StroyBoarding

This week we began the process of creating our storyboard to assist us with visualising the sequence and creating a logical order for shooting. Initially we finalised our idea and began to create specific shots to construct the sequence. The storyboard is a vital document as it provides a guide the production crew and allows film makers to impose order on the specific technical aspects of the scene. Each storyboard page is detailed with the following technicalities Location, Shot/Movement, Sound, Lighting, Edit, Transition and Timing. This is our list of shots:

• Point of view – First tarot card is revealed with first credits.
• Extreme Close-up – Ryan’s hand drawing chalk line on the floor.
• Extreme Close-up – Dead woman’s face, with her eyes covered in a blindfold.
• Extreme Close-up – Ryan’s hand placing a candle, it then lights itself.
• Point of view – Second tarot card is revealed with next credits.
• Wide Shot – Amber peering round top of the stairs and starts to walk the first few stairs.
• Point of view – through handheld, Amber walking down the stairs and opens the door to the basement.
• Point of view – Third tarot card is revealed with next credits.
• Wide Shot - Basement, dark room with candle, bodies and a vague shape on the floor.
• Wide Shot – Candle in foreground and Amber entering in background, she hears heavy footsteps, and runs into the corner.
• Point of view – Fourth tarot card is revealed with next credits.
• Wide Shot – Silhouette of Ryan in doorway.
• Wide Shot – Candle in foreground and Ryan entering in background, he starts moving towards one of the bodies.
• Mid-shot (lower half of torso) – Face in foreground and heavy boots walking towards the head. They stop, and then Ryan bends down to face.
• Wide Shot – Ryan reaches towards the face of the body and in the background Amber crouching in corner she shuffles to make a noise, Ryan spins.
• Point of View – From Amber of Ryan spinning to look at her.
• Close-Up – Amber’s reaction to his spin.
• Point of view – Fifth tarot card is revealed with next credits.
• Extreme Close Up – Candle goes out.
• Extreme Close Up -> Wide Shot (Birds Eye View) – Reveal of pentagram.

First Group Production Meeting

In this session our group all came together and we started to talk about refining the story of FIVE. We decided to clear up the background on the murder of his wife so that it didn’t sound quite so childish and confusing. We also gave our characters names so that it was a lot easier for us to identify who we were talking about. We kept with the idea about the man ‘Ryan’ involved with ‘black magic’, but we added the idea that he was doing a deal with the devil. We established where it was set, in America. Also that within this opening sequence there would be no dialog, just sounds.

My Thriller Idea

A man is taking revenge on the fact that his wife has been murdered. He is quite a spiritual man, not Christian but weird rituals. He has a ritual that he wants to perform, to regain his wife and the only way it can work is if he uses victims that resemble his wife. It takes him a year to collect his four victims. Meanwhile the daughter is witnessing all these women being taken away and then never seeing them again. On the fourth victim she plucks up the courage to go down to the basement where she has been told not to go, she then hears screams and other terrifying sounds. When the time comes for the fifth and final victim the ritual says it must be the family blood of the man. Unfortunately the man has turned completely delusional and the only person he then sees that has his family blood and reminds him of his wife is his only daughter. The ritual doesn’t end up working because the daughter isn’t actually his! His wife had an affair and the daughter was from that relationship, unbeknown to the man.The opening sequenceI’d like to have three close ups ofThe man’s hand, drawing the chalk circle.The woman’s face, with a tatty blindfold on.Bird’s eye view of the circle with the star inside.She becomes curious, peers around the top of the stairs, she starts quietly walking down the stairs to the basement door. When she gets there she gently pushes the door and it swings open, she can’t see anything inside because it is so dark. She steps in, and sees pools of blood at each point of the star, except the top point. In the far corner there is a body. White tunic dress and a tatty bit of material around her eyes. There are heavy footsteps coming down the stairs, she runs and crouches in the corner. The steps stop by the door; there is a silhouette of the man in the doorway. The heartbeat of the girl can be heard and with each beat there is a flash of the circle with a girl lying at one of the points, and at the next heartbeat there is another girl at a different point. Without another sound the man is leaning over the girl. He lifts his arm holding a knife, and then there is a long scream.

I think my target audience would be 16-25 year olds and probably most likely to be male. Indepentent british film company such as Channel Four, this would lower the buget a lot for the film.

What is a Thriller?

Today we looked at the meaning of Thriller. It is quite difficult to define because so many of the emotions and reactions that come from thrillers are part of the whole experience of film. Also, within the genre of Thriller there are meta-genres such as psychological, espionage and supernatural thrillers. The plot of a Thriller has to be intricate to create effects such as fear, apprehension and suspense. It usually runs on the audiences “basic worries”, which could be hidden, deep thoughts for example voyeurism, sexual or violence. These ‘worries’ are shown through questions or enigma codes in the audiences mind. A thriller is also sadomasochistic in a way that when you think about it, it is quite gruesome. Also the director of the film wants you to believe what’s happening, to get us emotionally involved and to give us gut-level feelings. The word ‘Thrill’ originally means ‘to pierce’.

Preliminary Task