Innocence

Planning- Thriller Opening Pitch (Video)

Planning- Location Confirmation

Email Confirmation of Our Location

This is the email of confirmation that we could use the Red Hall for our thriller opening. We payed and booked our available time slot so that we could use one or more of the rooms available to us.

BBFC Research

BBFC: The British Board of Film Classification

What do they do?
In order to protect children from unsuitable and even harmful content in films and videos and to give consumers information they might need about a particular film or video before deciding whether or not to view it, the BBFC examines and age rates films and videos before they are released. This independent scrutiny prior to release ensures the highest possible level of protection and empowerment.

What are the BBFC age ratings?

U- A U film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. However, it is impossible to predict what might upset a particular child, especially at this lower end of the category range

PG- PG stands for Parental Guidance. This means a film is suitable for general viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. A PG film should not unsettle a child aged around eight or older.

12A and 12- Films classified 12A and video works classified 12 contain material that is not generally suitable for children aged under 12. No one younger than 12 may see a 12A film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult.

15- No-one under 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy/rent a 15 rated video. 15 rated works are not suitable for children under 15 years of age

18- Films rated 18 are for adults. No-one under 18 is allowed to see an 18 film at the cinema or buy / rent an 18 rated video. No 18 rated works are suitable for children.

R18- The R18 category is a special and legally-restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults.

What factors affect the age rating a film get?
There are many factors that affect the age rating of a film. One of these is how much violence is in the film. Another factor that affects the age rating is how much sexual content is in the film. Foul language and nudity also come into play with affecting the age rating.

What age rating would you give your thriller opening and why?
We would give our thriller a rating of 15. This is because that is within our own age range. Also we understand what works best and what doesn’t work best in our own age range. 15 also seemed an appropriate age range for our thriller as it is going to have the correct amount of content in it that will not be rude or have a lot of violence in it.

Planning- Original Storyboard

 

Original Storyboard for Thriller Opening

Planning- Soundtrack Ideas

We liked the first soundtrack because it is sinister and confusing so it would be good for a thriller because it would help create the sense of enigma by creating the tension so it engages the audience so if we decided to drop the tension for effect then it would help.

We also liked the second soundtrack because it was more horror than thriller so it would make the audience scared and alert so we could used this idea to make the opening affective. We would like to find or create a soundtrack that combines the aspects of both of the sound track so the audience is scared but still alert and holding on to the tension that has been created.




We have decided to go with this soundtrack because it has a mix between the two because it has the aspects of the first one as in the drum hits and the deep sounds mixed with the high sounds creates a sinister feel because it is confusing and is out of the ordinary. it also has aspects of the second because it has a horror thriller feel and makes the audience alert.

Also on our thriller opening we will use 'Garage Bound' to make different pitches of violins at peak moments in the opening, to add extra suspense. We find that 'Garage Bound' will be useful as we can create some of our original ideas and add them into where fits the best.

Planning- Shot List

Shot List

Shot number	Details of the shot	FX	Shot type
1 Scene 1	Ident appears ‘SceneScreen Productions’	Dandelions flying away	Mid/close up
2	Image of the house	Blast effect in slow motion	Midshot
3	Words ‘death’ and ‘present’	Blast effect on top of picture; slow motion	Close-up
4 Scene 2	Blood trail along the floor	Blast effect	High angle point of view
5	Following the rope going down the stairs	Blast effect with slow motion	High angle
6	Shots of hand and ‘staring’ on screen	Blast effect with slow motion	Extreme close-up
7 Scene 3	Following the rope leading to a name on the leg (Bailey Danahar)	Blast effect with slow motion	Extreme close-up
8	Continuous rope leading to the door handle	Slow motion on top of blast effect	Extreme close-up
9	opening of door from the opposite side of the door	Blast effect	Long shot
10 Scene 4	Following the rope into the room with a shoe on the rope	Blast effect and slow motion	High angle canted shot
11	Name of Becky Boyfield on neck injuries	Slow motion with blast effect	Extreme close-up
12	Cut to door opening and continuing with following the rope	Blast effect and slow motion	Door-long shot Rope-extreme close-up
13 Scene 5	Newspaper shot ‘all over’	Slow motion and blast effect	High angle panned shot.
14	Following an arm with ‘Scott James’ written in the wound	Blast effect with slow motion	Close up
15	Rope shot leading to Becky coming through the door	Slow motion and blast effect	Close up-panned leading to Becky which is a long shot
16 Scene 6	Rope over to the door leading to Becky and seeing the body	Blast effect	Close up pan leading to long shot
17	The body	Slow motion	Pan of whole body leading to a close up
18	Zoom of Scott into a corner	Slow motion blast effect	Long to close shot
19 Scene 7	Scott grabs Becky	Slow motion	Mid shot
20	Scott’s hand is over the dead body	Slow motion blast effect	Close up
21	Scott disappears then the title ‘innocence’	Fade into black but still in slow motion and with blast effect	Mid shot

