• Wondering which camera, gear, computer, or software to buy? Ask in our Gear Guide.

Ending for a futuristic crime thriller... help!

Hi everyone... its been a while since i was on here. so here's the concept:

In the future, people will be able to record and store as information everything that they experience through their brain. Experiences are recorded, stored, and upload to a computer. At first this is done to keep memory of things, a first date, a funny trip, etc... with time, people begin using it with social media, and so some become online celebrities, having a 24/7 live stream of what they are doing, eating, experiencing.

So the main character, Martin, becomes one of these celebrities, with thousands of fans following his feed ( I guess he should be someone pretty interesting, hmm).

Now, At some point, and for some reason, somebody decides to frame Martin for murder. Via his live feed, Martin’s fans and the authorities can see him committing the murder, but he has no memory of the event in his own mind and so he knows that it didn’t really happen.

The actual chase elements of the story could be very interesting and would have room for a lot of creativity. Unable to turn off his live feed, the police would be able to see every move Martin makes from his own viewpoint, and that would make hiding very difficult. This is where the one minute delay in transmission comes in. Maybe the delay was intended for censorship purposes, or maybe it’s just a technical limitation. Either way, Martin could use it to his advantage, setting traps and misleading his pursuers.

Another advantage that Martin has are his loyal fans. While most of the fans would turn against him, some are sure to take his side. He would be able to protest his innocence via his live feed, turning public opinion in his favor, although the authorities would surely shut down the feed once that starts happening. How could his fans help him? In lots if ways. For example, they could blindfold him and take him to a safe-house. Blindfolding would mean that the police wouldn’t be able to follow, but that Martin would have to put his trust in complete strangers – a gripping dilemma.

ok. trouble im having is with the ending. They why? Who would do this to him and how would you resolve it?

The obvious explanation is simply that the murderer found a way to switch his own feed with Martin, freeing himself of suspicion

Any movies that come to mind with this? Minority report is the closest i can think of. Any ideas would be welcome!
 
Any film in which the protagonist "victim" of the antagonist must also evade law enforcement/the authorities while solving the crime being pinned on him or her.

The Fugitive
US Marshals
Salt
The Sentinel
Haywire
The Bourne Trilogy
Enemy of the State
Eagle Eye


Watch them.
Write down detailed plot notes.
Recognize the varying story architectures.
Pick one you like.
Drape your story over the plot points.
Change details to accommodate your story.

Don't worry about being slammed for copying premises.

DANCES WITH WOLVES: Disillusioned soldier meets traditional enemies makes friends fights against countrymen
THE LAST SAMURAI: Disillusioned soldier meets traditional enemies makes friends fights against countrymen
AVATAR: Disillusioned soldier meets traditional enemies makes friends fights against countrymen
DISTRICT 9: Gung ho MNU worker meets traditional enemies makes friends fights against countrymen

Make the differences significant.
 
got a question for you guys:

When the MC is framed for murder, he knows nothing more than what the media say.
In reality he's been used as a scapegoat for a big corporation. I want him to find this info from another character, but im not sure how to do that. Maybe a friend on the inside? does that seem realistic?
 
Maybe a friend on the inside? does that seem realistic?
You're looking for a stock character known as "The Wise Old Man." (Not a literal term, BTW.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wise_old_man
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stock_characters

Give the character a twist.
Make it a Absent-minded professor or Essex girl or Hooker/Engineer/Programmer/Manager with a heart of gold.

The point to remember is that the protagonist is completely out of resources before meeting with this character.
I mean the store is DONE! Protag is SOL. Story's over... until... unless... "The wise old man" provides the key to unlocking the whole entire mystery.

Typically this is at the low point of the second half pf Act II, sometimes it's at the end of Act II and the beginning of Act III.
The information provided is the single small thread that unravels the entire mystery.


"Thank you, wise old man/essex girl/Hooker/Engineer/Programmer/Manager with a heart of gold! Couldn't have done it without you!"
 
