Final Narrative Idea and Character Research and Planning
- 2. THIS IS THE NARRATIVE IDEA WRITTEN UP AS IF A SYNOPSIS FOR THE ENTIRE FILM, AND NOT JUST THE FILM TRAILER THAT I WILL BE CREATING. Three young people - Travis, Lori, and Florence – are connected through events in their past. When Travis goes missing, the two girls set out to find him. As they set about unravelling the mystery of Travis’ disappearance, they begin to realise that they can trust no-one, not even each other. Both girls begin investigating with deathly consequences. Whatever the reason behind Travis’ disappearance, it is clear they someone does not want them to find out. THIS IS THE NARRATIVE IDEA WRITTEN UP FOR THE FILM TRAILER. Lori and Florence distrust and dislike each other. They are both investigating the disappearance of Travis, who is linked to them both in some unknown way. However, the investigation is dangerous, and they are being targeted by someone who doesn’t want them to find anything out. The whereabouts of Travis remain unknown.
- 4. LORI GREY. Lori takes on the role of a detective or police officer that can be seen in thriller films such as Seven which was listed by people in our audience survey feedback as thriller films that they enjoyed. However, she is not actually a detective, she is just adopting this role, which could make her more relatable to everyday audience members who may admire her thrilling lifestyle. She plays the role of a protagonist and can be compared to the protagonist in Silence of the Lambs, another thriller film listed in audience feedback, who is a female F.B.I agent. My plan for Lori is to make the audience feel empathy for her and put themselves in her shoes. FLORENCE TURNER. Florence also adopts the lifestyle of a thriller film detective, like Lori. However, she is darker, and more suspicious than Lori. Florence is a creepy character, which is common in thriller films. She also fits under the ‘anti-hero’ category, which is a character trope that audience listed in feedback as one they’d expect from thriller films. I plan to blur the lines between protagonist and antagonist with Florence’s character so that she is suspicious to the audience in the trailer.
- 5. Having young female leads is part of appealing to the target audience, girls between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four. These are the main demographic according to the audience feedback that was completed earlier on in the planning and research stage. This would create empathy for the main characters, and evoke the strongest emotional reaction from my audience. By putting the female leads in dangerous situations and dark settings, the audience will have strong feelings of hope that they win out over the antagonistic forces. This is important in creating a thriller film, as they commonly have a character or several characters that the audience can root for.