Storyboarding

Storyboarding

Pre-credits:
1. Close up pan of gangsters faces.
2. Mid-long shot of kid being beaten up.
3. Close up pan shows the rest of gang.
4. Long shot of the gang sitting on the wall.
5. Close up of detectives face.
6. Long shot of the hang standing against a wall.
7. Extreme long shot of the gang with the film title above them.

Shots in order post preliminary introduction:
1. Close up shot of light bulb turning on.
2. Medium length shot of the detective sitting at a table in the room.
3. Close up shot of newspaper.
4. side medium shot showing detective at table, face covered up.
5. medium shot slightly tilted upwards behind the detective showing him being fired.
6. Birds eye shot of detective sitting at desk.
7. Long shot of gang walking down a road.
8. Over the shoulder shot of detective sitting at table.
9. Side medium shot of gangster against wall.
10. Close up of light flickering in room.
11. Long shot from slightly above showing gang playing pool.
12. Over the shoulder shot of detective in the room writing on paper.
13. Low shot of detectives feet and legs under the table.
14. Medium long shot of detective sitting down at the table, facing from the front.
15. medium long shot of gangsters walking away down a street.
16. medium close up from the front of detective sitting at the table.
17. Close up of gangsters face, cigarette in mouth.
18. Close up of detectives eye.
19. Medium close up of gangsters face with a cigarette.
20. Medium close up with a slight tilt upwards of detectives face.
21. Shot of light turning off.

Setting - Office Area

We've found a location where we're planning to shoot the office scene of the protagonist frantically working. The setting is located within the college and i currently used as a utility area for the cleaners etc. We believe that it conveys the appropriate and desired atmosphere, as it is dingy and dark.

Title Font

We've found a font title that we've chosen. We believe it matches convention of films such as 'This is England'.

Title Shortlist

We still haven't come to a solid conclusion in reference to the film title. However we have shortlisted the title 'Victus Vir'. This would also act as the name of the protagonist. 'Victus' is a pun of 'Vicus' which translates to 'Street' in latin. 'Vir' is a direct translation to 'Hero' in latin. We believe the term 'Street Hero' would be relevant as the protagonist os of heroic nature, but on a smaller scale - on the streets; as opposed to a Roman war hero, Victus would be the contemporary equivalent.

However there are several problems which have occurred to us. for example, the name 'Victus Vir' appears to be out of context and of some eastern European decent, whereas our character is a British detective.

TImes and Dates we will be filming.

Our plan will be to film on the 6th of February for the whole day. For this me, Justin and Ruaridh will film the section of the opening where the protagonist is in the room. This will involve setting up a room and filming various shots of Justin as the protagonist. Also, if we do have time we will film sections of the flashbacks but we were mainly planning on filming the flashbacks a week later with our fourth member of our group, Will.

List of equipment

Video camera
Tri-pod
Props
Wheelchair for steady filming
Jackets/shirts
Notebook
Chair
Desk

Make up/Hair

Make up will not be necessary for any of our characters as the scene will be mostly dark and we do not need any make up to create any specific affect. The person we will be using for our protagonist already has dark medium length hair which is what we will need so we will have to change nothing with him. For the gangsters there will also have to be no significant change as these scenes will be very quick so attention to detail will not be entirely necessary. As long as characters are dressed appropriately this will suffice.

Lighting - effect - equipment

As the atmosphere for our thriller opening will be predominantly dark. The lighting will be low key in the room with the protagonist. If possible, we will want one dim light bulb in the middle of the room above the protagonist so it provides a spotlight on the protagonist as well as dimly lighting the whole room around him. For the flashbacks we will film as it gets dark so it continues with the atmosphere of the credits. If we were to film in the day it would contrast too much with the shots of the man in the room.

Watching Thriller Openings

Heat:
In Heat the opening scene is of a train moving away from the camera, this could represent that the narrative has started, playing to a thriller convention of entering the narrative straight away. This is reinforced by the majority of the shots of Robert Deniro walking away from the camera. Also, whilst Robert Deniro is walking through the hospital the environmental sounds are heightened so that they are unrealistically loud. These sounds add contextual intensity as the noises are relevant to the scene. Making diegetic sounds louder than they actually are could be useful when making our thriller opening as it helps create atmosphere.



No Country For Old Men:
Initially there are several long shot contrasting with the expected convention of jumpy shots used to create tension. The one diagetic sound during the shot is of a strong wind representing the antagonist, as the one wind reflects how one character can ruin a tranquil community - which is created by the long shots of the barren landscape. The protagonist is introduced trough the medium of sound, another contrast to convention.During the scene in which the antagonist strangles the police offer we are presented with several different camera angles throughout. These, when quickly cut portray the police offers struggle and imminent death. We will use quick editing in our production to portray our protagonists state of mind in a similar way.

Feedback

We told the rest of our class our pitch. We told them about the narrative, and the mise-en-scene, then the class gave us feedback. The pitch went well as we recieved minimal negative feedback. One point that was raised was that the narrative after the initial opening scene was not initially apparent and the opening scene gives no clue to the resolution. We explained the resolution of the film nd how it wasn't necessary to include a clue to the resolution in our credits. This would ruin the mysterious feel to the film.

In all feedback was primarily positive and our peers seemed to enjoy the narrative and looked forward to seeing the final product.

