Thriller Prop List

Woolly Hat

The hat will help cover the characters face as we do not want them to be seen by the camera too much as they are breaking into a house. It will help cover some of the head, so it will be harder for them to be recognized and identified, which is what a burglar would want to prevent.

Winter coat, with a hood so it can be used to hide their faces if needed. The coat is relatively cheap looking as the guys aren't very professional and are not able to spend a lot. The dark colour of the coat will be good as they will not be as noticeable as if they were wearing lighter, more colourful colours. However, our film is being shot at night so it wouldn't really matter anyway. The coat also needs pockets so the guys can stuff as much as they can in them, instead of carrying a bag.

These trainers are quite like the ones that we have found the characters to wear (the two guys breaking into the house). They are going to wear trainers, as they are usually worn by men and they can relatively cheap. They will probably be black (the pairs that the men wear) as they will be less noticeable on the idea of them being less identifiable.

The trilby hat will be worn by the house owner as we want to leave the man anonymous and not to be recognized by anyone. The mystery is then created and increased as we don't know who anyone is. Many questions are created as a result of this, which is a good way to start a film, especially the thriller as themes of thrillers include: mystery and intrigue.

The tracksuit bottoms will need to black or navy blue so they are dark and like the rest of the outfit of the two guys, unnoticeable. This will help disguise their figures and make them less easy to identify. The tracksuit bottoms are to show how the two young guys are not very professional- in the way they work and look.

The trench coat that the guy who's house is being burgled, as it looks a lot more sophisticated compared to the puffy coats the younger men wear. The trench coat that we have found and are going to use is black, which is keeping in with the mysterious look and the identity of the man is hard to work out. The coat is the typical wear for a male character in a thriller is to wear a detectives coat. The collar of the trench coat will be used to prop up to hide the neck of the character.

The trousers and shoes are also black as they are very appropriate for the look of our character. We want to make the character look like he has a good job- therefore he can afford to buy expensive and classy clothes. The size of his house will also be reflected in this as the house is relatively big.

The objects that will be included in our thriller are mostly guns. The home owner will own a classic gun, similar to the one below. The less-professional men will have a simple black gun, like the example also below. The look of the one on the left, looks rather old, in the film we are planning to show the this gun to the audience when the guy gets it out and then as he goes around to find the intruder.

Thriller Location

Here are some pictures of where the setting and location is for our thriller. Both pictures below show the mysterious-middle-aged guy's bedroom. One (to the left) shows a chest of drawers and more drawers in the desk-like table. The furniture in the room was quite minimalistic so it was already suitable to be the characters room. The red walls give it quite a tense atmosphere. The picture on the right shows the bed in which Simon (the main character) will sit on and hide under when he realises the owner has arrived home. The window is in an appropriate position too- one of the reasons we decided to go with this house. In one of the shots, Simon is going to look out onto the road, where the gang should supposedly be. The curtains will be drawn whilst he does look out, hiding any possible light. Again, more of the features shown are quite minimalistic which is more suitable for a man's taste. The bed should maybe be made to look a bit more scruffy when it comes to the actual filming. Despite this, there is some unorganized items in the corner which could give it away as a man's house.

The stairs to the left are going to be shown in our thriller as the banisters are a good thriller signifier. Banisters can often give a sense of being in prison - a lot like how in Essex Boys, the reflections on the car windscreen look like prison rails.

The picture of the hallway is where the older guy will walk through, from returning home and then going up the stairs. There were a couple of mise-en-scene problems which were: the fish mobile and the family photos to the right. However, we took the fish mobile done and then thought the pictures would show a contrast to how innocent people can be against the dangerous and cruel side of people.

From on the top of the stairs, it looks an interesting shot, as we're looking down, almost a birds' eye view but more of a high angle shot. This could be used to show the man coming back home and going through to the kitchen.

This picture shows the kitchen shot which we are planning to use for the shot when the man finds that someone has let themselves in. It may come to the audiences' attention that surely the intruders would close the window before them and tidy the things they've knocked, BUT the characters/intruders are not experienced, therefore leaving signs of the invasion. Also, they would want the man to go upstairs to find them...

