that he may be on the run.The editing then becomes fast pace as he begins to take down the documents we included various jump-cuts which help creates suspense and tension .The soundtrack begins to mimic the editing and becomes fast -paced with the drums becoming heavier and louder ;this may show/reveal to the audience that the protagonists time is running out .When the flashback occurs the puzzles created beforehand are solved we decided that the soundtrack would crescendo throughout the scene to highlight the panic and create the tension and suspense; as what the female protagonist is saying is important and catches the audience's attention.The tension and suspense is further explored by the cliff hanger that our opening ends on ;the voice over states that the protagonist's life is about to change and his new journey is about to begin .However the police sirens show the audience that his enemies are not far behind him; which would hint that our protagonist may not get away so easily. Which is when the action codes would appear within our film
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