Planning: pre - production paperwork

 
It is important to have all pre-production paperwork before filming to ensure that the group is working on a schedule, make sure that the cast and crew are organised and are in the right place at the right time. As well as, to make sure we are aware of any health and safety risks and how would could avoid them.




production schedule:
This is the overall timetable of all filming. This is needed to ensure all cast and crew know where they are supposed to be and when.

Risk assessment 

 This is important because it allowed us to identify any risk that may have occurred and allowed us to find ways to prevent them from happening.

Consent form



This is important because we needed each person who starred in our production to be sure of what it was we were asking them to do and to have their consent to be filmed.

Location release agreement

This is important as permission can be needed to
film in certain areas. For example, we needed the councils permission to film in the park.











Location reccee

Location recee

Planning: Mise en scene

The  mise en scene i plan to use in my thriller consists of the following:

• Lighting:

My thriller is split into 3 sections. The first section has natural lighting; this is so the opening is calm which will make the build up of tension more effective.
The second section has low key lighting. This is because it is set in a forest at night time to create more fear.
The third section has high key lighting. This is to make the audience see how venerable she is and also to catch them by surprise.

• Setting:

The first section of my thriller is a montage set in 2 places; on a street next to a car and in a children's park.
The second section is set in a forest. This is where the real thrill starts to occur and tension starts to build up.
The third section is set in a bathroom. This is somewhere that should be safe and the fact that her privacy is invaded in such a place should cause fear amongst the audience.

• Iconography:

The iconography used in my thriller is firstly the car that is used to show the audience the link between the 2 characters.
The little girls doll is a key piece of iconography. This is what alerts the older girl that the little girl is still around haunting her.

• Costume:

Older girl: Light blue jeans, white,pink or cream top
Little girl:  Pink dress in the first section. White hospital looking dress in the 2nd and 3rd section.

• Body Language and Facial Expression:

The victim is the older girl. She is in her late teens, she's girly and behaves very girly showing how venerable and weak she is. She acts very scared and defenceless throughout the thriller.

The younger girl is around 10 years old. She originally behaves very childish so the audience thinks shes innocent and cute. However; her character slightly changes and she becomes very scary. She moves very slow and emotionless to create slight discomfort and fear into the audience.

Planning: Cinematography, Sound & Editing

Cinematography is important because it helps to highlight important features of the film we want the audience to focus on and helps the audience to understand and build and interpretation of the narrative and the characters.

Some examples I plan to use are as follows:

1) A close-up and an extreme close-up will be used to near the end of the montage in the first scene when the news reporter announces that the little girl has died; we see a camera zoom and a close up of the little girls face so show the change in her facial expression as she starts to look sad. The camera then zooms in more into an extreme close-up. We are going to use this to show the change in atmosphere as originally the film is made to look like it has a positive narrative but as the news reporter reports bad news the change in the little girls facial expression should indicate a negative narrative. We are hoping the audience will respond by becoming anxious about where the narrative will go and feel sorry for the little girl who they now know has died.

2) A high angle will be used during the montage in the first scene when the little girl is playing in the park. As she is playing she looks up at the camera and smiles and waves several times. We are going to use this to make the little girl come across small and vulnerable to the audience. This will hopefully make them believe she is sweet and innocent and incapable of becoming the antagonist.

3)We will use another close up on the older girls face when she is walking through the park and starts suspecting someone is following her. This will be used to make it clear that the narrative is now definitely becoming negative and we are hoping the audience will start to becoming even more anxious and start to worry for the older girl.

4)One very important close up will be used when the older girl finds the little girls doll in her pathway as she is walking through the park. This will be used to show that there is a twist to the narrative and we're hoping the audience will start to question just how innocent the little girl is.

5) We will use a point of view shot of the doll when she finds the doll. This is so the audience is anxious about what it is she is looking at as well as it being a close up.

6) We will use a point of view shot from someone behind a tree watching the older girl walk home. This is to put forward the idea of her being haunted and she is being watched by something the audience cannot see.

7)Lastly, we will film the older girl possessed in the bath from a high angle, this is to make her seem inferior and show that although she is evil and possessed she is the victim in the narrative.


