“Making a Great, Suspenseful Film” Part I: How do I create a story and plan for my film?

Part of the Series: "ACTION!: How to Make Great Films and Actually Have Fun While Doing It"

INTRODUCTION

So in this post, we’re going to teach you one of the most important aspects of any film: Suspense.

Too many films lose their audience because everyone knows exactly what’s going to happen next. You need that audience on the edge of their seat, craving to find out what’s next. Suspense is the key for any successful film.

So I’m going to give you a film project you can execute with just an actor, a location and a camera and by the end of it, you’ll have gained this most important filmmaking skill and be ahead of the game.

But before we get into the details of the project, I want you to watch a short scene from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shinning. This scene perfectly exemplifies the concept.

For those who do not know, Stanley Kubrick is one of the most famous and respected filmmakers, responsible for modern classics like Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket and 2001 Space Odyssey. He’s legendary for creating films that pulled audiences into an immersive experience that had a lasting impact. The Shinning is one of his most famous films and is a classic of the horror genre.

So now that you have watched Kubrick’s work and seen how he creates suspense, you are going to create your own film using the same techniques. Just to give you an example, here’s a short film that we shot that was also inspired by the Kubrick scene called 303.

STEP 1: DEVELOPMENT or CREATING THE STORY

So we’re going to use this scene as an inspiration for your short film and its story. I want to look at three major parts of the scene’s story that make the scene powerful:

1. The location

2. The main character

3. The problem

The location of the scene is introduced with a wide shot of the hotel. It’s clearly established as a large, imposing building that has a mysterious quality. Then, we move inside the hotel where the young boy is riding his big wheel through it’s empty corridors. These hallways are also large and eerie. Kubrick clearly picked this location for its optimal suspenseful quality.

Now, I want you to think of locations you can shoot that have this suspenseful and mysterious quality. I did my own version of the scene and used a local apartment building. It has long corridors and an old, creaky elevator. All of these traits are great for creating a suspenseful scene.

Secondly, Kubrick focuses on a young boy as our main character of this scene. The fact that he’s still of an innocent age and pedaling a child’s vehicle all contribute to our connection with the character. His vulnerability and innocence in this empty, imposing space makes the audience worry for his well being.

Now, I want you to think of a person (preferably someone who can act in your film) that would be a good fit for your location. In my adaptation of the scene, I used a student of mine who I knew could do a good job of playing the scene realistically. In reality, for this project, you want to find the best person who can be relied upon to do a good job. For this project, the more vulnerable looking the better.

Finally, the problem in the scene is the door and what lies behind it. It’s a great problem because doors are scary. They represent hidden secrets that beckon us to try to reveal these truths. The tension when the boy approaches the door is palpable because the door could have anything behind it and that mysterious quality is powerful.

So for your version of the film, pick a problem that has that same mysterious and scary quality. Think of other similar physical objects like a closed box or a covered hole. We used a door because that’s what our location suggested but you should really pick whatever fits your location and your character.

Now, you should have these three aspects: a location, a character and a problem. This is the heart of any story. A character deals with a problem in a location. It’s simple but when you pick the right combination of these three elements, it’s powerfully evocative.

STEP 2: PRE-PRODUCTION or PLANNING YOUR FILM

So here’s where we take your story idea (Location, Character and Problem) and translate it into a plan for your film.

I highly recommend that you plan your film by going to your location with your camera and a friend (it doesn’t have to be the actual actor because you just need someone to represent a person in the shot) and make a photo storyboard. A photo storyboard is a visual plan for your film where you take pictures with your camera to represent each separate shot.

Let’s go back to Kubrick’s scene and look at each shot individually to see why he picked those shots and what impact they have. It’ll give us inspiration for our own shots.

SHOT 1: ESTABLISHING YOUR LOCATION

So this is what they call an extreme wide shot. As we mentioned earlier, it establishes this scary hotel. You notice that Kubrick frames the hotel dead center so that it’s dominant in the frame. This adds to the power of the shot and whatever you shoot for your location, you want to make sure you’re aware of how you frame it for maximum effect.