Review of previously made Thriller

This short title sequence embeds many features of the criteria, concluding in its level 4 status. We believe this is appropiately rewarded as the video meets the thriller criteria. It especially excels in factors such as the mise-en-scene. For instance, the colors in particular; red is used as it can connote looming danger and blood- death. Furthermore, the accompanying music has been well considered, create an eery atmosphere and tension is created. However a few of the designated settings - the bedroom- stand out in a negative light and makes the production seem less professional as it breaks the continuity.

Cape Fear is a 1991 thriller film, directed by Martin Scorsese. The Introduction to this film is also done by, Saul Bass. We watched this opening to see if we were given any clues about the film itself.

At the beginning of the sequence we are shown water, this theme of water stays throughout the whole of the title sequence, this gives us the idea that water plays a big part within the film. Looking at the water, we see a reflection of many things. One of the things that we see is an eagle. This bird of prey connotes that there is an element of death within the film. Within the water we can see an eye, this tells us that maybe voyeurism plays a large part within the film. The eye moves from side to side as if the person is scared. We then get shots of random features upon a persons face, which could give a clue to characters within the film. Whilst we look at the water, the water occasionally shows hints of red. This colour has many connotations including, death, danger, and fear.

Vertigo

Vertigo is a 1958 American thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film's credits were created by the well known title sequence editor, Soul Bass. We watched this opening sequence to see what we could understand about the theme and narrative of the movie and how it conforms to conventions of a thriller.

We are first shown an image of what we guess is a woman's face which we can assume may be a main character in the film. Later, the camera focuses on her eyes and show a jaunty movement and the eyes widen as if she is possibly scared or seen something which gives us a clue towards the narrative of the movie. Shortly after, the whole screen slowly turns red. Red is obviously a connotation for blood and danger, this makes the audience expect possible death in the movie. Dizzying animations come out of the eye and fill the screen. The word vertigo is an experience people get when they are frightened of heights. The animations could be portraying this emotion through its slow, disoriented spinning. Also, the animations regularly change colour and shape so that the viewer remains engaged. The music which accompanies the title sequence with its eery high pitched noises paired with low bass as well, creating an over all mysterious sound. Which we would expect of a thriller as most thrillers contain some kind of 'mystery'.

Sub-genres within a Thriller

Within the main genre of a thriller many 'sub-genres' are existent. Although, when we categorize a film we usually just call it a 'thriller'. One of these sub genres is a supernatural thriller. An example of a movie which would fit under this sub genre is paranormal activity. Another sub genre is an 'action thriller'. These are very common and often television series fit under this sub genre, shows such as CSI epitomize this genre. Movies under this sub genre would include 'se7en' and 'the godfather'. Sci-Fi thrillers are relatively new with the recent advance in technology which allows CGI to bring films, which were once impossible, to life.

When creating our film it will be important to label our movie under a specific sub-genre as this makes our target audience more apparent.

Conventions of a Thriller

As most genres, a Thriller must follow certain conventions.

Sets: A Thriller film tends to use low key lighting, this creates a dark atmosphere, and usually invokes mystery. Tight spaces within a set usually emphasize a characters mental state, and the situation that they are in. Weather is used to express emotion within in a scene, this is known as pathetic Fallacy.

Characters: Usually within a thriller film characters are dark and sinister, this adds to the mystery and dark atmosphere. Characters are often exaggerated to a specific stereo-type so it is easy for the audience to relate to the narrative. As well as a protagonist, often, it also includes an antagonist. Although there is the used of both characters, both of the characters are held back, and have shady backgrounds.

Narrative: The Narrative is usually hazy and unclear, this allows for the audience to figure out and interpret the story for themselves. As the audience does not know what is going to happen, it adds to the general ambience of the film.

Props (mise-en-scene): Usually props within a thriller include a weapon, usually a hang gun. They use a small gun within a film so it is not over the top, so it does not get confused with a blockbuster action film, and it can relate to real life. None of the objects used within a thriller usually use a lot of colour, this adds to the darkness of the film.

Dialogue: Complicated dialogue accentuates the narrative which the audience have to work out/interpret. Technical language shows how people (possibly police) are specialized in their fields.

Preliminary tasks.

We were instructed to create a short preliminary video which included a few of the main shots used when creating a film. One of these shots, and the one used first, is the establishing shot. This shot should, in theory, create a setting for a beginning of a scene so that the audience can understand the narrative. In a thriller, an establishing shot would usually put the scene into context. A close up accentuates a particular aspect or important detail in the film. It can also be used to create confusion. For instance, in a thriller movie, a close up of a gun could be shown, but the gun would not be identifiable right away, only later would the viewer learn that the close up would of been a gun. Another important shot is the 'match on action shot'. This is of paramount importance when you are wanting a scene to flow. Action is shown from a different point in time and is relative to the previous shot. An example of this is when a door opens you get a shot of the door opening from inside the room. It allows the viewer to catch the reaction of the character going into the room. A 'Reaction shot' improves fluidity as well as encouraging the audience to believe that characters are in the same scene and geographic space. Although, if over used it can become tedious for the viewers. Long shots are primarily used to show 2 or more characters in a scene. In the case of a thriller, it may be used to show characters' positions relative, both to one another as well as their surroundings. An over the shoulder shot allows the audience to gage the reaction of the opposite character. Also, it can be used to emphasize dominance as the character we are seeing in front of the shoulder can appear smaller.