Sound is important because it can help determine the atmosphere and help create the emotions and feelings we would like to audience to feel. It can also help with how the audience interpret the characters and build tension.

Some examples I plan to use are as follows:

1)We plan to use non - diegetic sound in the opening scene as a news reporter is reporting through a voice over the home video montage. This will be used to fit the information we  need the audience we know in and also we are hoping it will have an effect in making it a strong opening. This should set the scene with the audience feelings slightly confused and definitely anxious with several questions about what might be about to occur.

2)At the end  of the home video montage scene we are planning to edit non - diegetic siren sounds followed by a car crash sound. We are using this as we think it will make the first scene very strong and should leave the audience anxious and with a lot of questions. We are hoping these sounds along with the cinematography will help the audience to understand the narrative so far and that it was in fact that was driving the car that killed the little girl.

3) In the park scene we are planning on using diegetic heavy breathing along with point of view shots from behind the bushes to allow the audience to identify that she is being watched. This should build up tension and suspense amongst the audience.

Editing is important because it is the final piece to making the production. The right editing can cause a huge effect on the audience as it pulls the whole production together.

Some examples of editing I plan to use are as follows:

1) A home movie effect on the home movie montage to make it clear to the audience that they are in fact home movies of the characters. This will help the audience have an understanding of what is going on in the film.

2) Straight cuts will be used in the middle section to prevent confusion amongst the audience and to make sure they have a clear understanding of the narrative so far. Also, it will be slow editing to create tension amongst the audience.

3)In the bathroom seen the contrast will be edited to make the lighting look more high key. This is to create excitement and fear in the audience. This allows us to stay conventional as we show the ghost child but at the same time have a twist and do something the audience wouldn't expect and make the scene look high key instead of low key and dim.

4)In the last scene we will use a number of jump cuts and fast paced editing. This is to create as much excitement and fear in the audience as possible.

Planning: Character representation

Name: Amber (Older girl)

Character role: Victim

Age: 18

Gender stereotype of role: Girly

Costume: Light blue jeans, Cream/white/pink top

Hair and make up: Neat long hair, tidy make up, pink lip stick

Body language: Feminine, walks like a model, very girly

Facial expression: in the first scene she's very happy and always smiling. In the other scenes she looks confused and worried.

Role within the narrative: Victim

Represented as: Very girly, innocent despite her being the cause of the little girls death. A bit clueless, naïve, vulnerable.



Name: Poppy (little girl)

Character role: Antagonist

Age: 8

Gender stereotype of role: Girly, childish, cute

Costume: school uniform, pink cardigan

Hair and make up: slightly messy at first. After extremely messy and big.

Body language: At first she's very active and full of energy running around and waving at the camera. After she moves slow and creepy.

Facial expression: At first she is happy and is smiling. After she shows no emotion.

Role within the narrative: Antagonist

Represented as: She comes across very innocent and sweet but then after she dies her spirt comes back evil and as a villain.

Planning: storyboard

Making a storyboard is an important part of planning. It was extremely helpful to my group as it allowed us to record key camera shots and key edits that we will be planning to use in each scene.


Our storyboard maps out each scene in more detail helping us keep track of what camera and editing techniques we need to use, where each section is set, where each character needs to be and what they need to be doing; as well as what sounds need to be used at each point. This drawings in the storyboard help us to remember where and when characters needs to be situated.

Planning: Opening scene narration

Opening Thriller Narration:

Our thriller starts off with a time frame using home videos footage of a little girl. (iconography of the little girls doll has to be emphasised so the audience remember it and are able to identify it). We also see home video footage of an older girl who is getting into her new car; (iconography of the car has to also be empathised for the audiences understanding).  In the background we can hear a news reporting saying that a young girl has died from being ran over by a car. As the news reporter says this the camera starts to zoom onto the little girls face into a close up; her face begins to look sad. The scene ends with a white flash and a car crash sound. This scene should make the audience understand the association between the 2 girls; which is that it was the older girl who ran over the little girl.

