Some of my first ideas

I have already come up with a few ideas for my opening sequence which i want to include twists and turns. I also want to try out different ideas before settling on a final piece.

I have decided that I do not want to film a basic typical love story because what then makes it any different or any more interesting than other material out there? I want my piece to attract attention and real people in from the word go.

To help me with a few different ideas i have decided to use some material I have already seen or heard about for inspiration.

• I thought i'd use the story of Romeo and Juliet for ideas as it is clearly not a typical love story, it is full of twists and turns throughout the entire story. It leaves the audience constantly asking questions, for example: Will they ever end up together? Will they be separated forever?
• I have also recently read a book called Second Glance by Jodie Picoult where life and death are combined to discover dreams beyond what anyone can think of. It involves a man searching for a way out, a way to the rid the pain of losing his fiancee but in the midst of all this meets a girl who completely changes everything without actually being directly involved. Can they really achieve anything together when she is not where she belongs and where he does not yet belong where she is?

I want to use the idea of death, want and desire of something you cannot have as a basis for my film, the death of someone close is something I can relate to so can use all the feelings i know about to create the atmosphere I want.

I want to involve a suicide in my film in a way in which reveals why not before but after the event has happened. To make this work I am thinking of using flashbacks to show past events, issues and feelings.

I have got the idea of flashbacks from films I have watched for example:

• The Lovely Bones
• The Notebook

Both of these films belong to the same genre as the one I am doing and are of a great inspiration to the sort of film I would like to produce.

Brainstorm

Romantic Drama

What's already out there?

• Titanic (1997), directed by David Cameron
• Pearl Harbour (2001), directed by Michael Bay
• Brokeback Mountain (2005), directed by Ang Lee
• The Lovely Bones (2009), directed by Peter Jackson
• The Lake House (2006), directed by Alejandro Agresti
• Ghost (1990), directed by Jerry Zucker
• Atonement (2007), directed by Joe Wright
• Romeo and Juliet (1996), directed by Baz Luhrmann
  

All very different films but come under the same genres: Romantic drama or thriller. The release dates all vary and are all by different directors.

I have chosen to work with this genre as i enjoy watching these types of films and find there can be lots of very varied story lines which i think keeps it interesting. You do not feel as if you are watching the same film over and over as some other genres may make you feel as they can be very similar. For example, all the films I named above are very different but similar in ways, they all involve romance but:

• Brokeback Mountain twists the typical 'love story',
• Pearl Harbour is a war film,
• Titanic being based on a true story,
• The Lovely Bones exploring life and death.
  

I feel this gives me the chance to mix a few different ideas and maybe include a few hidden twists!

I also believe that there is a gap in the market for this type of film even though there are films of this genre being released very often. I think this genre allows for many different story lines and there is a very large audience ready and waiting for these types of films. The audience is pretty much the same throughout this type of genre but I don't think that really matters as it is a very loyal audience as to say they are willing to watch all of them with an open mind. The audience tends to be mainly females ranging from roughly the age 13 upwards.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse was released in the U.K. on the 9th July of this year, It comes under the genre of drama and was directed by David Slade. The film has already received a 5 star rating and was a huge hit in the box office, selling out in cinemas all across the U.K.

This proves that the audience are still interested and still wanting to view and watch these films. This gives me more of a reason to chose this genre.

Explanation of why I chose this brief

I chose to do the opening sequence of a film for my final coursework task as I did not really enjoy the print prelim, I did not find it very exciting. I prefer working with moving images rather than stills, I feel it gives me more to work with and believe I have more to give. I also think I am better off working as an individual as I can try and and work on many different ideas before deciding on a final piece. When it comes to going out and filming, i believe working on my own gives me more of an opportunity as i can go when I want to rather than trying to find a day when everybody is free. I also think that working in groups can sometimes be harder as you normally get some people working more than others and working on my own allows me to take credit for my own work and if things do go wrong i understand it would be down to me.