Progression on Film Opening

My group and I have done some progression in our film opening project, my group and I have determined what direction we want to take with our project. Through our research in genre, we decided comedy was the best genre for what we wanted to create. This was because of the amount of freedom that a comedy allowed for creativity and fun in terms of coming up with ideas. We also decided to create a project based on car culture because there was an abundance of material which we could use to turn into jokes.


Our concept is a comedy that is about street racing culture and automotive enthusiasm instead of taking the approach of creating a very violent movie like those found in the action genre. Our goal is to take comedic advantage of the ridiculousness of the situations within the context of street racing and auto racing in general, by making them based on exaggerated characteristics of the people in the film, creating awkward moments and embarrassing instances. The protagonist, Paulie, is designed to be an overzealous yet clueless character who fits perfectly with comedic elements. Most of the comedy derives from viewing how it's important to Paulie in his mind versus how silly the situation actually is.


The text below is an outline we in the process of developing the film. Also, I know that there is a lot on content and that what we have in the outline won't all fit into the film opening. Currently, the outline is mainly for us to capture all our thoughts rather than making a plan for the final version. I am also aware that a big portion of what we have made in this outline will need to be removed or cut down to fit into the film, and identifying those things will be the focus of the next progression post.


Rough Outline:


Paulie, the main character, buys a new car. After that, there is a montage of him modifying it. Once he is finished, he is shown being really happy and proud of the car. He then says something like “I’m ready for the streets now.” After this, Paulie drives to a car meet or race spot. On the way there, one of those people who wash car windows at traffic lights starts cleaning his windshield. Paulie gets mad because he just washed the car and decides to fight the guy. When Paulie finally gets to the car meet or race spot, he meets Jay, a cocky character who drives a 1999 Porsche Boxster. When Paulie parks, Jay walks up to him and asks what is under the hood. Paulie responds by using goofy and fake names for car parts instead of the real ones. They then get ready to race, but Paulie stalls his car at the start and looks dumb. The race is not over though, because the super duper cool big fat snail modifications he added give him just enough speed to win. Right after he wins, the cops pull up and Paulie gets arrested. Later on, he gets bailed out and receives a call from a secret race organizer. The organizer says he saw the race and wants Paulie to compete in the biggest race of all, the race across America. He also says that he will bail Paulie out if Paulie agrees to do it.


There is a bunch going on in the outline but the outline is just a beginning point. With the final film opening, we only want to focus on the best and funniest parts that best set up the character, the genre, and the entire idea. In the next post, I will be reviewing this and cutting it down. My goal is to determine which parts will remain in order for the opening to convey clarity and to be humorous, rather than rushed.