Next, the older girl is walking through a park at night (the lighting is low key) and she starts walking past a swing park. She is talking on the phone and as she is walking the camera starts to track her from behind. When the older girl finishes her phone conversation she drops her phone, goes to pick it up, slowly looks around and then gets back up. We then start to see a point of view shot from behind some bushes and we can hear light breathing (this lets the audience know that she is being watched). The camera then keeps switching from tracking the older girl, to the point of view of her being watched (it is the little girl who is dead that is watching her). The girl continues walking but then she starts hearing a child giggling and freezes. We see a close up of her facial expression and the camera then rotates around her head. She says "who's there?" in a panicked voice and then continues to walk in panic. She then steps on something; when she looks down to see what it is, it is the little girls doll. We see a 3 part zoom into a close up of the doll and the older girls start panicking even more and runs home.

When she gets home she runs into the bathroom and starts to wash her face with water in panic. She eventually starts to calm down and when she is fully calm she slowly looks up and in the mirror in front of her she sees the little girls ghost behind her and screams. The scene blacks out and straight cuts back in and the camera swiftly zooms in on the now possessed older girl and blacks out again. Finally it straight cuts back in and we see a pan of the little girl walking away from the side and the last thing we see is the doll which she is dragging along with with her as she walks of scene.

Planning: Production Roles

Camera Operator:
Jordan - We chose Jordan to be the camera operator as he has past experience operating a camera which makes him most suitable for the role.

 Producer:
Lashane - We chose Lashane as he is the most organised and will be the be the best person to make sure everything is on track.

Director:
Chardelle - I was chosen for the director role as I am dominant and able to keep the team together and make key decisions on making the thriller opening.

Lighting Operator:
Lashane - Lashane was chosen as he has past experience controlling the lighting of a production.

Location Manager:
Chardelle - I was chosen as I travel a lot and have a range of locations we can use in mind.

Costume, Hair and Make up:
Chardelle - I was chosen for this role as I have a lot of experience doing hair and make up which makes me the most suitable person for the role.

Storyboarding:
Jordan - We chose Jordan as he is the most artistic and we think it would be more convenient if he does this role.

Editor:
Jordan - Jordan has the most expericence in editing so again we thought he would be best for this role.

Sound editor:
Lashane - He has studied music gcse so has the most experience in sound editing.

Planning: Developing ideas

IDEA 1 -

Narrative:

Girl is walking through down an alleyway when a ghost child keeps appearing warning her to not walk any further down the alley way and she is in danger. She gets scared and ends up running through the anyway in panic. At the end of the alleyway she is then attacked and stabbed to death by a male antagonist.

Title: Watch Out

Sub-genre: Psychological, supernatural

Characters: Young girl with blond hair, Young ghost girl, male antagonist dressed in black with a black hoodie.

Narrative structure: Todorov because it has a clear start, middle and end.

MES: set in an alleyway at night with low key lighting to create a thrilling response.  Victim is wearing pale pink and natural colours to fit stereotype.  Ghost child is wearing a white, baggy dress with white powder on her face and messy hair to represent that although she is innocent as well as thrilling.  Antagonist is wearing all black and a black hoodie and is holding a knife to fit the stereotype of a criminal.

Advantages of this idea: The storyline is quite simple which should make it easier to put together while being effective. 

Disadvantages of this idea: It may be difficult to present the illusion of the child appearing and re appearing in a realistic but ghostly way.

 

IDEA 2 –

Narrative:

A girl is walking home on an empty street. As she is walking home she finds a child standing alone she asks the child if he is lost or needs help. He turns away and starts to run away. The girl is concerned for the child and chases after him. The child then enters an abandoned house; she then follows him into the house. She then sees the child holding a man’s hand; she cannot see him clearly as the lighting is low key. All she can see is his half his arm and his hand holding the Childs hand. The door behind her then shuts the screen fades to black and the Child says “Did I make you happy daddy” and the last thing you hear is the door lock.

Title: Follow Me.

Sub-Genre: Psychological Thriller.

Characters: Antagonist (Dad), Child Antagonist (Lost Child), Female Victim (Girl Walking Home).

Narrative Structure: Aristotle’s Theory (Beginning, Middle and End).