This is the front door from the outside which will be in the shot when the man is arriving home. I think the front door is a good feature of the house to show. It looks quite important and seems to draw the attention in- which I think is due to the light.

This shows the house from further away, showing the bedroom - the left room with the two windows.

The final pictures are of the street outside the house which was perfect for the guys to gather on.

Thriller Cast!

The cast starring in our thriller are:
CHARACTER'S NAME / ACTORS:

Simon ---------------------- Ben Jones
Reason: We experienced a problem with our casting, someone dropped out at the last minute so we asked Ben to play Simon. He had the suitable look for the role so therefore we were pleased with our choice. He has an innocent face which Simon needs, as he was initially a good, hard working boy (at school). The way he dresses is influenced by the gang, for instance, whilst shooting our film, he wore a coat which was similar to the coat in the prop list. He was wearing a hat- like the one in the picture- which helps to hide his face, therefore hiding his identity. This is appropriate to the story, as they are going to be committing a crime.

Jitmal ---------------------- Mark Wright Premachandra
Reason: Mark had the appearance and attitude to suit the character. At first we did not think he would be able to play the role, so we prepared for Jakob to play both roles, as the older guy wasnt going to show his face. Mark suited the role well as he smokes, has darker skin- which will help appeal the film to a wider audience. Mark wears more brighter colours (red) in the film, as we thought he was appropriately dressed in the scenes he was in. The group of young men are all quite unprofessional so this helps by Mark wearing usual and casual wear.

Older guy -------------------- Jakob Montagu-Shaw
Reason: He's tall (which fits the character profile) and we generally thought he would be a good person for this role as he was willing to be in the film- acting and it was a good chance for him to mulit-task. The outfit which we thought of the man wearing was mostly to hide away any thing was most identfiable, for example, his face. We didn't give any information for the description for this character because it gave the character even more mystery- which we wanted to make clear. The questions created by this decision helps add to the sense of the film introduction being a thriller, as mystery is one of the main signifiers in thrillers. Even more, as the character is wearing dark clothes (hiding his identity), these adds to the mysterious.

Thriller schedules:

Meeting Schedule is:
Week 1 – Wednesday, Period 2.
Thursday, Period 3.

Week 2 – Wednesday, Period 3.
Thursday, Period 3.
Weekends – Saturday mornings, Café Nero’s.


In the first weeks of planning, we gathered ideas and thought into what we wanted our thriller to be about- the narrative, the plot and the themes. The initial ideas were quite vague but once we preferred one, we stuck to that particular one to start developing it. We were given a sheet that told us specific things we needed to cover which would help us plan our thriller thoroughly.

A list of what we were asked to cover:
IDEA STAGE
- Initial ideas - Films that have influenced our ideas
- Genres and styles - What we are trying to achieve ~ themes and ideas

The next following weeks we had already begun to think about the list for:
PRE-PRODUCTION which included:
-Meeting schedule -Synopsis of film -Detailed storyboards -Character profiles
-Location scouting/decisions on locations -Cast auditions/choices
-Shooting schedule -Deciding on props.


All the things above from the last four, were pretty quick to finish, but the last four were a bit slower to develop. However, we thought of possible locations, and the easiest most available location was one of my partners house. He had drawn a rough plan of the house and it fit well with our idea. For example, we wanted the boy, Simon to break into the house- from the back, crossing a room and going to a room at the front of the house, which conviently in my partners house was at the front of the house.
The casting for our thriller was more choices amongst our groups friends and actually including one of my partners, as he wanted to be involved in the acting. He did fit the profile well so we decided that he could. The gangs profiles were quite simple so it wasn't hard to find people who were suitable.
The props list was only a vague idea of what we wanted the actors to wear, look like and what they would have. Some of the images were not the best or suitable but still gave an idea as to what we were looking for and wanted to use.

