Storyboard

Titles.

These are a sample of the fonts we have selected to use for our opening sequence titles:

When the titles appear in our opening sequence, we have chosen for characters names and cast members to appear first, and then we will include job roles such as camera men, director and so on after in a bold white font. For the title of our film, we have decided that it will appear slowly using fading, once it has fully appeared it will be in large white font, with capital letters on a black background. We have chose this because it represents the theme of a thriller well and creates quite an uneasy atmosphere. These titles will appear in the bottom centre of the frame so that the audience can still see what is happening to the characters.

Casting.

For our thriller opening sequence we have chosen two actors and a dog to construct the opening sequence. One of the actors chosen is Becca, we have considered her for the reasons that she is a confident and flexible student who is willing to be co-operative and work hard. A person with these decent qualities will not only commit to what she has been asked to do, but she will be able to discuss and assist with any problems with her staging or if she feels uncomfortable. Becca is also an efficient and organised person who likes to try out new challenges therefore we should not have any complications with her during filming schedules. Becca has experienced numerous performances as she has achieved a grade B in her Dance GCSE. Her experience is not so much from a drama prospective however having a Dance qualification she would have had to be able to work in a team also solo so getting her to do duets would not be difficult. Involving the thriller questionnaire, a large 54% the volunteers who completed the questionnaire said that they would prefer a pretty girl character therefore we believe Becca is a perfect candidate for this.






Additionally, the next actor we have selected is myself, I am reliable person and I feel I have bags of enthusiasm and energy. These abilities will help me to make sure my performance is to its full potential. Some of my peers would say I’m a keen, positive and friendly natured person who does not find it hard to interact with people. Besides, I believe I have a genuine passion for working with people and have achieved a grade B in GCSE Drama. I have given countless presentations in school and I have also performed in various school productions. I feel I am a confident person who is well educated in creating a good performance for an audience and knowing what they would like. I could say I am trustworthy individual as I have excellent attendance and punctuality record at school (100% in Year 11) so there should be no trouble in my appearance whilst shooting. Because of my Drama GCSE I have been taught how to select the most effective course of action so if there is any problems with the shooting I will be able to step in and try to solve it.





Lastly we have chosen a dog named Ruby, it is a Pug. Pugs have been featured in television and film, including Frank the Pug in the film Men in Black. Pugs are small in size and have enormous personalities. Ruby is intelligent, affectionate and loves to be the center of attention. She has been trained therefore it should not be a problem whilst getting her to perform in our opening sequence. Since Pugs are small, and cute. It almost breaks the general stereotype of all dogs have to be of a medium size and slightly aggressive. Besides, Ruby should be able to win over peoples hearts as she is well behaved and enjoys attention.

Character Descriptions.

Becca Lake as Brooke Morgan

Brooke Morgan is the popular, pretty girl at school. She has longish (dyed) blonde hair that she often backcombs and uses a hairspray to support it. She cares about her appearance a great deal, but doesn't consider herself to be better than others. She is tallish, and always wears heels to make herself look taller and older. She has bright blue eyes, and well moisturised skin. You will never see Brooke without make up on, as she is girly and well groomed. She dresses slutty as she likes attention from the male gender, and loves to flaunt her curves and other assests. She also likes to drink alot and doesn't always consider the dangers of the affects that this might have on her in the future and at this present time. She also does a lot of drugs, which could lead to her being very vulnerable and having a great risk of being in danger. We have chosen this this type of character to be the main character as we thought that this stereotypical portrayal of a party girl would leave her to be more vulnerable, and the audience would be able to understand and relate to this character more.

Jamal Howell-Mckinley as Merlin

Merlin is a selfless, sensible character who is almost a contrast to the other main character Brooke. He is a tall black male, with brown eyes and a high top. He dresses very smart and casual, and loves his fashion. He mostly wears black as he doesn't really like to stand out in a crowd, and likes to keep himself to himself. We have chosen him to be the character who discovers the body as he is very self-aware and extremely sensible. He lacks a sense of fun and therefore he never seems to find himself in trouble. He often stays home on the weekends and works continuously throughout them. He is very devoted to his work and education, and therefore can lack social skills and friends. He is a complete opposite to Brooke Morgan, so that's the reason as to why we decided to cast this character as our other main character.

Shooting Schedule.

A Shooting Schedule is a timetable of dates in which everybody in our group is available to film. This is essential so that everybody is aware of when they have to film, as well as being able to allow enough time to plan, film and edit our opening sequence. We have chosen these specific dates as they work around our school timetables and give us enough tine to get our opening sequence completed.

Script.

