Film Opening Concept

This post shows the creative liberties and decisions I did with the development and planning of my two minute film opening. These headers all show significant parts of my thought process. I allowed my mind to roam free as I planned; taking in inspiration and choosing creative liberties. This is when my idea truly began to take form.

Step 1: Locking in the Concept.

·      Genre: Animated Western horror; set in a fantastical world in the West with focus on fantasy elements.

·      Target Audience: PG 13+; all audiences should be able to enjoy it, but it should still maintain elements that creep out the audience.

·      Core Idea: Establish the main character of this film and his intention regarding the plot. Establish his negative intent and show how it backfires on him.

·      Tone: Suspenseful, dramatic, and eerie; imagery should unsettle the audience while also raising anticipation.

 

Step 2: The Opening's Purpose.

·      The opening of this film should communicate a vague yet intriguing idea of what resides in this reality that the characters live in. It should show the horrifying elements of this stories world, such as the spirits of the West and the Soul Storms. This opening should raise questions regarding what the main character, the Blue Bandit, goes through out the film. The opening will hook the viewer with nonlinear visuals within the title cards that paint a picture as to how much disgusting and shameful acts that the Blue Bandit does, and how it affects his mental throughout the film. All these elements will establish mystery that draws the viewer in.

 

Step 3: The Characters.

·      The Blue Bandit:

- Age: 62

- Role in the Story: Main character, goes through negative character development and loss of humanity as he engages and provokes the conflict of the film.

- Determination: no matter what evil spirited act he is forced to do, he’ll continue pushing for his goal.

- The audience first understands that he is an important character, but not a good-spirited one. He has a cowboy hat with the silhouette of devil horns, a stoic stance, and a lack of life in his eyes.

·      The Sheriff:

- Age: 59

- Role in the Story: The beginning of the karmic justice against the Blue Bandit. Although he is killed early on, his spiritual presence plagues the Blue Bandit.

- Kakistocracy: He sees himself as the ruling force in the West despite being as lowly as any other pillager and bandit.

- The audience will recognize that he is a corrupt form of enforcement, using his label as a means for vested interest in the map; he tackles the bounty hunter and uses unreasonable force in order to shake the map out of him.

·      The Bounty Hunter:

- Age: 28

- Role in the Story: The beginning of the journey; kickstarting the plot by having the first piece of the map.

- Greed: He abandoned his old life of stability just to pursue this hidden treasure (immortality).

- The audience understands from his first appearance that this character is shady, and that the character will not reveal himself to the audience or other characters in the film. He wears garments that wrap around his face and body in order to mask his identity.

·      Spirits of the West/ The Soul Storms:

- Age: No single age (They’re a multitude of spirits and Western entities that haunt the West)

- Role in the Story: They haunt the narrative, provide conflict against the Blue Bandit, and create the bulk of the issues within the story regarding mortality and strength.

- Tormented: All the spirits and entities are trapped in the West, often swarmed together or wandering alone throughout the desert. They are unable to leave, leading to them losing any resemblance to the human spirit.

The audience will immediately understand that this is the real big bad of the movie due to its horrific sound and appearance.

·      The Noble Steed (The Blue Hen Mare)

- Age: 15 human years, 45 horse years.

- Role in the Story: This horse will serve as the ride for the Blue Bandit in the story, up until the end where he eventually absorbs the power hidden within the Heart of the Desert, becoming a vessel for the largest evil spirit.
- Uncanny: The horse does not appear to act as any regular horse, and seems off putting and mysterious.

- The audience will first think that the horse is completely normal, with no proper power or malicious intent. This regular appearance and demeanor will provide a unique subversion in expectations for the audience when it absorbs the Hearts power.

 [These are sketch concepts of what two of the main characters will look like.]

Step 4: The Setting and Mise-en-Scène.

·      One unique aspect of this film opening is that it isn’t being told through linear progression. Rather, it shows numerous different shots throughout the film and evokes emotion in the audience while vaguely showing what the entire film will be about. The main scene at the start will take place in a deserted area of the desert, with a large, jagged boulder sprouting out the ground. This beginning scene will take place during the daytime, at around high noon. The most important elements of this scene will be the guns utilized by the Blue Bandit and the Sheriff, the boulder that the bounty hunter will be pressed against, and the piece of the map that the Bounty Hunter is hoarding. All of these elements in this section of the opening will communicate the suspenseful and dramatic part of this animated western horror, and it will establish the stakes of this journey. The rest of the opening will be done through title cards showing various scenes that will take place in the full film, flipping quickly through them to vaguely establish plot while keeping that element of mystery. These title card scenes will be nonlinear, so it will flip between day and night events, skimming through different scenes till it ends on a scene showing the Blue Hen Mare.

[ These images demonstrate what some of the backgrounds will look like. ]

 

Step 5: Outline of the Two Minute Structure.

·      0:00 – 0:15 – Establish tone and setting. 

·      0:15 – 0:40 – Establish conflict between Bounty Hunter and Sheriff.

·      0:40 – 0:50 – Sheriffs death, introduction of the Blue Bandit.

·      0:50 – 1:00 – Blue Bandit kills Bounty Hunter, Blue Bandit gets map piece.

·      1:00 – 1:50 – Title cards sequence. Nonlinear scenes and events.

·      1:50 – 2:00 – Sequence ends, Blue Bandit leaves.