HITMAN

[tommygun]

"Hitman..."

Question 1: Are you familiar with the Video Game?

Question 2: I've had a conversation with a good friend and advisor about an idea that spins off the video game... A hitman arrives at a home and proceeds to mow down the various participants, who come at him one after another. The issue is: Do all these deaths need to be set up with a "back" story at the beginning? Would knowing the victims "better" make their death scenes more pleasurable? Why is the hitman there? Who are these victims, really? What are they like before they get killed? Why were they selected for assassination?

The reason this is important is TIME. Doing backstory work requires more set up and shoot time. The more backstory, the more time. Which means that the number of victims is reduced accordingly, because the day will be extremely full to get this done along with one other script that has to be accomplished.

There is no question that backstory information is valuable, in any script. In fact, all the scripts I have produced have more or less "filling out" of the victim(s) and the killer(s) before the actual kill scene and the aftermath.

BUT: Speaking as a old guy producer, I find that much energy goes into the longer time and effort required for extensive front-end story telling, especially with cast members who aren't professionally trained actors. Often, when I get to the editing, I realize that I missed opportunities for directorial-improvements of the death acting, or special effects setups and follow-throughs, or other views or effects in the killing and aftermath.

So, back to the original questions: Knowing the video game, would a fast-paced scenario like the game be pleasureful, or ultimately boring if there were a bunch of deaths without really knowing anything about the victims? Would the game idea be a lot better if there were more exposure to and knowledge of the victims before they were killed, even if that meant fewer victims?