Location Permissions

To film in certain locations we required planning permissions from the owners of the property. Taking this into account we created our own permission slips for the owner of the properties to sign where we would be filming.

Permission for the Living Room scene which will be filmed at one of James' relative's homes

Permission for the Bedroom scene which will be shot at Scott Galloway's house

 

Permission for the Bathroom scene which will be shot in my home 

Casting

Daniel Markus - Charlie Kealy

We chose Charlie Kealy to play the roll of Daniel Markus due to his physic, and hairstyle. He has a strong build and messy long hair that helps to show the fact that Daniel Markus has stopped caring about his appearance, but at the same time is someone that should not be crossed.

Edward Finch - Scott Galloway

We chose Scott Galloway to play the roll of Edward finch due to his appearance being very different to that of Charlie Kealy, which helps to emphasise the physic of the protagonist. His bright hair and younger looking face in comparison to that of Charlie Kealy make him look more innocent and hence make the audience pity the characters more.

Intruder

This character will not be seen, so no character description is needed as the audience will not know who he is and his motives, but he will be played by Scott Galloway.

Actor Interviews

Shooting Schedule

The shooting schedule is a very important part of the planning process. It allows us to see when we will be filming, where, and what we need to bring. This allows us to plan our time efficiently and ensure that we have everything place required to shoot. We will be giving a shooting schedule to every member of the cast and crew, so everyone knows what will be happening and when. 

Props, Costumes and Setting

Props

• Alcohol Glass
• Alcohol 

• Pictures of Daniel Markus and Edward Finch

 

• Picture Frames

• Newspapers
• Medal

 

• Alarm Clock

• Fake Blood

 

• Pieces of Clothing
 

Setting

• Living Room - This location will hold the shots where Daniel Markus is sitting alone drinking whiskey.

• Bathroom - This location will be used while Daniel Markus is walking around the house getting ready and going about his daily task.

• Bedroom - This will be used during the scene when Daniel Markus will be rolling around in his bed during the nightmare, and straight after waking up.

• Park - This location will be used during the dream sequence when showing shots of Edward Finch. We chose the location of a park as it will set a positive atmosphere for the audience.

• Alley - This location is for during the dream sequence when the camera cuts towards blood splattered over a wall. This setting was chosen as alleys are dark and narrow which can make the audience feel confined and uncomfortable, and aren't nice places to be.

Costumes

Daniel Markus

Dirty Clothing - This is the costume that the character will be wearing during the majority of the opening sequence.

This costume will consist of:

• Tattered white vest
• Denim jeans
• White socks

Casual Clothing - This costume will be worn by Daniel Markus when he is shown in pictures. This is before the death of his husband and allows the audience to see the way he kept himself before the death of his husband, and compare it to the way he treats himself afterwards. 
This costume will consist of:

• Jeans
• Plain T-Shirt
• Coat
• Flap Cap

Smart Clothing - This costume will be used in pictures of Daniel with his partner, which are located around the house. 

This costume will consist of:

• Beige trousers
• White shirt
• Black Tie
• Leather shoes

Suit - This costume will also be used in pictures of Daniel. This will be used during the shot Daniel and Edward Finch's marriage photo.

This costume will consist of:

• Black suit jacket
• Black suit trousers
• White shirt
• Black tie
• Leather shoes

Edward Finch

Suit - This costume will also be used in pictures of Edward. This will be used during the shot of Daniel and Edward's marriage photo.

This costume will consist of:

• Black suit jacket
• Black suit trousers
• White shirt
• Black tie
• Leather shoes

Casual Clothing - This costume will be used during the dream sequence of Edward.

This costume will consist of:

• White shirt
• White trousers
• Leather Shoes
• White Coat

Character Descriptions

Daniel Markus - Charlie Kealy

Daniel Markus is the protagonist in our thriller film. He is a retired police officer following the death of his late husband. Due to him still mourning the death, he is an alcoholic and has no ambitions in his life. Due to this we have designed the character to constantly have quite a closed body and upset facial expression to express his sadness to the audience. The costume has also been tailored around this, as his hair will be very long and unkempt, and he will wear a white, dirty tank top and rough denim jeans. This gives the impression that he no longer cares about his appearance and has given up on life.

Edward Finch - Scott Galloway

Edward Finch is the dead husband of the protagonist, Daniel Markus. He will appear during the dream sequence, and in pictures of Edward and Daniel together. This character will have a positive and happy facial expression, with well kept hair and bright clothing due to Daniel having positive memories of him.

Intruder

This character will not be shown to the audience, and all they will see of him is the outline of his reflection in the TV screen. This character has come to kill Daniel Markus, but nothing is actually known about his motives so he is not shown to the audience.