The shooting schedule is:
6th December, 4pm - 6pm;
16th December, 4pm - 5pm;
17th December, 4pm - 6pm;
12th January, 5pm - 6pm;
21st January, 4pm - 7pm;
our final filming session: 23rd January, 4/5pm.

The filming has to be done nearer dusk and night time as we want the film to look more thriller- like; adding to the mystery to both the location, story and the characters. The old man is meant to be kept from being recognizable so the mystery increases. It intrigues the audience to be intrigued in what is going on and who the characters are.
Depending on how much filming goes accordingly, we may have to film again, for example, if we get technical problems. To overcome this, we agreed to film as soon as we could so we had enough time to edit and finalise it.

Thriller Signifiers, Themes, Styles, Subgenre and Influences for Thriller

Thriller Signifiers

Plot and Narrative:
-Mystery and intrigue
-Twisting and turning narrative
-Spiralling narrative
-Narrated by male protagonist (1st person)
-Chasing pursuit
These all help to grab the audiences attention, to focus their attention on what happens in the story. Thrillers often begin with a very attention-seeking action, for instance, Layer Cake opens up with the back of a van blowing up and in Vertigo, there is an example of a chase. These all increase the chance of the audience being intrigued and interested in what is happening and what is going to happen, in the rest of the film. The narratives in thrillers seem to always have a complicated structure, as there are numerous disruptive events and climaxes.

Tone and Atmosphere:
-A sinister of threatening atmosphere
-Sexual
-Sleaze
-Claustrophobia
The tone and atmosphere of a thriller is usually a combination of the list above as it helps the thriller seem more menacing and make it fit into the thriller genre. Thrillers are likely to have some form of violence and corruption occur so it helps to make the plot more exciting and interesting.

Mise-en-scene:
-Bleak settings
-Urban
-Rain lashed streets
-Shadows
-Night
-Slatted blinds
-Slanting light
-Staircases
-Enclosed spaces
-Chiaroscuro lighting
The mise-en-scene in a thriller is one of the major things that has to be done to achieve a good thriller. The setting and what it is made up of helps to increase certain tones and atmospheres. If the location is dark and it is conveniently raining then it will create a sinister mood, and the audience will suspect something to happen then or at least soon. The mise-en-scene makes characters either fit into that certain environment or the opposite, by making them uncomfortable.

Characters:
-Femme fatale
-Hard boiled detectives
-Flawed heroes
-Male protagonist
-Women appearing as sex objects
-Police
The characters in thrillers are commonly made up of main characters having some kind of flaw, whether it be an addiction to smoking or drink, or a fear of something. The character in China Town has all three of those flaws.
In Layer Cake there is a male protagonist who happens to narrate the story, therefore giving an insight to his world and what he does (this falls into the plot and narrative thriller signifiers).
Women in thrillers are commonly either a sexual object and a femme fatale, or a more innocent figure that would be classed as an angel in the whore v.s angel idea.
The police are also used as characters in thrillers, some can be involved with the main characters such as the plot in Millers Crossing and Layer Cake. On the other hand, they can be doing their proper duties and are not 'bent coppers' (Kidulthood).

Themes:
-Corruption
-Mystery
-Deceit
-Sexuality
-Women's sexuality as dangerous and destructive
-Moral ambiguity
Themes in thrillers are essential as they are what create the thriller and represent what a thriller is and should be. The theme of corruption is one that improves the chance of the thriller having a twisting narrative. Deceit is a common theme as it is easy for people to deceive another, to gain something they want or need.

Cinematography:
-Tilted camera angles
-Use of vanishing points
-High angle and low shots
A variation of the above increases the audiences attention and interest, making them watch the thriller with intrigue. The use of tilted camera angles helps to suggest the idea of something being not-quite-right, as though something isn't the way it should be. The Third Man uses a shot of a cobbled road, which implies the idea of something is going to appear in the shot, one way or another, as it stays like that for some time.

