Pre-Production

Planning

In the half term holiday we had to write up our own opening to a thriller film. We all individually had to come up with a narrative, what cinematography will be used, editing techniques and mise en scene. As I had to come up with a storyline, I had to be aware of the generic conventions of a thriller film such as low key lighting and tracking. By knowing the generic conventions of a thriller film, I will then be able to make my own thriller film look like an actual thriller film.

The narrative I came up with was about a girl who was going to a party got ready and went to the party. The party then finished and she went home alone. She didn’t live in or near the city but near a forest so there weren’t much house or people around; so she was walking right next to a forest.  As she was walking home from the party at night, she felt like she was being followed so she decided to look back. She vaguely saw a rough silhouette from afar. This scared her so she started to walk faster. She started to here the footsteps getting closer and closer but whenever she sees if anyone’s there she doesn’t see anyone; but the audience can see the man following her. At one moment she turns back again and sees no one there but when she turns back again the man is right in front of her blocking her way. This caused her the scream in shock so the man grabs her and closes her mouth with his hand. She manages to break loose and run through the woods, he chases after her. She keeps running and running scream from someone to help her but because she running in a forest no one can hear her. As she is running, she looked back to see if he was there then she buckled and dropped face first on the ground; this allowed the man to catch up with her. He grabbed her and picked her up as she was crying for him to leave her alone.

As this would be just the opening of a thriller film I would stop the film there to leave the audience in suspense with a cliff hanger. Leaving them in suspense will hopefully make them want to watch the rest of the film to see what happens. The rest of the narrative would include the man rapping the lady then she kills him. When she find out she's pregnant, she has the baby but the child starts to have nightmares of seeing a man which says he is his father.

In my narrative, the generic conventions of a thriller film will firstly be the low key light. My scene is set at night so there will be low key lighting. This convention is in most thriller films because it creates suspense to the audience. This is because of the dark atmosphere doesn’t allow us to see everything in the scene so anything can pop out and surprise the audience. There will also be some blood. This is only when the girl falls over. This will show that she is in pain; this will bring suspense to the audience. The location will be a generic convention because the setting is a forest location. This is a convention because no one is usually there so if anything happened then no one will know.

The types of cinematography used in my thriller film will be longshot for when she is walking. This is to show the audience her whole body and part of the background she is in. At the beginning I will use an establishing shot to show the location and setting of my film. Because the location is near a forest and is at night, it will make the audience aware that this film is a thriller.

After half term we had our first planning lesson where we were told who was in our groups. My group included Hande Silay and Luke Berry. We had another person in our group but they dropped the course so we had to slip their role between us; this meant we had to work harder as there was more to do. Everyone in my group had written up their own opening to a thriller film. After we heard everyones ideas we came up with a storyline. This included some of my story and some of my other group’s ideas.

After discussing we came up with our opening. It starts of with a teenage girl sleeping and wakes up because she is cold from the open window. As she reaches to close it she finds a letter at the side of her bed. She goes to read it and it says “I’VE BEEN WATCHING YOU... WE’LL MEET SOON!” After this she looks around and starts to get scared; as she is doing this her stalker is looking at her from the window behind her; she doesn’t see this. In the next scene she leaves her house to go to a party. As she is walking the stalker is behind her following her but she doesn’t realise this. She gets the feeling that she’s being followed so she turns around but no one is there. This happens a few times but when she is about to turn back around to continue walking the stalker is suddenly right in front of her blocking her way. He grabs her quickly and the opening sequence ends there. We believe this was a good opening sequence as it had generic conventions of a thriller films like the 3 S's; surprise, shock and suspense. The shots i was thinking of using is tracking, POV (point of view) and over the shoulder shots. I would use the tracking shot when 'Sarah' the main character is walking and gets the feeling that someone is following her. I would use the POV (point of view) shot when Sarah looks back to see if anyone is following her. This will allow the audience to she what she's seeing; the audience will be engaged and feel part of the film. I would use the over the shoulder shot when Sarah is walking but the audience will see the stalker right behind her. This will create suspense as Sarah will not know that someone is walking right behind her; it shows she is in danger.