Animatic

For our titles we chose to use a serious serif font. The use of this font helps to set a very serious tone for the audience and lets them get a feeling of the type of tone that the film will be. Also the colour of the titles is a dark blue. The darkness of the text creates a ominous tone and the colour blue holds connotations of being sad, this coupled with the black background, which connotates death, sets a dark and mellow tone for the film. The fading in and out of the text also helps to set a very slow pace for the film, as it creates very smooth transitions between each title. For the order of our titles we used the conventional order of having the most important actor appearing first and followed by the less important members of the cast, ending with the director. 

Improvements
To improve my opening sequence I will change a few things in my animatic that didn't quite work. For example one thing that I will be doing is changing the pace of music that goes with the opening titles. This is due to the music not quite fitting with the pacing of the fading in and out of the titles. I also have to change the order of the distribution and production company logos at the very beginning as they are in the wrong order. Another improvement is adding some of the titles over moving image to help vary the kinds of titles in the opening sequence. Another improvement that I will be making is changing the score that goes with the dream sequence, and editing it more to make it flow. This is due to when it cuts back to the character laying in bed the sound cuts off and doesn't sound right.

Storyboards

After the action match of the whiskey we have decided to add a master shot of the room to give the audience some sense of where things are in the room, and also tie the action match shot with the next shot as they would seem quite separated without something joining them.

Another change that we have decided on is that of shot number 3, as it will be very hard to create the prop. We have decided to replace this shot with a shot of a clock as it will give them a sense of time.

One section of the storyboard that I like is the three shots, 11, 12 and 13. These shots are effective as they link together very well and using a fast pace compared to the rest of the shots shows how distressing it is for the protagonist, and is an unpleasant sight for the audience showing the protagonist had an unsettling past.

The importance of story boards

Story boards are very important within the planning stage of making a film. This is because it allows you to get all of your ideas down and put them into an order, allowing you to know exactly when each shot will happen, the duration, the transitions and any sound or camera movements during that shot. It also allows you to get a good understanding of what your finished piece of work will look like as you will have all the shots in the correct order. A story board also allows the writer to think in more depth about what is going on in the scene when drawing them, such as the setting and props that will be in the shot. Planning a story board also helps to plan ahead for the actual filming of the shots. This is due to you knowing what shots you will be filming and watch shots you are not.

Here are a few examples of some storyboards.They show exactly what will be happening in each shot and what order they will be shown. They also have additional details to show the camera movements and editing, and to explain what is happening.

Found on www.the-flying-animator.com

Found on paigeletticia.blogspot.com

 

Sound

In our opening sequence I will use this piece of score as the protagonist is walking around the house. The piece has a very slow pace and low pitch, which creates a very sad and sombre mood for the audience, allowing them to understand how the character is feeling. The score also repeats over and over which represents how the protagonist is just living his life doing the same daily tasks over and over again with no real reason for doing them. This creates an upsetting tone for the film and allows the audience to get an understanding of what kind of themes will arise.



This score will be played during the dream sequence at the very beginning of the opening sequence. The use of a choir creates a very angelic and surreal tone for the audience which allows them to recognise what is going on isn't real. The score also creates a positive tone which shows how the protagonist is only happy when he is dreaming of his partner, emphasising how much he misses him.

Plot Synopsis

The plot of my film follows a homosexual police officer following the death of his husband. The protagonist is slowly killing himself through the use of strong alcohol and lack of sleep, due to him being depressed following the death. The film starts showing how badly the protagonist is living, followed by an attempt to kill him by an unknown character. The protagonist defeats the assassin and attempts to find out who he is, and what he wants with him.

The protagonist finds out that his husband was actually murdered, despite being told he died during a robbery, in an attempt to save him the pain. Finding out this information he can no longer trust the police and goes about on his own in an attempt to solve the mystery.

After fighting his way through attempted assassinations the protagonist discovers a plot around him and his late husband. You find out that the protagonist's husband worked for an agency, and the only reason he married the protagonist was that he wanted to get information on him. However the husband wanted out on the mission and was killed for trying to quit, and they felt as if the protagonist knew too much so they tried to have him killed too.

The protagonist shows the agency's crimes off to the world and the people responsible for his husband's death are put into jail.

The film ends showing how the protagonist moves on from the death of his partner and attempts to get his life back on track and start over.

VoxPop

In my VoxPop I asked 5 key questions to get a greater understanding as to what my audience will be expecting in the opening sequence of a thriller and what they would expect in the entire film. Using this information I am able to edit my own opening sequence to follow what my target audience would expect to see.

Do you expect to see fast or slow paced editing in a thriller opening sequence?
From our VoxPop I found that the majority of the people asked said that they would expect to see slow paced editing used. Taking this information I will use a very slow paced editing throughout my piece to help set quite a calm tone and help to add a sense of suspense.

What props do you expect to see in a thriller opening sequence?
Everyone we asked said that they would expect some sort of weapon or blood to be used in the thriller opening sequence. Using this information I wall attempt to add some form of weapon, possibly in the background to help create more questions for the audience such as; what will the character us it for? why does it he need to have a knife? can this character be trusted? The use of weapons will also help to add a very serious tone to the film as they hold connotations of death.