Last lesson with one of my teachers, we looked more closely at our own thriller introductions- or the plans and ideas we had. One of the these certain things was: the themes of our thriller.
The themes that are going to be obvious in our thriller is:

• Betrayal: as the young boy, Simon will be left on his own as the gang/crew run away after realizing that the mystery man is going into the house Simon is in.
• Corruption: stealing
• Mystery: as the mystery man is mysterious... the audience is not let in to who the man is, all possible questions arise once he enters the room. For instance, the audience will wonder what he'll do if he finds Simon, and IF he actually does, how he will react.
• Moral Ambiguity: Who is right and who is wrong... Simon will obviously be in the wrong but then it is not entirely his fault seeing as it was the gang leader who told him to do it.

Next, we looked at the styles of our thrillers, as a group mine decided that the style was gangsta and modern. It will appear modern as the style of clothing, speech/dialogue, possibly setting will be more up-to-date, rather than old-fashioned. The possibility of having the film in black and white is yet to be decided, but if it was, I think it would be a good contrast showing how there are different time periods combined. However, the film being in modern 'gangsta' genre, this may be confusing for the audience. I think the film would look a bit more sleeker in black and white, but then as we are planning to film at night, it may make it too dark in places. The mise-en-scene will also not be seen as clearly. For instance, we want to show the red walls in the bedroom as this could be associated with some meanings of the colour red being: passion, death, blood. I think if the film is shot in normal colour then it will be easier to identify the film as being modern and more up-to-date.

The sub genre is gangsta as the gang are gangstas and are dressed in that particular style of wear and speak in that certain way.

The influences for our thriller intro is:

*Kidulthood and Adulthood are a great influence as the main characters are young teenagers going into their adult years. The characters are acting as though they live in gangster lifestyle but the truth behind them is that not all gangstas live in the same environment, some will have different life's' at home due to the fact that their families are different. This therefore makes it relevant to Simon's side of the story as he was at a private boarding school before wanting a different type of lifestyle.

*Football Factory is another influence because one of the characters is in someones' house and he is about to get caught without knowing.

*Layer Cake is another influence as the shots used are quite similar to the ones' we are planning to use. The locations we are planning to use will be relatively urban seeing as a common and easy thriller signifier is urban settings.

*Miller's Crossing, because the themes of deceit and loyalty, and we intend to use a shot- when the men are walking up the stairs to the older guy's bedroom, we want to use a shot similar.

*Sin City is our final influence seeing as the sounds in the background are very urban, and we may use similar sound effects. Another thing is the number of phone calls occurring and how you can hear the person on the receiver on the other end.

Thiller Script

Shot 1:
Dim light, small lamp on in the room. Streetlight from outside through the window.
Simon rummaging through a chest of draws, fast and hurried. Finds a gold watch that looks expensive.
Simon:
(whistles)
S*** man!
Simon stuffs the watch in his pocket.

Shot 2:
Crew standing on corner outside, glancing at their watches. Street lamps light the street dimly in some places.
Crew member 1:
(moaning)
Pfft, takes his time don't he.

Crew leader:
(Impatiently and slightly worried tone)
I know man, what's the kid doing in there?

Crew member 2:
(Impatiently)
I'm not waitin for this s*** much longer, that geezer will be home soon. I told you we should have gone in with him.

Crew leader:
(Quickly cuts into last comment, quite loud)
And risk us getting caught? Nah you idiot!

Shot 3:
Simon in the room, rummaging now in the wardrobe, he drops a load of boxes on the floor. Dim lamp still lighting the room.
Simon:
(Cautiously, worried, uneasily)
F***!

He searches through the boxes, looking for more valubles. His phone rings.

Shot 4:
Close up of the phone, which shows "Mum" on the screen.

Simon:
(Talking across mobile phone, anxious, trying to finish conversation quickly)
Hi mum...yeah...i'll be home soon...ok...love you, bye.

Shot 5:
He hangs up and sighs with his head in his hands. He starts putting the boxes back.

Shot 6:
Mans legs on the pavement, shoes clicking and cane on the floor. Streetlamps light the feet faintly.

Shot 7:
Simon rummaging in more draws, slower, picking up small things and putting them in his pocket - mainly jewellery, dim lamp still lighting the room. He see's an expensive ring that looks special but puts it back into the back of the drawer.

