First draft of "USER ERROR" Film opening.

USER ERROR

written by

Andreina Dominguez & Trisha burr

FADE IN:

EXT. STACY'S LOGIN /STACY’S LIVING ROOM

The screen starts off completely dark, with a computer Powering up sound playing in the background. Through the light Whir of a computer running, a bright Login Screen appears with The bright letters of "STACY BROWNING"

Slowly, a password is typed and a curser moves to click the enter button.

EXT. STACY'S COMPUTER / STACY'S LIVING ROOM

Suddenly, we're introduced to a cacophony of sounds and visuals. STACY opens her Spotify and plays some trendy pop music as she starts scrolling through her social media feed. She scrolls through her friend ALLYSSA'S posts, liking all the posts of her and her friends hanging out all together partying, trying to make it seem as if she was there for all of it. As she's scrolling, there's an extreme closeup cut to her eyes glowing from the light of her computer screen and then back to the screen.

Suddenly, her scrolling and music is interrupted by a Facetime call from "MOM", revealing our character’s face through the screen. We cut to her face once more, this time just a closeup of her rolling her eyes before cutting back to the computer screen hanging up her moms call.

Music resumes and she's bombarded with messages from "MOM" saying 

"Why won't you pick up the phone? 

I'm calling you! 

Dad wants you to make sure the door is locked. 

Ask Opal to lock the door [laughing face emoji]. 

Just stay safe okay honey? 

We will be back tomorrow." 

Love you! [heart]" 

As all of these messages are popping up on the screen, Stacy is ignoring all of them

STACY, MUMBLING - "Ugh, so annoying..."

Suddenly, she gets a factime call from her friend, ALLYSSA. STACY'S face is shown through the screen of the facetime, she looks visibly confused before hesitantly accepting the facetime call.

ALLYSSA - (off screen at first) "HOLD ON, I'M CALLING HERRR WAIT!"

Allyssa is slurring her words, laughing as she's very obviously at a party, colored lights flashing behind her, music blasting, party chatter, red solo cups, all of it! 

ALLYSSA - "STACYYY OH MY GOD!"

Allyssa's trying to yell over the music of the party

STACY - "Hey, hows the party?"

ALLYSSA - "Wait let me get away... GIRL!"

STACY - "What? What's up?

ALLYSSA - "This party's SOO LIT! You HAVE TO come like NOW! Eric's here... Let me send you the address, wait..."

ALLYSSA looks down on the camera, as if she's typing something. STACY'S Face lights up

STACY - "Wait really? Does he want me there..?"

STACY gets a notification "1256 laurel pines drive"

ALLYSSA - "YESS COME NOW BEFORE OPAL SNATCHES HIM AWAY FROM YOUU LIKE, NOW!"

As STACY is trying to click the notification, her computer dims and a mic appears as if it's a personal assistant taking directions

OPAL, AI ASSISTANT - "Sorry I didn't quite catch that."

STACY - "SHUT UP!! Oh my GOD my Opal is so stupid. Wait but no like, I'm not ready and-"

Cutting STACY off

ALLYSSA - "AHH I DON'T WANNA HEART IT! You better come NOW like RIGHT when I hang up the phone. OKAY?"

STACY - "Wait but I don't know-"

Overlapping

ALLYSSA (Speaking to someone off screen) - "SHE SAID WHAT? OH HELL NO! Okay wait i'm coming let me hang up. Gotta go Stace, come NOW! Baiii!"

Allyssa hangs up the phone

STACY thinks for a moment before deciding to get up and walk confidently to the door. 

EXT. OUTSIDE OF STACY'S HOUSE - NIGHT

She closes her door before walking slowly outside, looking worried. She pauses a minute, looking worried. She pats herself down, realizing she forgot something.

STACY - "My keys! Ugh, I'm such a..."

STACY Walks back to her door, pressing the code to open it. A whirring sound is heard but when Stacy tries to open the door, it doesn't budge. She tries putting the code again, looking visibly annoyed. She pulls at the door handle, a loud beeping sound coming from the doors electronic lock. Stacy steps back, holding her hands up as if she doesn't know what's going on. She goes to the keypad, pressing anything to get the beeping to stop before suddenly, the door whirs open.

Stacy stands at the door, looking visibly confused before stepping back into the house, rushing over to her kitchen counter.

EXT. STACY'S KITCHEN.

