Shooting Schedule

We are planing on doing most of the filming during the Christmas Holiday and during some of the media lessons. We hope the whole team can turn up to each session which shouldn't be too bad as we all live relatively close to each other. 

Working on our Storyboards

Here are some videos of us as a group working on our storyboards. We all took seperate roles into the fast and precise completion of the task. I took the role of drawing and labeling the shots; Rosie took the role of working out how long any shots would last; Emma coloured in the drawings and listed the sound and Ellie described what was happening in each shot with the type of camera shot.

Costume, Props and Location

Casting

When deciding on the cast of our film we took into consideration the type of characters but also we thought about how accessible different people would be especially when filming needed to be done.


The first character we decided on was the main character, Mark Wilson. He needs to be someone who looks quite tough and strong. Also he needs to be fearless and knowledgeable.
We have chosen to cast me (as a member of our group) to be Mark as I have a preferable build which suits this role quite well with Mark Wilson being a veteran. As I am in the group it also makes a lot of the filming a whole lot easier. I  will be reliable and will attend all the shooting sessions anyway as part of the responsibility of the group. 

We then needed a teenage girl who would start out as a vulnerable character but develop into a strong willed woman. As a group we then decided to cast Rosie Winton (another member of our group). We believe she will suit the role quite well as she is of a similar age and can act quite well. Furthermore she is a member of a group again making filming a whole lot easer even though she doesn't really appear in the opening sequence.

Only close ups or obscured extreme long shots will show Wendy Thornton is dead. The hair colour will need to stand out amongst the pool of blood it will lay in. So we cast Emma Chapman (a member of our group) because of her fair hair. 

Locations

Our location is mainly on a dark busy road near the station. The area needs to seem grey and and urban. The station he gets off at is Cashalton Beeches station. In the morning and evening the area is quite busy, but during the day it is usually very quiet. We would have to film during the day so we can achieve an isolated feel for our thriller film. The idea is to make the area look inhabited but quiet at the same time. This way will be able to make the crime thats about to unfold, believable.

Props

Our props are relatively simple, the mobile phone is the key part of the actors role. We need it to make the phone call and he spends a good part of the opening sequence using it. The door bell as well had to black and simple and shouldn't suggest too much. We need it to make the situation seem normal so when we drop the bomb, the viewer will truly feel the excitement. The blood will be the major hint to the plot turning. The blood's dark red colour will immediately be recognized amongst the audience and it will definitely highlight the danger and panic of the situation. Also the muddy converse will be another key part that will initially cause the unintentional framing of the main character by contaminating the crime scene. The shoes will foreshadow this problem.

Costumes

For costumes we have decided to choose relativiely dark clothes with a rather casual feel. This way we can show the audience that the film is a thriller yet it is happening to an ordinary person. I hope that by doing this we will achieve a succesful synopsis that makes sense. If the character was wearing suitable cargo clothes that would be good for running around in it would loose the whole mystery of the thriller.



We have decided to include a dark thick coat and a scarf that would indicate the cold weather of the time in the setting. By showing that it is a cold it will reflect the cold feel of the film giving the audience more reason to watch the film. The rest of the clothes will be quite casual, chinos and a shirt. The character will look smart, as though he is prepared to go to dinner with the family he is supposedly meant to have dinner with.

Font for our Thriller Opening Sequence Title

This title font caught my eye because of eerie handwriting style. The handwriting suggests a criminal and a ransom message. However I decided not to choose this font as it implies the criminal is unprofessional 

This font signifies an Eastern European setting for our thriller. The font is bold and stands out. Because of the European look of the font, it suggests a large grey urban area that would be a perfect setting for our thriller. 

The title immediately signifies a large city like area thanks to the skyline imagery used at the bottom of the font.  Also the font seems to have like a dirt effect that could convey the idea of grit or blood to the audience, possibly highlighting the violence of the film. Also the type of letters suggests a danger like sign warning. maybe foreshadowing the danger for the main character. 