Shot 8:
Shot of the crew hanging out, with the old man walking up in the distance. The crew notice the man and watch him wearily.

Crew member 3:
(Worried)
Is that the old geezer?

The old man turns into a driveway.

Crew member 2:
(Shouting, worried)
F***! thats him.

Crew leader:
(Realising it is the man's house)
I'm outta here, f*** the kid!

Shot 9:
The crew starts running away from the street, in and out of streetlamp shadows, they run to the end of the road, and split up, footsteps and yelling "bye" and swearing.

Shot 10:
Close up of the old mans feet walking up to the door, and stepping infront of the door. Keys jingling and being put into the door.

Shot 11:
Mid shot of the old man's body, footsteps and keys unlocking the door, walking into the house, streelamp light washes into the hallway.

Shot 12:
Bottom midshot of the old man walking in from outside, door nearly shut, turning on a dim light.

Shot 13:
Simon hears a bang from downstairs and looks around and freezes with a scared look on his face. The lamp is still on.

Simon:
(whispers, anxious, frightened)
S***!

Shot 14:
Old man hanging his coat and hat, still no veiw of his face, this is from behind, weak light of the hallway prevents any main features being shown.

Old man:
(Annoyed tone)
B***** kids.

Successful thriller opening criteria...

Initial Ideas for what makes a thriller opening SUCCESSFUL:

• Originality/Individuality
• Mystery and intrigue
• "Hook" the audience - engage them
• Readable narrative - possible cliffhanger??
• Establish characters/settings/themes/styles
• Effective and clever editing
• Clear direction
• Steady camera work/shots
• Effective framing, compostion (rule of thirds)
• Effective mise-en-scene
• Lighting.

Thriller Character Profiles

Simon (main character)
Age: 16/17 years old
Hair colour: Light brown
Skin colour: White
Height: 5ft 9/10
Attitudes: Naive, clever, witty, quick- thinking.
Background: Simon started off from a young age attending a boarding school, but never really fitted in. He was often getting into trouble and eventually convinced his parents to let him move school.
At the start of his new school life, he was quiet and was slow to make friends, and didn't really settle in. Some boys in his year to decide to pick on him, and an older crew of boys notice and stand up for him. That is when he got involved in the wrong crowd and his life went on a down hill.


Jitmal (Follower of the gang)
Age: 17
Hair colour: Brown
Skin Colour: Tanned
Height: 5ft 6
Attitudes: His status is under the gang leader and like his crew doesn't have an interest in school. He felt safer and fitted in with them because they didn't have many cares. He often has arguments with his family, purely because they are worried and think the gang is a bad influence.
Background: Jitmal was brought up well but similarly to Simon, he fell into the wrong crowd, therefore he can relate to Simon more. He is not the main member of the gang, so he does not receive much respect from the gang leader or his fellow followers. He is more sensitive than the gang leader so he lets them push him into doing things he doesn't want to do. He is trusted by the gang.


Gang leader
Age: 19
Hair colour: No hair
Skin colour: Black
Height: 6ft
Attitudes: Has respect from the gang although he is not particularly nice to them. Left school early because he thought it was a waste of time, but has been at college for a while instead.
Background: Distant with his family as they are often working throughout the day and late night. He has had to look after himself so he has become very uptight and self-centred as he is not usually around people. He often hangs around friends as they are more like his family.

Middle-aged mysterious guy
We have made no information as we want to make the older guy very mysterious that we do not wish to give anything away. The idea of him being mysterious is based on making the film intro have a mysterious atmosphere, as this is a classic thriller signifier. He will be kept mysterious as the camera will never show his face, only his silhouette.

Thriller Synopsis and Storyboards

Synopsis:

Name: (To be decided)

Genre: Gangster/Thriller.

Blurb:Simon is 15. He got in with the wrong crowd and spends his life getting in trouble and running from it. Until one night, when they step it up a notch, and decide to rob a house. This time, Simon will discover that maybe running from the scene can prove worse than staying put.