Stac strides over to get her keys from her counter that are right next to her blender, as she snatches them, the blender automatically turns on, scaring Stacy. She eyes the blender before turning it off, noting how weird that was. She brushes it off though, she's late!

EXT. STACY'S DOORWAY

She strides back to her door, trying to open it but it doesn't budge once more.

STACY - "UGH! I Don't have time for this!"

STACY pulls out her phone, ringing her mom through facetime. As she's calling her mom, the speakers turn on, blasting the music she once had on. STACY screams, dropping her phone. She steps back, eyeing up at the speakers in her living room as she's visibly scared. Her phone, now on the ground, is still ringing MOM.

EXT. STACY'S LIVING ROOM

She backs up to her living room before the TV BLASTS ON, blaring the news channel before rapidly flipping through different channels, creating auditory chaos. After the TV turns on, the microwave turns on, beeping as if something had finished microwaving inside it. The lights also flash, creating chaos and amplifying STACY's anxiety and fear. 

The voicemail sound comes from her phone as her mom didn't answer. Stacy doesn't notice, she's still in fear from all of her appliances suddenly freaking out. Stacy screams before bolting to her garage which is recorded on the screen of her computer.

There is now a closeup to her phone, now showing MOM calling her back. The phone rings for a few seconds before glitching out, the screen black signifying the phone is now out of commission.

- END -

Group meeting...

usually, when you stick a group of 8 teens together that barely know eachother, you're gonna get an awkward unproductive group meeting. HOWEVER, we actually had good things to say! Our groups were well mixed with some who knew exactly what they wanted to do, some that had a rough draft, and some that wereee a little lost! As the overachiever that I am, I had an exact idea on what I plan to do and spent a good chunk of time just yapping and nobody cared TBH! I'm kidding, they cared, but what can you say in response to a girl that knows what she wants? So no ideas got thrown at me for my project. Which is honestly fine, I don't need em! But most productive conversation came from people who had a rough idea but didn't quite know how to execute it. Like for example, Taryn (such a fun name by the way) Had an idea for a post apocalyptic world where nature had completely overrun it and a natural force caused the world to be in shambles and like.. she was alone in the woods with her sister. But like as high school teenagers who have the production budget of a fart, how do you even portray that? We gave many ideas like that she film in the woods, it's pretty quiet, and that she includes a scene with an old newspaper that she uses for warmth that explains what happened to the world. It was pretty neat, I got jealous because I love sci-fi and if I was like a super masterful film editor, I'd 100% take that on as a challenge. 

At the end, I fear I got the most ideas from hearing the suggestions from my group member and how her meeting went. We ditched the paranormal and dove headfirst into making it into a whole "Tech turned evil" Idea, and we started seeing the idea from there. One major issue is that I didn't just want paranormal things to just start happening to her, I wanted like a reason for it. Of course, I didn't want to explain it fully, but have a hint as to why this is happening to her at least. So, evil technology is kind of great because you could always go towards the "girl who misuses technology and technology pays her back for it!" sort of angle. It inspired our first title for it, "User error" and we're really enjoying our idea now! 

I very much think the groups worked in an odd sort of way. It established that what we had going was good, especially since my partner wasn't 100% convinced with our idea. Now we're totally on board and we have a clear direction of our project. We also got our brain juices working when we were in groups, and even though I didn't get any ideas for my project in my group, me having the exercise of generating ideas for other people helped me later when me and my partner were brainstorming together. 

SO YAY!!! 

Let's Talk Media Theories!

Theory Theory Theory!

Part of our task in our project is to integrate a media theory within our project. Looking through theories, it was kind of hard to pick one to integrate into only a film opening, but me and my partner decided to focus on Todorov's Theory of Equilibrium. 

Todorov's Theory of Equilibrium proposes that narratives typically follow a five-stage structure,

1. Equilibrium: The initial stable state of the world where everything is normal, introducing character and setting normally before the...

2. Disruption: An accident, action, or force that disturbs the equilibrium, creating a conflict or problem.

3. Recognition: Characters acknowledge the disruption and recognize the need for a change and act on change.

4. New Equilibrium: New state of balance is reached including new lessons learned. 

In our movie, the theory applies through our script. Our character's equilibrium is introduced when she's home alone, walking home on the phone with her mom. We establish that she's home alone and a very careless and "in her own world" type of teenager. She puts on music, lays on her couch and we begin the sequence of her "Doom Scrolling" on her Computer, on the phone with her friend where we introduce our Disruption, the Ring Camera which leads to the whole disruption of technology being possessed, disturbing her previous equlibrium and sending her and the audience into a stake of panic and anxiety. Now, this is only a Film opening so we can't fully integrate this theory into our film as we're not tasked to include the Recognition aspect or the New Equilibrium since we're not allowed to finish our story or even give reason to the Disruption. Regardless, Todorov's theory of Equlibrium provides a good structure for our Film opening, especially as a Horror Thriller.

