Liam Woodgate

Proposal Teaser Trailer

Idea summary
The idea is that Alex is a normal teenager until her friend is kidnapped by a
stranger; the stranger knows about her shady past and uses it, as well as her
friend, as leverage in order to coerce her to commit various crimes.

Genre
I initially chose thriller to be the genre of my production during the research
stage and my idea was heavily based around this genre while I was
brainstorming it. As such I have decided that the genre of my production will be a
thriller/action hybrid because the narrative that I have created calls for there to
be action scenes and violence. I think that creating a hybrid is a good idea
because a thriller on its own is interesting but sometimes there needs to be more
to help keep the audience hooked. Action/thriller hybrids are common and there
are easily noticeable conventions and connotations, they are all quite similar in
presentation but the story will be the unique part.

Storylines/themes
As with most narratives there will be minor and major themes, as this is not a full
production and only a teaser there wont be too many themes to keep the
audience engaged with the production. The minor themes include: deception,
stress and secrecy the major themes are kidnapping, blackmail and death. I will
use all of these themes in order to create a compelling narrative for the
production and the audience. The story line will be that Alex has a normal life,
but she has a dark secret that is being used against her by a stranger who has
also kidnapped her friend. She is then blackmailed into committing various
crimes so that the Alex is targeted by the criminal underworld while the stranger
is elevated to the top of the underworld. The third element is the vigilante, his
identity is unknown and he works to stop crime and criminal doings, he is also
working to save Alexs friend but his motives and methods are more extreme and
he is unfazed by complete brutality.

Locations
I have a few locations in mind for this production, mainly dark and obscure areas
such as alleyways and backstreets or parks in the middle of the night. These
locations reflect the dark and gritty nature of the setting and the genre they are
quite conventional for the genre of teaser I am making. There are some locations
which are brighter and higher key which contrasts with the dark and lower key
nature of most thriller films, I have chosen these such locations because I want
to create a realistic representation and to create verisimilitude with the
audience.

Liam Woodgate

Costumes + props
The costumes and props for the characters have been chosen to further convey
this dark atmosphere that I want to create. The highlight character will be the
Vigilante who is the most mysterious of the lot, his defining feature is a white gas
mask that he uses to keep his identity secret, he wears mainly black clothing
with black gloves also in order to make him seem intimidating but also quite
reassuring, this is conventional because usually characters in this genre have a
look that makes the audience seem uneasy while seeing them, this is why I have
decided the character will look like this. His motives are unclear throughout so he
is either helping the protagonist or acting in an antagonistic way. The Vigilante
will also be well armed for any situation, he will wield firearms and wear ballistic
vests to protect against bullets, most other characters will be armed as well: the
Stranger will be armed because of his role as a kidnapper, Alex will be armed but
not as heavily as the other two because she is just a normal girl. The Stranger
will also wear dark clothing to look intimidating but he will not wear a mask he
just wont ever show his face. Alex will wear brighter clothing to show her as a
normal person, she doesnt need to hide her identity or look intimidating to any
of the other characters.

Visual style
The world needs to look harsh and unforgiving for our characters so that they not
only are at odds with each other, but also the world around them. I think this will
make it seem that the characters are in much worse situations than they actually
are and therefore making the audience sympathise with the characters and make
people form attachments with said characters which will then make them want to
watch the film when it comes out. This is indeed the main goal of the teaser
trailer to entice the audience into watching the film when it finally comes out.

Group roles
As I am working alone I will be completing the planning tasks independently,
however for the production I will need to get some people to help with
camerawork and acting. I will be acting in this production so I will not be able to
do camerawork or lighting constantly. I will get a few more actors and extras and
I will assemble a small crew to help out with the production. I am acting a minor
role so I will be behind the camera for most of the production but I will need to
edit the production myself and some of the shots will be performed by me. I am
in the process of assembling a team to aid in the production elements of the
teaser trailer.