In our thriller, we have decided that we are not going to use any soundtrack, the reason for this is because we feel that there is not an opportunity to use it in our opening sequence. Besides, our main focus is to attract our audience by focusing on the visual sides of the thriller. Moreover, as a group we feel that if we use dialogue it may break the tone and atmosphere of the thriller.

Props, Costumes and Locations.

Costumes and Props

Costumes for Characters

Brooke Morgan.

On the evening of Brooke Morgan’s death, she was preparing for a night out. This means that Brooke’s costume consists of bright colored heels, a short dress with a handbag. She is also wearing a distinctive silver, spikey braclet in which is a main clue in solving her murder. This costume represents Brooke’s character well as she is quite an outgoing young girl, and at times is not sensible.

Jamal.

Jamal is the character that is walking his dog through his local park like most mornings when he comes across his bead friend, Brooke’s dead body. He is wearing tracksuit bottoms, a jumper and trainers to portray that he has just got out of bed and has not made an effort. This costume shows Jamal’s personality as it shows a typical teenage man well.

Props

-Dog: this will show the audience that Jamal is in the park as he is taking his dog for a walk.

-Fake Blood: this will be used on Brooke’s body to emphasise that she is dead, as well as on the gate at the front of the park to show that she has been running and tried to escape from somewhere.

-Lipstick: Jamal steps on the lipstick that belongs to Brooke, this is where he realizes that she is dead.

-Braclet: the braclet will be on Brooke’s wrist, which is later a clue to her murder.

-Water for leaf: one of the shots we have included in our opening sequence is a close up of rain dripping from a leaf, we will need to bring a bottle of water during filming to put on the leaf incase it doesn’t rain.

-Make up: we will need to use make up on Brooke to show that she has been beaten up.

-Note: the note used in Brookes hand is also another clue to solving her murder.

Sound.

Very successful soundtracks used for thriller films or programmes.
I used these four links from cinema's most successful thriller films and television programmes. Each one of these films or television programmes uses a dramatic appeal by using suspenseful music. However, some of this music that I have incorporated is quite quirky, connoting that certain things happen to people everyday of the week, and that it is just ordinary. (Hence the ordinary, everyday music.)
Knowing pretty much the types of shots and scenes that we're going to use in our opening sequence, all of the below would compliment and flow well with our opening sequence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imamcajBEJs


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QjuEWsdgEc


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpJQ-HX3F8g


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fE7WtWcT64


Music that I think would compliment our thriller opening sequence.
My group researched artists on youtube that we think produce music that would go well with our opening sequence. All the music posted below has an eerie, effective sound to it, and gradually builds tension to produce a dramatic climax. However, some of the music is quite quirky, to represent the normal, everyday life and how people face different dangers everyday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYIAfiVGluk&ob=av2nm


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEgX64n3T7g&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxVuUoy7Ns4&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn3-1kvv6u4


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdK9OlOzayE&ob=av2nm

Shot Lists.

When filming our opening sequence a number of different shot types will be used. These are described below:

Shot 1: Establishing Shot/Panning: This is a shot that has a wide field of view and serves the audience with the surroundings of the situation they are about to see. We are using this shot when showing the location of the opening sequence, which is a park.

Shot 2: Extreme/Close Ups: This is intimate view shot in which the subject is tightly framed and shown at a relatively large scale. We have used this shot to show water dripping from a leaf, this creates an atmosphere.

Shot 3: Mid Shot: This a shot of an individual which will take in the body from the knees or waist up. A mid-shot will be used when the character Jamal is walking along the park.

Shot 4: Close Up: This close up will be used to show Jamal stepping into a puddle, this gives the audience an understanding of the gloomy weather.

Shot 5: Long Shot: A Long Shot typically shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surroundings. We use a long shot for this particular scene ro show that Jamal is walking in the park and is alone, this adds to the eerieness of the scene.

Shot 6: Long Shot: This shot again shows Jamal walking through the park.

Shot 7: Point of View: A point of view shot is a shot that shows what the character is looking at. We use this to show Jamal looking at the pathway is walking along.

Shot 8: Point of View: This is used again when Jamal is looking down at a lipstick that he stood on, on the floor.

Shot 9: Extreme Close Up:These have been included when seeing shots of Jamals eyes to show his expressions and emotions.

Shot 10: Focus Pull: A focus pull is when either the object in the foreground of the frame is blurred and the object in the background is focused, or the other way around. This was used to ensure the audience were focused on the dead body and not what was in the background.

Shot 11: Focus Pull: This is another shot showing Brooke's dead body.