Introduction:Young boy robbing an old man’s house, old man returns home and catches him hiding under the bed. The boy’s friends who were outside have run off in fear of police getting involved.

Beginning of movie:Boy has gone missing; police get involved as “missing persons” investigation. Crew members are told by the leader to lie about where they were, say that they weren’t near the old man’s house. Crew member returns to the house to watch the old guy and cover up their tracks of being there. Another crew member returns to the police to tell them what happened, police then question the old man, who claims the boy ran out of the house before he could catch him. The next day the boy turns up dead, and the old man and the leading crew member are arrested.

Middle of movie (4 Points of view):
Boys view: stealing, hiding under the bed, old man catches him, he throws the stuff back at him that he was stealing and runs out the house to walk home. Shadow grabs him and starts beating him, this is in a run down place near a river. Shadow then hides the body.
Polices view: gets a ring from parents, talk to people at the school, getting nowhere with the investigation. Question the old man and are suspicious of crew member as they find out he told everyone to lie about them being there. Arrest both.
Old mans view: returns home from pub to find boy in his house, tries to catch him and yell but boy runs out. He is stirred and starts drinking and falls asleep. Next day Police are asking him about the boy and how the boy is missing. He’s surprised. Answers and tells them what had happened and lets them search the house. He is rude because they suspect him. He gets arrested and is not happy.
Crew leader’s view: Been drinking, goes out to make boy rob a house. Drunk. They run when man returns, he stays and watches as a few minutes later the boy runs out. Angry. Follows boy home, when at river he grabs him and beats him yelling how stupid he is and he will get them caught. When the boy is unresponsive he panics and hides the body, swearing and shaking. Returns home, washes his hands and the next day tells his crew to lie about where they were. When police find out where they were he panics more, and when he is arrested he tries to cover it by swearing at the police.

End of the movie:Police find the weapon that killed the boy and fingerprint it. They tell both man and crew leader what they are doing to shake them. Old man is released and leader is convicted as his prints are found all over the weapon. Movie ends with prison door banging shut and seeing the lad through the letterbox opening, which is also shut. He had his head in his hands.


Story boards for the opening of my groups' thriller...

Thriller Initial Ideas

Initial ideas for film:

To begin our initial ideas, we thought of using a spider diagram to get some ideas flowing...

Idea 1: Man running down a road, away from something. Empty. Thinks he’s getting chased, but he isn’t actually. Police shows him CCTV of him not being chased, could be a massive conspiracy.

Idea 2: Man in suit walking down a corridor. Bangs into a room and starts searching. Another man in a chair and a woman in another on the other side of the room. After a clear messy search the angry man leaves. The man in the chair says “so where did you hide it?” and the young woman, smoking, just smiles.























Idea 3: Young people robbing an office, running out, one falls over, they all split up and run separate ways. The young one who fell over hides in the shadows. Phone starts vibrating; “Mum” comes up on the screen. A hand slides round the youth’s mouth and he drops the phone. The phone had been answered, lays on the floor with a faint voice calling out to the owner.

Idea 4: FINAL – “Gangsta’s” robbing an old man’s house, but he returns home and they run off except one is left there and gets caught inside the house with the old man, who is a “crazy killer”.




















Films that have influenced your group:
1. KiDULTHOOD – Young teenagers, Gangster lifestyle, violence.















2. Layer Cake – Shot types (close up, mid-shot), Watching a particular character (young teen) and following him through the start, Location (urban city landscape), Shots fading out.







3. Sin City – Sound effects (siren’s in the background), Location (urban city landscape), Weather (Raining).








What kind of thriller do you want to make? (Genre and style):
Genre: This film will have a few sub genre’s including; thriller suspense and crime thriller.
Style: The style of the film will be modern “Gangsta”.

MISSION STATEMENT
What are you trying to achieve? (Themes or ideas you want to explore): We would like our introduction to capture the audience’s interests and attention, so that it draws them into watching the whole film with interest. We want to explore the “Gangsta” theme along with the innocence of your childhood/teenage years.