Do you expect the titles to be played over a moving image, a black screen or to be animated?
In my VoxPop I found that everyone thought that having the titles over black would be the best. Due to this I will put my titles over black such as the cast, production company and the name of the film.

Do you expect to see low-key or high-key lighting in a thriller opening sequence?
I found that everyone I asked thought that low-key lighting would be most effective. Because of this I will have low-key lighting in the majority of my clip which will help add a sense of tension and mystery as it will help to conceal information. It will also enforce the serious and sad tone of the film.

What plot do you expect to see a thriller film follow?
The VoxPop shows that my audience feels that a story which is shown clearly but still has a lot of twists is what makes a good thriller film. Due to this information our plot will create a lot of mystery for the audience and will make the ask a lot of questions, causing them to watch on to try and find the answers. 

Key Shots

Key Shot 1

This shot is a low angle shot showing the protagonist walking past the camera very closely with a wall full of awards and images in the background. The protagonist's legs will be out of focus however the wall with be in focus. This will allow the audience to see the protagonist's past and get hints as to what is happening without directly showing the audience. This also helps to obscure some information from the audience as they cannot clearly see what is happening due to the lack of focus.

Key Shot 2

My second key shot is a two shot/long shot/master shot of the protagonist sitting in an armchair with an empty chair next to him. This chair will be empty to allow the audience to see that someone is missing, and hints to the fact that the protagonist has lost someone in his life. This will help to set a very sad mood for the audience as it will help to emphasise how lonely he is following the death of his partner.

Key Shot 3 + 4
The shot on the far left shows a bird-eye view of the protagonist's bedroom. His room is in a mess which shows how he has stopped caring about his appearance and taking care of himself due to his depression. It also shows how he is only laying on one side of the bed, whereas the other side is made and perfectly clean which hints to the audience that he has lost his partner and that he still misses them.

The two shots on the right show a graphic match between a sink running water and whiskey being poured into a glass. This graphic match shows the audience the extent of his alcoholism due to water being shown as whiskey, showing that the character drinks alcohol as if it was water.

Key Shot 5

This shot is an extreme long shot. A slow crab along the floor past the character is used as he is in the bathroom staring at the mirror using the sink. The use of an extreme long shot means that the audience cant see what the character is doing clearly and helps to conceal some information from the audience. The fact that he is standing by the sink is a daily task that most people do when they wake up. This shows how the character is simply following the daily order of his life and doing nothing else, due to how low he has sunk.

Key Shot 6

This shot allows the audience to see the characters facial expressions which are of sadness. This allows the audience to see what kind of character he is, and get an understanding that his life has gone badly. For the duration of this shot an alarm clock will play with a very high pitch and volume which will be a discomforting sound for the audience. This shows them how the character has no reason to get up and no reason to live following the death of his partner and allows them to understand how deeply he was effected.

Thriller Ideas

Survey Analysis

Using the results of our survey from our target audience we are able to see the kind of things that they would expect to see in a thriller film. Using this information we are able to base our own thriller film opening sequence off of their feedback and incorporate what they would expect to see. To make my blog more visual I will use graphs to easily display the results of the survey.

How old are you?

We decided that the target audience for our TV show would be 16 - 24 year olds. but would also attempt to try and reach for an older audience. This is why the main group we asked were in the age group of 16 - 24 but we also asked a few older people. This also allowed us to get a more general oversight into what people would like to see in a thriller opening sequence.

What gender are you?

We found that the majority of the people we asked were male. This fit into our target audience as we chose our target audience to be male.

On average, how many films do you watch a week?

We asked our audience how many films do they watch a week to get an understanding on if they enjoy films and actually know what they would like to see going into an opening sequence. For example someone who rarely watches films wouldn't know what to expect in the opening sequence so they're results for the survey would not have been as effective as someone who watches a lot of films. Our survey showed that the majority of our audience watched around 1 - 2 films per week which a good amount of films and shows that they understand what they are talking about.

Do you enjoy thriller films?

The reason for asking this question is very similar to the third question, "On average, how many films do you watch a week?" It allows us to see if they target audiences watches thriller films regularly and see if they know what goes into the opening sequence. The majority of the people we asked said, "Yes". This shows that they enjoy them and that they fit our target audience well.

What is your favourite thriller film?

We asked this question to see what kind of thriller films they had seen in the past and what they had enjoyed. This allows us to research into their opening sequences and get an understanding of what we should put into ours.

What time of day would you expect to see in a thriller film?

In our survey we found that the majority people expected to see the film set at night time. Because of this we will set our opening sequence at night time.

Do you expect the protagonist to be male or female?

The majority of people said that they would expect to see a male protagonist in the film so we chose to have a male protagonist.

What genre of music do you expect to hear?

The majority of the people we asked in our survey said that they would like to hear an orchestra score in the soundtrack, but also a large majority of the people we asked said that they would expect an ominous tone of music to be played so will try and incorporate both of them into our piece.