Planning- Auditions

Planning- Filming Schedule

Planning- Filming Schedule

9am

Laura meets Becky at her house to make sure we have all our props and costumes before we leave for filming. We will both finalise plans and then have something to eat before we leave.

9:45am

Leave for Tesco to meet Bailey and Scott at 10:00am. We will then walk to the Red Hall for 10:10am. 

10:10am

Arrival at the Red Hall.Inside the Red Hall, we will hand over the money over to the woman who let us use it. Then we shall choose a room which we are going to film in and set up our equipment. 

10:30am

All equipment will be ready to go and Laura and Scott will be ready in their costumes. Bailey will have prepared the camera ready to begin filming. We will then start filming. We will mainly focus on filming the reveal of the setting and Laura's body at this stage.

12:00pm

Lunch break. We will also discuss what we are going to do after we have finished eating. We will prepare any new props and talk about what we want to film during the other half of the day.

12:45pm

Finished lunch, we will now prepare to shoot the rest of the video. We will now focus on Scott's part in the opening. We will use the torch to create highlights of Laura's body and to visualise Scott. This may take around 45 minutes.

13:30pm

After we have filmed Scott's parts we will then move on to Becky's part. It will not take long to film her parts as she not in it as long as Scott and Laura. This will roughly take and hour.

14:30pm

Finished filming. We will pack all our equipment away and tidy the room we used. We will then turn off all the lights close all the doors and then post the keys back through the letter box, once we have locked up. 

15:00pm 

We will return to school to talk to our media teacher and make sure we give back our equipment. At 15:15pm we will all go home and Becky will begin editing the opening using her iPad.

16:00pm 

Finished!

 

Planning- Storyboard

Storyboard

 

 

We have decided to use this as our storyboard for our opening, instead of the original storyboard becuase we had to work around the changed circumsatnces. We made an error on the filminmg day of ripping up Laura's clothes before we shot her flashbacks. This meant we had to remove the flashbacks and continue to shoot from what we had. However i think that this storyboard shows that we have gone into more detail than the other one and that we can cope when we had to change our storyboard idea.

Planning- Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment For the Filming Day

Planning- Actor Contract

To Potential Actor,

The current year 12 Media Studies students are working on an important project for their coursework, which will count towards their final grade for A levels. The coursework will consist of a film opening for a crime-thriller film. This will include taking pictures and videos of models, which will be set in certain locations.

The film genre is a thriller and will be aimed towards people aged 15-25, male and female.

I am writing to you to request permission to use the pictures and videos of yourself for the opening.

Please indicate your decision by deleting the option that does not apply and signing at the bottom of the slip below. Your signature confirms that I have permission to use yourself as a model in our opening.

Kind regards,

Scene-Screen Productions

As Media Student

I do/do not give permission for the use of my photos and video in the film opening

Signed…………………………………………………………………………

Date………………………………….

Planning- Actors

Actors

Bailey – Bailey is going to take the role of being the director and the person in charge of the camera. Bailey has chosen this role as he is used to acting as he takes drama so he knows what will work and what wont, also it is different from what he does normally, which is act,  therefore will be interesting to have a different role  than what he is used to. Bailey will be successful as a director as he can see what happens therefore seeing if it is right or wrong so we can change it and make it better. As Bailey is the director/cameraman he will be in control of the lighting to make sure that the shots that we need are as clear as possible and in the correct place so the continuity editing will be correct.

Becky – Becky will be one of the protagonists in the thriller opening but towards the end. We have decided this role for Becky as she is confident therefore will be good at acting for this opening and creating tension. As she is female it lives up to the stereotype of being a protagonist and being easily defeated, in most thrillers is what happens. As Becky is only being seen in the end it is better for her to play this role as she has the correct items of clothing that she can wear so it fits her character, of being pure as well as secretive so the antagonist doesn't know that she is there.

