Developing Our Idea

This week we spent our time trying to come up with more ideas to add to our opening scene. The biggest debate was whether to use our previously discussed 'cellar scene' before or after a second scene. One idea was to have the cellar scene first, fading to the title, then having another scene in the form of a flashback. This would set up the whole film as a flashback, as if Elisabeth is recalling her whole story. The second idea was that we would see the other scene first, then the cellar scene.


We finally decided that it would be much more effective if we used the cellar scene first. As we began to discuss flashbacks that we could use, we had a much better idea; to incorporate the flashbacks into the cellar scene. This would happen in a form of the audience seeing into Elisabeth's head and her thoughts. The concept is that when Elisabeth sees the appeal on the news for her to come forward as Kerstin's mother, her thoughts are jogged and she is reminded of her life through a number of flashbacks. We got the ideas of flashbacks from key events in Elisabeth's life.


This is the sequence of events we came up with:

• Black screen - production titles - noises of metal doors opening and shutting in distance - possibly music?

• Fade in cellar scene - low key lighting - only light from small television - news report directed at Elisabeth

• Camera zooms and spirals around Elizabeth - disorientating movement - signifies instability of mind - camera end up with extreme close up on her eye

• We see a flash of a memory - through white - each flashback is slightly fuzzy - like a distant memory - colour is faded

• Memory 1 A young girl is sitting on the floor - back against the wall - she cuddles a small comfort blanket - a large male shadow approaches - girl cringes back into wall
• Memory 2 The same girl is sitting on the floor - her back is to the camera - a man approaches her, stops next to her and strokes her hair - we can only see up to his waist - the girl reaches for her blanket that is lying on the floor next to her

• We flash back out of the first two memories - another shot of the eye - this shows that her memories are skipping forward to memories at a later time in her life - flash back into eye

• Memory 3 A teenage girl - pretty - around 17 years old - holding the same blanket the younger girl had - except this blanket is older and tattier
• Memory 4 The same teenage girl is at a sleepover party - additional teenage girls are wearing pyjamas - laughing - possibly looking at posters of male pop stars - meanwhile main teenage girl is withdrawn - legs drawn up under chin - camera catches a small view of the blanket - she is hiding it from the other girls

• Again, the camera flashes through white - back to the eye - further time has passed - flash back into eye for the last time

• Memory 5 Shot of a young woman's midriff - her stomach is swollen with a small baby bump - the blanket can be seen somewhere within shot
• Memory 6 A baby - crying - wrapped in the woman's blanket - is snatched away from her - as she grapples for the baby a small scrap of the blanket is torn away - she holds it in her hand - cries

• Last flash back to the young woman's eye - we hear another metal door opening and closing as earlier - but this time it is closer - this is what has brought her back to present day

• The camera pans down from Elisabeth's eye to one of her hands - she is holding a piece of material - old - dirty - the scrap of blanket she pulled away from the baby's swaddling

• Footsteps getting closer can be heard - Elisabeth stuffs the scrap of blanket into her pocket

• We return to the initial shot of her silhouette - the television report has moved onto other news - a man's arm reaches out of the darkness - switches off the television

• The screen goes black - title fades in from darkness

We are now going to start storyboarding our opening.