Feedback for Opening scene idea

I presented my Western Opening Scene idea and here was the feedback I received:

The majority if not the entirety of the feedback I received was positive and constructive. My presentation was “well presented” and the “layout (for my presentation) worked effectively” according to my peers. I think I was a little ambitious, however, in what we could shoot in a day.

My oversight was less due to plot and storyline and more to do with the genre itself. Because of the setting of this Western scene “late at night” and “in a different time period,” it would have been incredibly difficult for us to film effectively. The entire scene was meant to take place in a sheriff’s office in a Western town, this would've meant we only had one location. But since Western Sheriffs Offices are commonplace in rural England, it would've been extremely difficult to build and make them look authentic. This is the same as costume and props which we would’ve had to think about for the scene. In the future when I am writing a scene like this, I will take into consideration that I should “elaborate further on details''. I will also think about the logistics of filming at night, during the day. Ideally, this scene was filmed during the sunset or dusk hours, which are “very quick and incredibly hard to film'' so I understand how we could’ve run into a few problems because this wouldn't have been the most effective use of our time.

 
I believe, however, I had a good grasp on the length of the concepts we could introduce in an opening scene “(this scene) fits well into 3 minutes”, and maintained an “interesting storyline” by introducing a genre within a genre or a “thriller within a western”. I was told the scene was something you could “continue watching”, and “leaves an impactful cliffhanger”. I think My idea wasn’t something that had been done or suggested much before and was relatively unique in concept. My storyline included only two characters, minimal dialogue, and no special effects, which were advantages in making it easier to film and edit. It also benefited us due to the restrictions of Covid-19, and possible government guidelines. My idea was clear and concise, and therefore easy to follow without having to establish character. Part of the benefits of using a Western genre was the fact that I had the ability to play off of the tropes we expect from these characters, the sheriffs are the good guys, and the elderly are more experienced. By using these archetypes, we the first-time filmmakers could spend less time establishing the context surrounding these characters.

While we won’t be filming this scene, I think this constructive criticism helped myself and my team think realistically while choosing our final product, because we acknowledged our limitations.