Scott – Scott is the only antagonist in the opening as he has a strong build like an antagonist would. He is the tallest and broadest out of everyone therefore has the most power and can be seen as being dominant towards the protagonists which is a stereotypical antagonist that fits to the thriller genre. From Scott’s height it will show the power that he has over the protagonists therefore would look realistic as in person he looks stronger and well-built to be able to act like he would have the ability to commit something that happens in this storyline compared to Laura murdering Scott which wouldn’t seem convincing as women in the media do not have the control and strength like men do.

Laura – Laura is the other protagonist which the thriller opening will focus on parts of her body that have been attacked. We chose Laura to have this role as she is a female meaning she could easily be targeted. Laura doesn’t usually act and is being the camera therefore we chose to change roles to make it interesting for everyone else by doing something out of our comfort zone. Laura has long hair therefore we could use it to cover her identity so not much is revealed in the first two minutes of the opening. The make-up will be done by Laura and Becky as they already have the resources therefore know what will work and how to do it, instead of having to buy the resources that we need.

Planning- Justification of Locations

Justification of Locations

We have decided to use these locations because we felt they represented the thriller genre best. The reason for this is because in a typical thriller film, the setting of the film normally sees a group of people assembling at a particular house that could be owned by one of the characters. By using the Red Hall we can use an old and run down room to create a crime scene. The room will help to set the scene of where Laura was murdered and we can control how much light is in the room. We can also use the darkness to highlight parts of Laura's body with a torch. The Red Hall also looks like a haunted house which creates an enigma as you don't know what could be inside. The house offers us room to spread multiple props and have newspaper all over the floor. We can also have photographic evidence of how Laura died as we film. Also when Becky enters the hall, we will get to look around some parts of the house as she makes her way to finding Laura's body. The pictures of the bridges represent the second location we are considering to shoot at. We may possibly shoot some of the shots at a bridge to show where Laura was murdered.  The bridge is quite modern as it has graffiti over it and has litter and rubble around it. This fits into the thriller genre and the conventions, as thrillers today are modernised a lot and some natural props are used to help set the scene and create an image in the audiences mind.

Planning- Thriller Opening Pitch (Presentation)

Thriller Opening Pitch

Planning- Props Justification

Props Justification

 

Props that are going to be used:

Torch: Focus on specific parts of the bodies that have been injured - close ups of the injuries but the torch is the only light seen, creating tension and mystery because of the low lighting.

Table: For Laura to lie on as this is where she is seen as being dead.

Rope: May use rope to be surrounding the person showing how they are trapped as have no power, use of a high angle shot here to hint how much power the antagonist has.

Newspaper: To add a modern twist and create tension by cutting out the letters to spell 'death' and other dark words.

 

Why are the props typical in a thriller genre?

The props that we are going to use is typical of a thriller genre and they show meaning of being trapped and can control what people do. The knife and the torch are used in a typical thriller genre as knives are used for violence and the torch creates mystery so identity's are hidden making it more suspicious which will build up suspense for the audience.

 

Through the use of props that we are going to be using it will give off a message of how dangerous the place that they are in actually is and the mystery will hide identities and the story of what actually happened so the audience has to work it out for themselves which will keep them interested in watching the thriller.

 

The props that are going to be shown are violent so it will represent the antagonist by being threatening to anyone else that they see as they will be unsafe. As well as having hidden identities the location will not be shown so again the sense of hidden parts to the thriller that will not be revealed and not all questions will be answered. Therefore the props being as violent as they are will make the setting seem worse than it is as it would look run down and come across as a dangerous area to be.

 

In our opening we are not going to be using a lot of props as we want it to be naturalistic instead of using too many props to cover up the story of what is happening, as well as showing acting.

Planning- Costume and Make Up Justification

Costume and Make Up Preparation

Laura:

Fake Blood/Red Food Colouring-Represents her blood as Laura will have blood on her from her murder.

White Top- Tomrepresent her innocence and her purity. These colours also helps to connote a female protagonist, as they are quite vulnerable.

Leggings-Represents Laura's character and her personality. The victim is typically a female in thriller films so we want Laura to look innocent and modern as possible.

Red Converses-Connotes danger as she has been killed.

Dark/Dead Make-Up- Represents her death and death itself involved in the opening.

Becky:

Modern Everyday Clothes (Black Jeans, Burgandy Top, Converses and a Coat)- No reference to the thriller genre as much as Laura's clothing. However thriller films are very modern so the everyday clothing would show this.

