Blog #6

For my group’s final project, we are doing a thriller short film. The plot for thriller films tends to be one of the most important micro-elements, as it usually contains a series of sudden and unsuspecting twists. These twists are intended to shock the audience but also must try to maintain verisimilitude to real life. As soon as the film loses its grip with reality, the viewers become disconnected. For the plot of our final product, we are going to include twists about the main character’s family who is seemingly happy and picture-perfect. The use of elements other than just dialogue will increase the shock that the twist gives off. In the opening shot, the girl is seen painting a portrait of her happy family in bright colors and can be heard in voice-over describing her happy family. This provides the audience with more than one source evidence to believe the main character truly does have a happy family. Yet, later the truth of her dark and abusive family will be revealed.

Another key micro-element is the characters of the film. In larger production movies, the quality of the actors plays a key role in the success of thrillers. The actors must be able to accurately convey the emotions a character feels throughout the film. It is important to have protagonists and antagonists in thrillers to help further develop the plot. In our film, the protagonist is the main character, Caroline, and the antagonist is her father, who essentially tore the family apart.