SHOT 2: ESTABLISHING YOUR CHARACTER AND ACTION

We have a medium wide tracking shot that follows the boy on the big wheel. (Side note: this shot was done with a steadi cam; the first steadi cam used in a major motion picture. A steadicam is a camera designed to shoot shots that move with incredibly smooth movements.) So by Kubrick shooting this boy moving down the hallway, he’s accomplishing several things:

1. He introduces the main character of the boy.

2. He introduces the main character’s action of exploring the hotel.

3. He creates suspense by having the boy move through the space that twists and turns. Each turn builds suspense because we are uncertain of what’s behind the next corridor.

So you want to figure out a shot that accomplishes all three of these things. Feel free to break it into more than just one shot. There is an elegance that Kubrick consolidates all of this information into one shot but it’s not at all necessary. In our adaptation, it’s accomplished in both medium wide tracking shots, close ups and reverse angle tracking shots.

SHOT 3: THE PROBLEM INTRODUCED

The next shot is Over The Shoulder shot (OTS) of the boy looking up at the door. This shot is significant because it signals a clear break from the build up that happened with Shot 2. By cutting to this show, we know we have arrived to something significant.

Also, by shooting from over the shoulder of the boy looking at the door, it puts the audience in the shoes of the character. We feel like the boy looking up at this large, mysterious door and it feels scary.

So now, you want to create a shot that does these same things. It signifies that the problem has arrived and it puts us in the shoes of the main character and how they feel about the problem.

SHOT 4: CHARACTER RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEM

The next shot is a close up of the boy looking at the door. This may seem like an obvious shot but you would be surprised at how many beginning filmmakers forget to get close ups for these types of scene.

The close up is really a very important shot. It does two major things. 1. It lets us know how the character is feeling about the situation. From this shot, we know the boy is afraid from his expression. 2. It also lets the audience connect emotionally to the character. When we see his face, we empathize with how he’s feeling. When we empathize, it’s almost as if the audience becomes the boy and we see him work through the problem, we are right there with him. It’s a powerful connection we establish with the audience.

Now, it’s your turn to shoot a close up of the character looking at and responding to the problem.

SHOT 5: THE PROBLEM BUILDS

The next shot (actually there is Shot 3 again but this is the next different shot) is the wide shot of the boy approaching the door. Kubrick shoots it in a wide shot because this perspective emphasizes the trek that boy makes from the big wheel to the door. We can see how the boy tentatively gets up and slowly moves from his vehicle to the door. By seeing him cross over to the door, we feel the tension building. Bonus observation: Kubrick pans the camera with the boy’s movement and the boy ends up closer to the camera. All of this is designed to build tension.

Now, it’s your turn to create a shot that accomplishes the same amount of tension. You can just use the shot that Kubrick uses which should do the same trick. In our version, 303, it was trickier because the camera could not capture that same angle and so we modified it. Try to do whatever works for your situation.

SHOT 6: THE PROBLEM CLIMAXES

This is the highest level of tension in the scene. It’s what we call a climax or a major release of that tension. In horror films, it’s the scariest moment. In comedies, it’s the punch line. It’s the emotional satisfaction we crave in a scene.

This shot (which is called an Insert because it’s a shot of people and a location not in the scene; Inserts are often used to indicate what someone is talking about in a conversation or thinking about.) is the surprising image of the two twin girls staring at the camera. It represents the ghostly presence behind the door.

Now, it’s your turn to figure out an insert image that will scare the audience. Or at least shock them or shake them. I think you’ll find that it’s not easy. You want to pick an image that is both scary and surprising but somehow makes sense even if it’s only on a thematic or subconscious level.

SHOT 7: RESOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM

So our last shot is of the boy leaving by riding his big wheel quickly away. He is clearly shaken by this encounter. It shows how the character is changed by this event. You’ll notice that the camera just stays in a wide shot as the boy cycles away. It seems as if Kubrick is suggesting that the boy is being swallowed up by the massiveness of the hotel.

Now, it’s your turn to figure out how you want to shoot the resolution of the problem. You can shoot it in the same way as Kubrick or go for something more unique to your story. All of these shots are suggestions and ways to push you to think about your own shot choices.

NEXT TIME: PART 2 – PRODUCTION AND POST-PRODUCTION

Next time, we’ll shoot your film and offer a lot of great tips to make sure you get good shots and sound for your film. Then, we’ll finish up with editing your film and how sound can make a big difference to your film. See you next week!