Shot list! Research post

Story Concept – Opening Narration

The narrator starts the movie by arriving in the basement where most of the men in his family are already there. The majority of scenes involve the narrator walking around the basement and introducing each of the men (thru voiceover) by including a short flashback of each of the men. All the short flashbacks imply that physical violence has occurred to these men but do not show it. The voiceovers continue throughout the opening; the events are not presented in a positive way, which adds to the tension and discomfort created from seeing these flashbacks.

Shot List – Narrator Introduces the Family

Shot 1 – Entrance

• Medium tracking shot of the narrator walking down basement stairs

• Low lighting, muffled voices

• Voiceover begins: “Family isn’t about blood. It’s about loyalty.”

Shot 2 – Group Establishing

• Wide shot of all the men in the basement

• Smoke, silence, stillness

• Narrator pauses, then begins introductions

Shot 3 – Louis (First Introduction)

• Medium close-up of Louis leaning against a wall

• Narrator names him and briefly states his crime in neutral terms

Cutaway Scene (Louis):

• Night exterior

• Medium shot of Louis near a dumpster, looking over his shoulder

• No body shown only his reaction and urgency to get it over with

• Hard cut back to basement

Shot 4 – Second Family Member

• Close-up of another man seated, hands folded

• Narrator explains his role (fraud, intimidation, laundering)

Cutaway Scene:

• insert: paperwork, cash, burner phone

• No action, just implication

Shot 5 – Third Family Member

• Low-angle medium shot to suggest authority

• Narrator’s tone shifts respect or fear

Cutaway Scene:

• Interior car shot at night

• Man staring forward, unreadable face 

• Sound design carries tension instead of visuals

Shot 6 – Return to Narrator

• Medium close-up of narrator watching them all

• Voiceover reflects on growing up around this environment

• Establishes internal conflict

Shot 7 – Closing Beat

• Static wide shot of the group

• Basement hums with quiet tension

• Narration ends: “And that’s how I learned who I was.”