The label like title suggests professional criminals which is a main theme for our thriller. Furthermore it also suggests a police case which also a theme for our thriller. However the title seems old fashioned and our film it set in the present so I have decided not to choose this font. But this font could work for subtitles e.g. crew, cast etc.

I have decided to choose this font for our thriller film title. It stands out bright and bold, there isn't too much going on. The dirt like effect on the font will signify a gritty urban setting, or it will imply blood and violence. This will attract audience members who are fond of action and violence. The title 'danger sign' like font will also highlight the idea of violence and danger. The title in this font will suggest the main themes of the film thus making it a perfect for our film.

GIFSoup

We will have our titles flashing on and off as though as you are not meant to see the title. However unlike Seven (1995, Fincher), the title's will be played over the moving image of the film and not a title a sequence.

Script

How do you make gifs


How do you make gifs

The script is quite basic, it features our main character and an answerphone. The main character basically explains that he is on his way to his friends house after the answerphone message.

Thriller Opening Sequence Storyboard Animation

Here is an Animation of our storyboard with some of the sounds we are going to use in the film. The storyboard shows our main character Mark Wilson leaving the station to go to his friend's house. Also included is the jump cuts to the friends house were the friends are coincidentally dead.

Character Profiles

Mark Wilson - Main Charatcer

Ex Soldier - Appeals to audience members who like action movies.
Middle Aged - This way he will appeal more audience members of a wider age group.
Single - the fact that he is single suggests that might be a love interest in the film, potentially appealing to a female audience.

Megan Thornton

17 years old - Appeals to younger female audience members, they would like the idea a girl their age has a main role in the film.
Studying at college - Shows the viewers that this film is about a bad situation happening to ordinary people.

Wendy Thornton

Mother - the fact she is a mother, been married for ten years, and has been killed, will manipulate the audience into disliking the bad guys.

Sounds for our Thriller Opening Sequence

For sound we have to use non copyrighted material from, copyright free websites our from stuff we have recorded personally. Four our thriller we are going to write and record some of the music on Cubase and possibly record other sound effects. However we will borrow copyright free sounds from copyright free websites.



A thriller would probably have eerie ambient music, so we would need something that would build some tension without giving it away. We just want the audience to feel that something is wrong.


We also want some traffic noises as well for when our character walks to his mate's house. The noise has to be realistic, I can't sound too busy however, otherwise we would loose the isolated feel we want to maintain.


A few good swoosh and swish noises would suggest something that shouldn't be there.




For musical score it would be right if we went for a more modern approach and had some music similar to films like the Matrix and the Bourne Identity with a slow drum beat, ambient noises and distorted synth noises to suggest the problems about to occur in the film.

Shot Types and Ideas for our Thriller Opening

The first shot will be a mid/close up of the protagonist from behind, so again the audience will not be able to see his face. The camera will track with the actor as he walks forwards and gets out his phone. 

                                                                                                                             

The next shot will be another mid/close up of the phone he is calling to at his mate's house. The camera will track back very slowly.     

The fourth shot will then cut back  to the protagonist at a mid close up level as he leaves a message on the answer-phone.

It then cuts back to the shot of the protagonist from the front and he is putting his phone away after saying the words 'see you in a bit.'

The next shots will be long shots of the protagonists walking to his friends house down the road, in the corner titles will appear whilst music begins to play.

Synopsis of our Thriller

A man goes to visit his friend at his house. He rings his friend as he walks there to make use everything is still good. There is no answer. The man assumes everything is okay and carries on his journey to his friends house. When he arrives the door is open, he still knocks but there is no answer. He opens the door to see if everything and shouts out his mates name. Still no answer, so he goes inside only to find his mate and his wife dead. He immediately goes into shock and panics desperately trying to bring his mate back to life without realising that he is contaminating the crime scene with his fingerprints. He eventually notices that their daughter is not there and then starts to look for her. He finds her upstairs under the bed, alive.

The man and the daughter then take part in a journey to avoid the people trying to kill her family and the police who believe that he was the one who killed the family and kidnapped their daughter.

Initial Ideas

Initial Ideas for our Thriller Opening Sequence on Prezi