MES:

Settings: Dark streets, Abandoned Home

Iconography: Child

Costume: Antagonist dark black clothing, Child cute children’s clothing and Female victim Dress that is a light colour e.g. white.

IDEA 3-

Narrative

An 11 year old child comes home to find her parents dead and everyone she loves gone. She finds the killer hidden in the house who then tries to kill her. After being chased around the flat she goes out side where she is brutally murdered and pushed of the blocks.  She wakes up to find out it was a dream.

Title: A red dream

Sub-genre: Psychological thriller

Characters: the girl, antagonist, dead mum and dad.

Mes:  Antagonist is wearing a black suit and you cannot see his face very clearly this makes the audience fearful of him.

The girl has blonde hair and is wearing a white dress to fit stereotype of an innocent victim

It is set in a flat dark and the flickering of street lights low key lighting.

Advantages of this idea: the story line intrigues the audience and leaves them guessing.

Disadvantages of this idea: it will be hard to use a block of flats at night when residents could be sleeping. Finding a girl to play that role might be hard for them to imitate death.

Planning: Final ideas and planning

Final Idea
Title: Beyond The Grave

Narrative:
Our thriller starts off with a time frame using home videos footage of a little girl. (iconography of the little girls doll has to be emphasised so the audience remember it and are able to identify it). We also see home video footage of an older girl who is getting into her new car; (iconography of the car has to also be empathised for the audiences understanding).  In the background we can hear a news reporting saying that a young girl has died from being ran over by a car. As the news reporter says this the camera starts to zoom onto the little girls face into a close up; her face begins to look sad. The scene ends with a white flash and a car crash sound. This scene should make the audience understand the association between the 2 girls; which is that it was the older girl who ran over the little girl.

Next, the older girl is walking through a park at night (the lighting is low key) and she starts walking past a swing park. She is talking on the phone and as she is walking the camera starts to track her from behind. When the older girl finishes her phone conversation she drops her phone, goes to pick it up, slowly looks around and then gets back up. We then start to see a point of view shot from behind some bushes and we can hear light breathing (this lets the audience know that she is being watched). The camera then keeps switching from tracking the older girl, to the point of view of her being watched (it is the little girl who is dead that is watching her). Throughout this scene the girl starts to realise she is being watched as she starts hearing noises that sound child like, she sees a swing moving on its own and then she finds the little girls doll on the floor in front of her. She then runs home in a panic.

When she gets home she runs into the bathroom and starts to wash her face with water in panic. She eventually starts to calm down and when she is fully calm she slowly looks up and in the mirror in front of her she sees the little girls ghost behind her and screams. The scene blacks out and straight cuts back in and the camera swiftly zooms in on the now possessed older girl and blacks out again. Finally it straight cuts back in and we see a pan of the little girl walking away from the side and the last thing we see is the doll which she is dragging along with with her as she walks of scene.

Narrative structure:
Todrov

Themes:
Revenge
Supernatural (Ghosts)

Characters:
Older girl
Little girl

Costume: 
Older girl - Light blue jeans, pink, white or cream top; this is conventional a thriller as it is a typical victim's costume.
Little girl - (in time frame) pink or cream dress, long hair with bows. (In the antagonist role) Long messy hair, white powder make up, white over sized hospital looking clothing.

Location:
(Time frame) In a swing park and outside a car on the street.
(Second scene) In a park near a swing park. This is conventional to a thriller as being alone in a dark park while being followed will create tension and suspense.
(Last scene) In a bathroom. This will create fear into the audience as a home is somewhere people feel safe and a bathroom is somewhere people feel safe and have their own privacy.

Lighting:9
(Time frame) Natural lighting
(Second scene) Low key, silhouettes from the trees.

Iconography:
Car, Doll, Swing, blood

Film influences: 
Paranormal activity, Insidious, Unborn, 6th sense

Our thriller opening is conventional because we use conventional thriller themes like revenge and supernatural themes and Our thriller opening is partly in a dark park with low key lighting which is a typical thriller location. We use a child who is initially innocent to be our antagonist as this not so usual antagonist will create alot of fear into the audience.