Here is the storyboard:

We decided that the name of a thriller should be short and simple so people can remember it easier. We thought 'GONE' was an appropriate name because it will make the audience think 'who is gone?'. This will create suspense. Also 'GONE' was an appropriate name because it goes with the narrative of the film.

In this film there will be two main characters; the girl called Sarah and the Stalker with no name. We decided that Hande Silay who is in our group should play the role of the character Sarah because she fits the role and their the same age; also as Hande does drama we thought she will have good acting skills. The stalker will be played by Lyden Smith; he fit the role and as he is in our class it would be easier to contact him on the schedule. There are two scenes in this opening sequence; the bedroom scene and when she's walking to a party scene. In the bedroom scene Sarah will be wearing pyjamas to make it look more realistic that she was sleeping. In the second scene she will be wearing an outfit that looks like she is going to a party; like a dress or leggings with a top. This is also to make to scene look more realistic.

The stalker with no name will be wearing dark clothes; a hoody ans black trousers. This is to make him look more mysterious and to hide some of his face. A prop that will be used is a letter. This letter used will say “I’VE BEEN WATCHING YOU... WE’LL MEET SOON!” This will create suspense as we do not know who the letter was from.

The sound we have chosen will be a beat that creates suspense as she is walking and a sudden shock or bang at the end when he suddenly grabs her. We decided that the sound when she’s walking should be similar to the song Runaway by Kanye West. Around the first 20 seconds of the song builds tension and this would be perfect for when the character Sarah is walking and the stalker is following her as this will create suspense. In the making of my thriller film, we have to make our own sound so we can't us runaway by Kanye West; from this we decided to use a similar sound to this as the girl is walking while the stalker is following her.

The lighting in film will be low key lighting and natural lighting. The bedroom scene will be in low key lighting; this is because she was sleeping and to make it more realistic low key lighting will show that she sleeps in the dark which is what all teenagers her age does. The low key lighting will as give a mysterious effect as we can't fully see the stalker by the window. As the cameras we will get to record don’t come with good lighting, we were advised to not shot in the dark. From this we decided to use the scene when she's getting followed with natural daylight, although this will make it less scary we decided that the music with the edits will add tension.

Roles and Responsibilities

We had to decide we were going to do which role. After discussing we decided that I should be the director/ producer. My role was being in charge of my group and making the final decisions in all aspects of our final thriller movie. As i was the producer of the film whatever i said must be done unless it was to do with other roles and responsibilities, that's when it's up to them to pick the most suitable elements. I am the overall person responsible for the group’s determination and commitment to the thriller film. The skills i needed for this role was good communication skills, a good leader and being well organised.

We decided Hande Silay should be given the role of location and lighting. This role included for her to make sure that the lighting is correct for the film to take place by not having unwanted shadows and also making sure the lighting is conventional to a thriller movie. She needs to also make sure that the location she chooses for the thriller film conveys a thriller atmosphere to the opening sequence and for the shots being taken. The skills she will need for this role is to be enthusiastic about what she is searching for and to focus on what she may need to do.

Luke Berry's role was camera and sound. His role was to ensure all shots and audio request by the director/ producer is recorded to a technical standard. This is a technical role so Luke needs to be able to use the equipment.  It's his responsibility to set up all the shots correctly and film accordingly tot he storyboard alongside the rest of the production crew. It's Luke's job to hire out and look after the equipment especially while filming on location. The skills he needs for this role is being able to pay attention at all times and focus on getting the right shots and also being trust worthy in order to make sure none of the equipment is missing at each shooting day.

As our other member of the group decided to drop out of the course, we had to share between us the role of the costume/ hair and makeup. This role required us to lease with the producer to find out what costumes and props are needed in order to make your production successful. Where necessary we will be required to buy or loan props and costumes and provide them on shoot days. We will also be required to supply and do makeup where necessary and complete all relevant documents as evidence to show you have carried out your role.