Shot 12: Extreme Close up: These are used again when showing Brooke Morgans body parts to give the audience an understanding of how she died.

Shot 13: Mid-Shot: We we use this when the camera zooms out to reveal Brooke's body.

Shot 14: High-Angle Shot: A high-angle shot is when the camera is high up looking down towards the scene. This is used in our opening sequence when Jamal is looking at the victims hand and picking up a note from her.

Shot 15: Point of View: This is used when Jamal is reading the note he found in Brooke's hand.

Shot 16: Tracking: This means that the camera follows the character either from behind or from the side. We use this when Brooke has a flashback of her running away from her murderer.

Shot 17: Mid Shot: This is a carry on shot which shows Brooke's bleeding hand whilst running.

Shot 18: Extreme Close up: We again show Jamals horrified facial expressions through a Extreme Close up.

Shot 19: Low Angle Shot: This is a shot from a camera positioned low on the vertical axis, anywhere below the eyeline, looking up. We have included this when Jamal dropes the note on the floor which then blows away in the wind.

Shot 20: High-Angle Shot: A high-angle shot is when the camera is high up looking down towards the scene. This is used in our opening sequence when Jamal is reading the note he found in his own pocket.






Point of View Shot:

Mid-Shot:

Extreme Close Up:

Close up:

Film Synopsis.

Synopsis

After being out for the night at the local Bar “Abbey Girls”, Brook Morgan is highly intoxicated in alcohol and her mind is almost absent. She has been parted from her friends as she lives in the opposite direction of her friend’s houses. Brook is found looking greasy and gummy in a lonely walk way besides the bar. The two bouncers at the bar stumble across her and take her back to their shared penthouse.

Brook has been setup up by her Fathers clients who struck a deal with him to place an order on selected heavy goods items. Yet the deal has not been successfully met. The items agreed on were not exactly as planned so there has been a disagreement.

After being raped by the two bouncers, she has been departed in the park surrounded by woodland where she normally hangs about. Her best friend comes across her in the park and is mortified. The police investigate the scene and believe the unnamed best friend has committed the rape and murder and he is then arrested.

Initial Ideas.

When noting our idea's for our thriller opening sequence, we made a spider diagram of our basic idea's and then bullet pointed them. We decided that our main character Jamal would be walking through a park and comes across a friends dead body.
We then said that he would then pick up note left in the victims hand that said something creepy and bizzarre like 'your next.'
We would then see Jamal becoming panicked as he would then have a note similar to the victims.
Groups of people dressed in all white would then appear around the park, seen as distant and creepy (just like the note.)
However we decided to then scrap that idea when we had spoken to our teacher, as it was a bit random and didn't really have any relevance to our actual story.
We also decided on getting a lot of location shots to create a really eerie atmopshere, seeming as though Jamal was alone and deserted in this park.
Our group also talked about using some flashbacks in our opening sequence, to set up the first few minutes of our story better.
These will possibly include a few seconds of the victim getting ready the night before, to try and build up tension as to how she died and why.
We were also told beforehand that we were not aloud to shoot in alleyways, and our actors were not allowed to wear hoodies.
In our spider diagram we also addressed what props we would be using, and where we would purchase these props etc.

Titles and Job Roles

In film making, besides the camera crew, there are a number of other jobs to be completed. Firstly, the main person in charge of creating the movie is the director, and there job is to tell the actors/actresses what to do
Another crucial member of the film making team is the Producer, who is just under the director but also very important. This person oversees the process and coordinates, supervises and controls the major aspects of the project. Another job in film making is the Production Designer, who designs the set and props as well as costumes.. The actors are obviously compulsary to have in the film and the more famous the actors/actresses are, the more likely people will watch the film. Finally, the people in charge of music and editing are also a part of the film crew but are there once the film has been made and add the finishing touches.

Double Indemnity Analysis

Double Indemnity is a much older thriller film compared to other films I have analysed and therefore isnt very similar to my own thriller opening. However, it does include many conventions of a thriller opening.

1.The titles of the film are shown in bold, black and white letters in the middle of the drame using a mid-shot, which helps to create an unsettling atmosphere to the film.

2.The second picture from the film is a extreme long shot of a road, this helps to set the scene of the opening sequence and allows the viewers to understand where the location is.

3. The third shot gives the audience an understanding of the location, as well as using the rule of thirds with the traffic lights, the STOP sign, and the car.

4. In this shot we are introduced to the first character in a mid-shot , however we only see his back which makes the audience wonder why his true identity has yet been revealed.