Everyday Suitable Make-Up

Scott:

Smart Clothing (Trousers, Shirt and Tie)- This is much like the Jokers clothing in Batman and is the most common outfit for the antagonist to wear. This is why we have chosen to have Scott dress this smart. We will make his outfit look rough and run down.

Coat with a hood- To add suspicion to the opening. With Scott being the antagonist we wanted his identity to be hidden by having his hood over his head. Scream is a perfect example of how masks and coverings are used in thriller films.

Fake Blood- To show the victims blood and the killers hands.

Bailey:

Modern Clothes (Jeans, T-Shirt, Coat and Trainers)- No reference to the thriller genre as much as Laura and Scott's clothing. However again thriller films are very modern so the everyday clothing would show this.

No Make-Up

Vox Pop

Flashback Preliminary Video

Title Sequence Inspiration

Thriller Title Inspiration: Silent Hill Revelation

I particularly like the text in this screenshot, because the typography used is rustic and bold. It is also sans serif. The camerawork is a mid shot of the name of the actor and the blurred figure in the background is out of focus. Editing in this shot has been used by using the camera focus to blur out the figure so the audience is suspicious and it creates mystery. The sound used in this clip was very depressing and had sounds of screeching knives in the background. The main prop in this shot is the figure and the lighting focuses on the actor’s name. The setting is not known at this point. The foreground has been used to show the audience clues of what's in the film. The background has been used to reveal more of what's happening.

The camerawork is a mid shot of the disfigured manikin girls, suspended in the air. Editing in this shot has been used to suspend the manikins and their weapons. This was done using a freeze frame. The sound used did not change and was again very depressing and had sounds of screeching knives in the background. The main props in this shot are the manikins and the lighting highlights there existence. The setting is still not known at this point. Again the foreground has been used to show the audience clues of what's in the film. The background has been used to reveal more of what's happening.

The camerawork in this shot is a close up of the weapon cracking into the floor. Editing in this shot has been used to spread out the pieces of the floor, which again have been suspended in the air. The sound used in this clip is continuous. The main props in this shot are the manikin’s feet and the weapon. The lighting is very bright in the background and allows us to see much of the surroundings. The foreground has been used to show the audience a shot of the weapon used in the film. The background does not show as much in this shot.

Camerawork in this shot is a low long angle, of the name of the game creator and again the blurred manikin’s in the background. Editing in this shot has been used to blur out the manikins so the audience is suspicious. The sound used in this clip is still continuous throughout. The main prop in this shot is the manikins and the lighting highlights the manikins, but does it in a way so they are shadowed on. The setting is still not known at this point. The foreground has been used to show the audience a shadowed clue of what's in the film. The background has been used to reveal more lighting to darken the figures out.

Camerawork in this shot is a close up again, of a manikins cracked face. Editing in this shot has been used to hold the action of the face cracking, in a still point in time. The sound used in this clip is still continuous throughout although it has picked up at this point. The main prop in this shot is the manikins face and the lighting highlights what has happened to the face, but shadows the rest of the background. Therefore we still cannot get a clear picture of where all of this is taking place. The foreground has been used to show the audience a smashed face to represent danger in the film. The background does not reveal as much to the audience in this shot.

 

Which production company would you use to produce your thriller?

History:

Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation (or Lionsgate) is a Canadian-American entertainment company. The company was formed in, Vancouver British Colombia, on July 3, 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. As of November 2013, it is the most commercially successful mini major film and television distribution company in North America and the seventh most profitable movie studio. Lionsgate Films are not to be confused with Robert Altman's former company, Lion's Gate Films, although both names refer to the same Vancouver landmark, the harbour entrance which is known as First Narrows or Lions Gate.

Films Produced:

• Texas Chainsaw (2013)
• Horns (2013)
• Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
• Saw 3D (2010)
• Blitz (2011)
• Hell (2011)
• The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
• Magic Mike (2012)

Lionsgate make thriller films like these and they mainly specify in this genre. Lionsgate is a suitable institution to produce our thriller film because, the company specialises in making most thriller films and have a very similar target audience which is typically a young range of people aged between 15 and 30.  Lionsgate work within the thriller genre and have created some fantastic films. This will hopefully help our group to make a successful and creative thriller opening. Lionsgate have expanded from television to having their own record label. This also reassures our group that Lionsgate are a trusted and well known company, that are very successful and a very good inspiration for our group.