Notes/ Ideas for Thriller short film

Production role – Editor.

Since i am an editor i will try to show off the skills that i have or will learn using software such as after effects or Premiere.

Firstly it is important to note that i am using soviet montage as a movement influence, i am going to employ a short montage using parallel editing.

It is going to cut between shots of the protagonist and antagonist as well as a few establishing shots.

I would like to shoot at night to help show dramatic lighting and employ a sense of anxiety or worry on the viewer, to show the mystery of what could be in the dark, however since i do not have a multitude of large floodlights to light the exterior i have decided not shoot my establishing shots at night. This is because the camera and video quality would be too low to fit a establishing shot which is supposed to show a clear overview. Therefore i will shoot these in the afternoon / evening and edit them later in either after effects or premiere. However i will also be including a small amount of POV shots. It would make sense for these to be darker / lower quality because humans can’t see very well in the dark anyway and so it would be fitting.

Additionally i am only hoping to do quick shots between the protagonist and antagonist to give it a more dangerous vibe, as if there isn’t much time left for the protagonist to react / save himself. It helps show the speed at which the antagonist is approaching as well.

I am hoping that the use of parallel editing will help the audience to piece together the situation before it happens, therefore i do not have to explicitly show much violence. However not only that but by ending it without a resolution i hope it will leave much to the audiences imagination, therefore captivating the audience into creating their own conclusion to the scene and causes more interest. This could be done by finishing the scene when the protagonist and antagonist meet.