thriller proposal

PRE-PRODUCTION

FILM PROPOSAL

OPENING SEQUENCE TO A THRILLER

THRILLER OPENING - crime thriller

NARRATIVE:

IN SHORT:

• Double-crossing.
• Meeting in street between a boss and his employee.
• Man in chair smoking who’s clearly “the bad guy”.
• People on street decide on their plan of action to track down the bad guy.
• A kind of clue to what kind of person the villain is (what he’s done in the past?).
• End of the men in the street setting out to track down the villian.

(MORE) DETAILED:

See a man standing under a lamp post (top lighting), establishing shot, leaning against lamp post, looking like he’s waiting for something, fiddling with an old fashioned lighter, etc... 2nd man walks into frame and up to the 1st, cut to man in chair who is smoking a cigar/cigarette/pipe, cut back to meeting in street. “HE WON’T CO-OPERATE”, voice of 2nd man, no reply from 1st. Cut back to close up of ashtray next to man in chair, hand moves into frame, and puts out cigar in ashtray. Back to street where you see the 1st man’s reaction, then cut back to man in chair who strikes a match and lights a second cigar, smoke in front of face. We find out about the double-crossing, and end on a clue to what is about to happen.

(Will try to include the cutting of the cigar near the beginning if possible due to needing to find a cigar cutter, hear sound of blade falling and the thump sound as it cuts the end, see end get cut off, fall to table and roll around.)

THRILLER OPENING - crime thriller

CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS:

1st MAN IN STREET:- tall

fedora hat over eyes

wearing expensive suit

hands in pockets

2nd MAN IN STREET:- wearing cheap suit

looking slightly scruffy

un-neat hair

unpolished shoes

MAN IN CHAIR:- smoking a cigar (smoke covers face)

also wearing expensive clothes - suit/shirt, pocket square

late 1940s hairstyle - combed over/slicked back

THRILLER OPENING - crime thriller

LOCATION / SETTING:

• Street scenes - just off Waterloo bridge by Somerset House, north of river Thames.
• old fashioned looking street, tudor built building.
• old lampposts.
• Man in chair scenes - grandparents house in Wimbledon.
• tall backed chair.
• don’t see surroundings.

PROPS:

• Cigars, cigar cutter if possible, + old lighter.
• Fedora hat.
• Costume - suits, etc...

THRILLER OPENING - crime thriller

TITLES:

Something hinting a double-crossing, referencing the villain or talking about a murder.

eg. “Criss-cross”

“Anatomy of a Murder”

“Kill the Messenger”

Titles will appear on screen in a straightforward way such as how would be done at the time the film was made. The titles will be simple and will just say the words in the title, no more.

SOUND:

Throughout some kind of slow jazz music, such as in Rio Pt. 4 by Keith Jarrett, however music will cut every time you see the man in the chair so you can hear very loudly the sounds that he makes, eg. striking a match to light his cigar.