Changes in initial concepts

Death Note influenced me a lot in specific ways. The psychological focus, getting deep into the characters head and their struggles, thats what I want to show with how home life messes with my protagonist mentally. Then the dark aesthetic, the lighting and shadows, that serious vibe, Im considering using similar visuals to convey emotions. And props, like the notebook symbolizing power, I plan to use things like phones or letters tied to family fights for that symbolic layer.

Originally, I thought about adding supernatural elements like in Death Note, but filming that realistically would be hard for me. So I shifted to just psychological and emotional narrative, which makes it more original and fits what I can handle. It feels like a better choice, maybe.

My target is teens and young adults, theyd relate to family drama, emotional rollercoasters, figuring out identity.. So the idea has intense themes, is realistic to produce, and aimed at a specific group.

Mindmaps

the beginning of my coursework, I created a mind map to help organise my ideas for my psychological thriller film opening. Since I am working alone, this step was especially important because I had to generate, evaluate, and refine my ideas independently.In the centre of my mind map, I wrote “Psychological Thriller Film Opening” and then branched out into different areas such as narrative, characters, themes, visual style, sound, and symbolism. This helped me break my idea down into smaller sections instead of trying to plan everything at once.

One of my main inspirations was Death Note, particularly the psychological conflict and moral tension within the main character. At first, I considered including a supernatural element similar to the notebook concept. However, after reflecting on this idea, I decided it would be unrealistic to produce on my own and might distract from the emotional realism I wanted to create. Instead, I focused on psychological control within a domestic setting.Under the narrative branch, I explored the idea of a teenager experiencing emotional abuse from a parent. I decided the opening would show a normal routine that slowly feels uncomfortable or tense. I liked the idea of starting with equilibrium (a seemingly normal household) and then subtly suggesting disruption, linking to Todorov’s narrative theory.

For characters, I developed the protagonist as emotionally suppressed and isolated, while the parent would appear calm but intimidating. I want the power imbalance to be shown visually rather than through obvious arguments.In the visual style section, I wrote down ideas such as low-key lighting, shadows, confined spaces, and close-up shots. These reflect conventions of psychological thrillers and will help communicate internal conflict without needing too much dialogue.

The sound branch included silence, clock ticking, footsteps, and minimal dialogue. I want the atmosphere to feel tense but realistic, relying on diegetic sound rather than dramatic music.Finally, under symbolism, I included mirrors (to represent fractured identity), doors (to represent entrapment), and narrow corridors (to show restriction within the home). These ideas were influenced by my research into psychological thrillers, particularly how meaning is often implied visually rather than directly stated.

Overall, creating the mind map helped me move from a broad idea to a focused concept that is realistic to produce independently. It allowed me to remove ideas that were too complex and strengthen the ones that fit the psychological thriller genre more effectively. This process shows how my concept developed through planning and reflection rather than random decision-making. 

(paragragh refined with AI.)

Narrative Building

The plot I have now is about a young person in a toxic home, parents always fighting or being emotionally harsh. It leaves the main character feeling isolated, angry, kind of unhinged mentally. As they grow up, the home life shapes everything about them, their actions and all. Like in Death Note, I want viewers to question if the character is justified or not, without slapping on good or bad labels right away. That adds a real psychological edge, I think it could connect with teens.

                                                      

(Image found from google/safari.)

Idea Brainstorming

For my own thing, Im trying to mix in some real life stuff like dealing with parents who are tough or all the drama at home. I believe that could make the project deeper emotionally, sort of tying the heavy mind stuff with everyday problems. It seems like that would hit home for people.

At first, when I was brainstorming, I went through genres like thriller, drama, mystery, but nothing funny. I kept coming back to a character whos trapped or feels neglected, misunderstood emotionally. That comes from Death Note, how the protagonist changes mentally and morally over time. Many ideas circled around that feeling of being alone in a bad situation.

                  

       

                                  

(AI used used to get ideas.) (image found from google/safari.)

Personal Interests & Inspirations

I started out by thinking about different ideas for my media project, you know, just exploring stuff before picking one. The anime Death Note really got me going with that. Its dark story and the way it uses things like the notebook as props, plus the visuals that feel so unique, all that pulls me in. And the psychological parts, the moral questions, they make you wonder about the main guy and if hes really right or what. Its not just simple good versus evil, which is what I like about it ,it makes you think twice.

                                                   

( Used AI to get ideas.)(Image found from google/safari.)