This is an amazing premise that reminds me of a really cool movie called, "Strange Days". It's about this device that can simulate experiences and is used on the black market as the new "drug of choice". the main character is a former cop, now turned drug dealer in this dyostopic not-too-distant future world. Anyway, some killer sends him experience videos of his killings, putting him in this murder mystery.

Your idea, though, sounds way better and I'm really excited to see that others are doing exactly what I'm trying to do with film. I'm infatuated with themes related to the growing partnership between man and technology and the psychological and sociological implications of this relationship.

Hit me up sometime. Maybe we can bounce some ideas off each other.

Oh and if you want an interesting twist, make the killer his childhood best friend whom he still stays in contact with and helps him out along the way. His friend could have some deep secret enmity with him because the main character is perfect. It's like his best friend's identity dwelled in his shadow so much to the point where he ended up having a shitty life after they parted ways and lived their own lives. So, in a roundabout way, he blames his childhood friend (the main character) for his shitty existence and decides to frame him so that he can sink down to his level.
 
got a question for you guys:

When the MC is framed for murder, he knows nothing more than what the media say.
In reality he's been used as a scapegoat for a big corporation. I want him to find this info from another character, but im not sure how to do that. Maybe a friend on the inside? does that seem realistic?

I don't know man. It seems pretty cliche, don't you think? It's like using the "it was all a dream" twist. Remember, we're living in the information age where media hits us so fast, everyone has to re-invent themselves constantly. If you don't have something new, you'll fade into the crowd of filmmakers. The premise is amazing. You just need that unique twist and plot points.
 
This is an amazing premise that reminds me of a really cool movie called, "Strange Days". It's about this device that can simulate experiences and is used on the black market as the new "drug of choice". the main character is a former cop, now turned drug dealer in this dyostopic not-too-distant future world. Anyway, some killer sends him experience videos of his killings, putting him in this murder mystery.

Your idea, though, sounds way better and I'm really excited to see that others are doing exactly what I'm trying to do with film. I'm infatuated with themes related to the growing partnership between man and technology and the psychological and sociological implications of this relationship.

Hit me up sometime. Maybe we can bounce some ideas off each other.

Oh and if you want an interesting twist, make the killer his childhood best friend whom he still stays in contact with and helps him out along the way. His friend could have some deep secret enmity with him because the main character is perfect. It's like his best friend's identity dwelled in his shadow so much to the point where he ended up having a shitty life after they parted ways and lived their own lives. So, in a roundabout way, he blames his childhood friend (the main character) for his shitty existence and decides to frame him so that he can sink down to his level.

Great! we should definitely talk.

There's another thing that's been bugging me. If his stream is always live, how would they implant the "memory" of him committing the murder to his stream without there being a discontinuation?
 
Great! we should definitely talk.

There's another thing that's been bugging me. If his stream is always live, how would they implant the "memory" of him committing the murder to his stream without there being a discontinuation?

Easy. The killer makes a room that looks just like the main character's. That way, whenever the guy goes to sleep, he can hack into the feed and act like he's waking up in the middle of the night as the main character. Then he goes and kills and returns before dawn.
 
open season

Maybe the Protag stumbled upon a conspiracy of weapons exchange with a terrorist group and they found out and have him framed for a murder via a high level "Black Hat" hacking group to load a real murder with a look-a-like and put it in his memories.

Maybe they found out the Protag's father was a scientist working on high level cloaking devices for the military, and the military found out his father gave the Protag some information as a child and just found out. So the Military sent out a "Black" team to destroy his life with a murder in his memorie so he can never let the information out.
 
You should definetely watch the episode of 'Black Mirror' called 'The entire history of you'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImbpjWRMy2k

If you don't know what Black Mirror is, it is a series of one off stand-alone episodes all with different characters, settings and even realities. They are all great to watch as the concepts are so clever, but this one really relates to the story you gave.

Also, this particular episodes is in talks with Robert Downey Jr and Warner Bros in being made into a proper movie.
 
Back
Top