THRILLERRRR (but credits)

 

Ok I'm not making another Micheal Jackson Joke. LETS TALK CREDIT SEQUENCES!

Sooo after watching a bunch of credit sequences i've gathered the new insight that credit sequences don’t just list names, they also play a part in establishing the tone and hinting at themes of the movie they're about to watch. Like at first, I always thought credit sequences were just text on a screen, really goes to show how important each aspect of a movie is. Since part of our assignment is to include a credit sequence in our own thriller film opening, we analyzed how different thriller movies use their credits to build tension and unease before the story officially begins. The three thriller credit sequences analyzed are Se7en (1995), Insidious (2010), and Zodiac (2007). 

Se7en (1995)

The credit sequence of Se7en is one of the most iconic thriller openings ever, and for good reason. Instead of clean or neutral visuals, the credits have disturbing close-ups, handwritten notes, rough sketches, and glitchy editing. In fact, everything makes it feel dirty and uncomfortable to watch, immediately telling the audience that this aint gonna be a normal or easy watch. The fast cuts with the scratched text give like an eerie sense of anxiety without showing any actual violence. This is effective because it builds tension through just implication rather than action.What I really liked about this credit sequence is how much story it tells without any dialogue. The credits hint at themes of obsession and control before the movie even begins. Like Idk it's hard to explain how uneasy the credit sequence made me feel but I liked it! Thought it was neat. For our film opening, Se7en shows how credits can act as storytelling. Rather than being random, the visuals connect to certain themes that tie to the story. Like even something as simple as a font could be a great way to visually connect the credit sequence with the actual movie. Like imagine if the text was like comic sans, audiences wouldn't feel as uncomfortable as they do with the scratchy handwritten text that actually used.

(p.s I love brad pitt even though he lowk is a buttfart, hes a very attractive looking butt fart like im mesmerized by his face in the poster holy moly quit MOGGING!)

Insidious (2010)

AHHH INSIDIOUS wow this credit sequence like... wow it was so cool. The opening credit sequence of Insidious really surprised me because it’s not visually busy at all but like still extremely effective at like SPOOKIN ME! The slow pacing and dark visuals OO and especially the high-pitched, unsettling music like immediately made me feel uncomfortable. The sound design does most of the work here, and it works so so well. What stood out the most was the use of red text against dark backgrounds and how like they only used whites, greys, blacks and POPPING RED. It's such a simple thing like be colors on red but it really makes audiences feel alert as red signifies evil and danger, especially against the dark and eerie visuals WITH THE FREAKING LIGHTING. like ew I felt like I was inside a horror game (but not ew it was awesome) The credits don’t show explicit paranormal activity, but they make it very clear that something is wrong. That subtlety actually makes it scarier. Since our film includes paranormal horror elements, this credit sequence was especially inspiring to us as it showed that we don’t need jump scares or intense visuals right away. Sound, color, and even pacing alone can build fear. Again, so very cool. 

Zodiac (2007)

Ok speedrun on this one.The credit sequence in Zodiac takes like a more quieter approach?? but it’s still incredibly effective. Instead of chaos or obvious fear the credits unfold slowly with realistic visuals and a calm but eerie tone. This creates a feeling of like dread and not shock like some of these other ones (i lowkey linda like it tho it makes it feel more real) What I really liked about this sequence is how it makes the audience feel like they’re being pulled into a true story. The slow pacing gives you time to think, which actually increases tension. Like you know something bad is coming but you’re not sure when or how. This credit sequence made me realize that thriller credits don’t always have to be intense to be effective. Sometimes a slow build is even powerful as well. Heyyy little but packs a big punch! For our own film opening, Zodiac inspired us to consider a more subtle credit sequence that lets tension simmer... like it would be a neat combination with some of the other elements in the other sequences.

(p.s I also love jake gyllenhall. just letting you know.)

FINAL THOUGHTS!

I'm having nightmares tonight. That's all.

THRILLERRRR THRILLER NIGHT (openings)

 

Call me Micheal Jackson Because it's THRILLER BABY!