5. The fifth shot begins to show the audience where abouts this man is, which helps to unravel the story.

6. Another character is shown in this clip whilst showing the unknown character to the lift in another mid-shot.

7. This shot consists of a mid-shot of the unknown character in the centre of the frame.

8. A high angle shot is used to show a lot of desks, which lets the audience know that this is his place of work, but also makes them think where are all the workers and why is he here when no one else is?

9. Another high angle shot is used here when the charcter is looking at a wound on his body, the viewers are forced to wonder where he got this wound from.

Conventions of an Opening Sequence

Opening sequences are a very important part in a film. The conventions of an opening sequence are shown below:
-introduce some of the characters briefly.
-hook the viewers and make them want to carry on watching.
-reveal the location.
-begin to unravel the storyline.
-make the audience ask questions that can be answered throughout the movie.

Thriller Questionnaire

Before creating my own opening sequence, I carried out a thriller questionnaire by asking an audience certain questions about thriller films, the results are shown in the pie charts above. My results will help me to create my own opening sequence as i now know what to include to interest people when watching, and how to make my opening sequence most effective.

Wallander.

1. This establishing shot shows the location of the opening sequence, it shows the viewers that its quite a quiet place.

2. This mid-shot is effective as the characters have not been revealed, which makes the audience wonder why we aren't allowed to see their faces. A focus pull has also been used to make the background look blurry so we just concentrate on the characters.

3. This shot uses the rule of thirds because in one section of the frame you can see the head and hand of the murdered victim, in the middle section you can see the two suspects walking away and in the third part of the frame you can see some sort of identification of the victim. The blood spurted against the window also helps the audience understand that the man has been seriously hurt.

4. In the fourth shot, the characters faces are finally revealed, the viewers also see by their characters facial expressions that they do not seem at all bothered by what they just did, which shows the audience what kind of personality the characters will have.

5. A close up is used to show the victim, this helps the audience to see exactly how he was injured, as well as make the viewers feel sympathy towards him.

6. A close up is used in this shot to show specifically who the charcter is.

7. This shot could be seen as a clue to solving why these girls attacked the driver. It also makes the viewers try and guess who the people in the picture are and predict a story for the driver.

8. This close up is a very effective shot as it shows that the victim was stabbed, the blood also creates a very grusome atmosphere.

9. The last shot is off the titles, the orange and black lines could be interpreted as a knife shape. As well, the audience begin to question why there is a picture of the policemen involved in solving the murder, and none of the other charcters.

Cinematography:
-Close up of kinfe to show who commited the stabbing.
-Wide Shot/Establishing Shot of town to show the setting.
-Characters faces arent shown at first to make them more mysterious.

Mise-En-Scene:
-Drivers Licence to show who the characters are.
-Set in a field in day time.
-Costume=scruffy teenagers, look angry and uncaring.

Editing:
-Film titles with the pictures of the main character (poilce officer).
-Match on Action.
-Pull Focus.
-Eye Line Match.

Sound:
-Digetic sound of music where the dead body.
-Low resident sound on the opening clip/shot which represents danger and fear.
-Hyperbolic sound when knife is dropped.

Kiss Me Deadly Analysis.

Cinematography:
-Close up of girls bare feet to show vunerability.
-Long/Wide shot of reoad to show the setting and the car approaching.
-Low Angle shot to show her status vunerability.

Mise-En-Scene:
-Girls costume=no shoes which suggests she is in a rush.
-Set at night time on a long dark, which creates suspense. -Low key lighting used in background and brighter lighting on their faces in car to show facial expressions. It's also a contrast to establish the focus of the mood.

Editing:
-Film titles appear on the screen backwards.

Sound:
-Girl was panting=this shows she has been running for a while. (digetic).
-Dialogue between characters, gives audience an understanding of whats happening.

1. This shot shows a charcters bare feet, this makes the audience wonder why she has no shoes on.

2. This shot shows the girl running along a dark road, this makes the viewers question what she is running from. The dark background also creates an eerie atmosphere to the scene.

3. The contrast of the darkness and the cars headlights in this shot is effective because the audience cannot see the driver which makes the viewers wonder if the driver is safe and adds to the mystery.

4. The facial expression on the girls face shows fear, which is a common emotion used in thriller films.

5. The dust gathering at the back of the car shows the viewers that the car was driving at a high speed.

6. The facial expression on the mans face in this shot shows that he is not pleased with the girl for running in the road, and makes the audience question whether she should get in the car with him or not.

7. The titles and cast are shown in white writing and a black background which could represent horror.

8. This shot shows how times have changed since this film was created as that wouldnt happen in this day and age.

9. This shot makes the viewers think what has happened to this man and who has done it to him?