I feel the opening of a thriller film is crucial because it establishes tone, introduces the genre, and pulls the audience into the story almost immediately. A successful thriller to me opening doesn’t reveal really everything at once BUT carefully builds suspense instead, hinting at danger and makes the viewer uneasy. For our  thriller-horror film opening (because that's what we're doing), we analyzed several existing films to understand how tension is used to introduce the main plot line and the fear alongside it effectively. The three thriller film openings we decided to analyze are Scream (1996), Nerve (2016), and The Ring (2002).

Scream (1996)

The opening scene of Scream is a strong example (and also an example that i've analyzed before...) of how a thriller horror film can use setting and pacing to build fear. The entire opening takes place inside a house, a location that is usually associated with safety and comfort. By showing the main character completely alone inside her home multiple times, the audience immediately feels vulnerable, setting the stage for uneasiness. Rather than introducing intense horror immediately, the opening begins calmly with an innocent phone call. This slow introduction allows tension to gradually build before the horror escalates. The use of isolation, silence, and confined space makes the scene feel claustrophobic and suspenseful. This is especially important for our film because we want to understand when it is appropriate to introduce horror elements. Scream shows that delaying the full horror while letting suspense grow can make the eventual scare much more effective. This opening also establishes the thriller genre instantly by creating uncertainty and fear without explaining everything. The audience knows something is wrong, but they are unsure exactly what will happen next.

Nerve (2016)

We analyzed the opening of Nerve mostly for its creative use of technology as a storytelling tool in its opening. Instead of traditional dialogue or action, the film introduces the main character and plot almost entirely through her computer screen. It reminded me a lot of part of the Nearpod about film openings and how sometimes movies use the radio or News footage to give background information to viewers. By watching her click through social media, videos, and websites, the audience quickly learns about her personality, relationships, and the online world she exists in, isn't that so neat? This opening is effective because it delivers a large amount of background information without feeling slow or forced. HOWEVER, we don't need to deliver large amounts of information in our film opening as we're centering the interaction solely on the paranormal activity happening with her ring camera. In Nerve, the character goes through a college decision, talks about how her mom doesn't want her to leave, shows her love of photography, her crush, her best friend, her music lalalalalalala AHHHH we don't need it. AFTER all of that is introduced THEN we get the famous Nerve game intro which I also thought was really neat like, even from the beginning, the character is tied to technology which is basically where the main conflict derives from. Like (spoilers) through technology, the Nerve game completely took over her life later for snitching and in the beginning she gave SOO MUCH INFORMATION about her own life through just a minute long computer screen sequence. Really shows how much information we give on the internet... that's probably what we were supposed to take from the film #wildthought? (im kidding. Also can you tell that I actually watched Nerve and not Scream? Maybe I should do that.... Nerve is just such a good movie.) ANYWAYS this computer sequence is something we want to utilize in our own thriller film opening. Nerve proves that clicking, scrolling, and digital interaction can communicate character and conflict efficiently, while also making the story feel modern and realistic. It builds tension subtly by showing how technology can pull someone into danger without them realizing it at first. And technology, something thats so familiar and ordinary, reels the audience into a false sense of security before easing them into the horror and paranormal aspects of our movie

(wow holy yap.)

The Ring (2002)

The opening scene of The Ring is annother good example of a thriller that relies on atmosphere rather than immediate action. We particularly picked this film opening as the movie has ties to the paranormal, and thats the angle we want to take in terms of Horror. The scene begins casually, with a normal conversation between characters, which mirrors everyday life. However, there is an underlying sense of unease created through lighting, sound design, and silence. Instead of showing obvious paranormal activity right away, the opening hints at it through dialogue and unsettling details.The supernatural element is introduced carefully, allowing suspense to grow before anything truly frightening happens, sorta kinda like scream. Anywhoo, the Ring demonstrates how thriller openings can suggest the supernatural without fully exposing it which helps maintain mystery while also building tension (which is what we want). It reinforces the idea that fear is often more effective when it is implied rather than shown outright (wait bars?)

FINAL REFLECTION

I think I write more passionately on films I've actually watched. I don't think I like horror... it makes me nervous (which is the point) put i've made a side note to myself to try and watch AT LEAST scream. I will not watch the Ring. YES IM SCARED CANCEL ME! But yea, this one was a silly one. I think that thriller openings are kind of like a swoop. Very slowly building tension and then SWOOP! It builds up from literal zero like you don't even expect it. But yeah, i'm excited for this one. WOO!