storyboard

roles and relationships

Dates-

The dates we will be filming on will be the 20th of December, and also the 27th of December. If we haven't completed all the filming on these two dates then our back-up date will be the 30th of December.

Roles and Relationships-

Jack shall have the filming equipment, as it is closer to the location of where we are filming.  Jack shall take the role of the character hallucination that is in Morris’s mind.

Matt shall take the role of Morris, a man with psychological problems who has hallucinations, mostly in the form of a gas-masked suited antagonist, this is mostly because Matt can pass for being a slightly older character and we wanted our film to look as realistic as possible.  The filming will not be delegated to one particular person as we will both be in the film equally, therefore we shall both me taking part in the role of camera man.

Task Division-

We split the tasks evenly and mostly did each of our pieces of work independently.  Matt completed the shooting script because he is more imaginative and it got us a got start on our idea. Jack completed the storyboard because he is the more creative one of the two and better at actually transforming the ideas onto paper.  We thought this was the most effective way to divide up the bulk of the tasks, and to play to both of our strengths.

Those were the two main tasks that we divided up but the vast majority of the smaller and less significant tasks we worked on together because we felt that we needed both of our input on the film because it is a joint idea and we want to maintain our originality.

Mise-en-scene

 Mise-En-Scene

We chose our main location for our shooting as Jack Peppers house because it is a relatively old looking house, which would fit in with our theme and represent our character well.  Also, it has items we need such as a windowed cupboard inside, because this is essential for our filming we need to choose a location which has this, so Jack’s house is ideal.

The mask in our film has been chosen very carefully, we have chosen a gas mask because it goes against the conventions of what you expect to see in a thriller film. A gas mask is a very eerie and impersonal piece of mise-en-scene because it doesn’t allow you to see the character’s face therefore creating an element of mystery.

We have also chosen for the gas-masked hallucination to be wearing a black suit. This would make him look very formal, so this links in with him being impersonal.

Our main character called Morris is going to be seen wearing a comb-over, and possible glasses, for us this is something else that goes against codes and conventions because people don’t associate a nerdy looking character with murder or anything negative.

Our chase scene through a field as also been chosen carefully, we have picked a very desolate area to create the sense of alienation. We hope to film this particular scene early in the morning so we can capture it when it is more misty.

We have chosen the name “ Morris Crombie” for our main character, this is again something that goes against conventions because the name is very intelligent sounding and you wouldn’t expect someone with this name to defy the law. Also, our Morris character is going ton be seen wearing trousers pulled up very high, with a tucked in shirt, we hope that by doing this we can create an air of sympathy from the audience so it’s even more of a surprise when he killed someone.  We have also chosen Morris to have a backpack, because it is also something that is associated with being subdued and nerdy, so people wouldn’t expect him to be a murderer.

In one of our opening scenes we see our main character taking some medication, which is seen very closely by the camera to imply that the character has mental issues. This is a very important signifier for our film because it links in with the psychological -disturbed theme we are looking.

During our second scene our imaginary character tears up a picture of a girl, we have chosen to use a photo, as part of our mise-en-scene because it means people will know who the victim is without using any dialogue. Which for us is important to achieve because we wanted to keep it with as little dialogue as possible in order for it to be more confusing and hard to follow for the audience, which is common for the opening of a thriller film.

We were also planning on filming either early in the morning or late afternoon, this is because we hope to create a gloomy atmosphere to go along with our storyline.  It will also make the mood more eerie and hopefully have a better effect on the audience for the creepy effect we are looking for.  

risk assesment

Risk assessment

Possible risks when filming our sequence would be:

Because we are filming around Christmas time there is a large possibility that the roads and pavements will be slippery and dangerous therefore an obvious risk of us falling and injuring ourselves if the correct footwear is not worn.

Because of the location we are filming, we will be using an upstairs attic, which presents an obvious risk of one of us falling down from a height; we will need to be extra careful when climbing up and down the ladder.

There is a chance that on of our characters might need to be pictured climbing a tree, this is again a very obvious hazard because if it is a large tree then falling down could result in a serious injury.

If we are filming in accordance to our shooting script exactly then there is a chance that we will have to use a real knife for effect, this is the most obvious risk because if someone were to fall and slip it could have a severe consequence.

textual analysis

Codes and conventions between different films are very unique despite them being of the same genre.  The codes, conventions and techniques used in swordfish, collateral, and inside man al display aspects of the thriller genre, I will be comparing the way it is displayed in each film.

In all three films we are introduced to the main character within the first few seconds, this is something very typical of the thriller genre. The characters in themselves also display the thriller; Tom cruise, John Travolta, and Clive Owen. Are all actors we would associate largely with the thriller genre, the use of big names such as this mean the audience knows from very early on what kind of film it is going to be, and all of these three films are similar in the sense that we are introduced to the character straight away which is used to entice us as viewers.

Both Swordfish and Inside man are similar in the sense that the opening few seconds is very mysterious and doesn’t reveal a great deal about the film. Swordfish uses lots of jump cuts and fast editing couples with shots of a long duration to ensure the audience doesn’t know the location, or who the characters are talking to in both films when the ‘ talk to the camera’ technique is used’, this is what makes these two films similar. The films use the same technique but swordfish uses a range of shots and dips in and out of focus, which contrasts to Inside Man which uses the same, still close up for the entire period. Collaterals first few opening seconds is different to that of the other two because the location is established: airport, which represents nationalism which is typical for thrillers also. It introduces the big name characters first much like the other two, but there is no sense of confusion, the shots and editing are smoother to represent the laid back nature of Tom Cruise and to show how important he is going to be in the plot of the film. So although Swordfish and Inside Man show a very similar opening few seconds and contrasts to Collateral. All 3 are very similar in the sense that it introduces what characters are going to be important to the entire plot of the film. 

CAMERAWORK:

Swordfish is filled with point of view shots, although they might be a little bit obscure to the audience in the beginning we see a huge range of different view points of the action, when we see John Travolta talking there are plenty of match on action shots which are different views of the character.  It is the only film of the three to use mostly point of view shots, even during the scene in which the men walk across the street we see them through a gun scope, this is something that’s very typical of the thriller genre, it can be used to create a sense of confusion during opening sequences in order for the viewers to continue watching the film. It is not something either of my other two films uses as often however.

Collateral doesn’t use point of view shots hardly at all, it uses a range of long shots and midshots during the airport scene to establish the balance of power between the characters, we get a slightly lower shot of Cruise to show him being at the top of the hierarchy; the people around him are blurred and seem to move out of his way, he seems untouchable. But we see a straight on midshot of Statham , he is constantly kept out of view by passers by which clearly shows how he is of a lesser importance. Shots like this are use in thrillers genres to establish the plot and characters of the film.

Inside man uses the same ‘talk to the camera’ technique as swordfish but it is in a very different way, it is the same close up shot of Owen’s face and the shot doesn’t move or waver, it could represent the position of control he is in over the situation. It can also be seen as similar to collateral in the shots used because during the bank scene we see a different range of longshots and match on action shots in order to establish where the rest of the film is going to take place. This is similar to Collateral in which we see a number of close ups on the cab driver in order to establish the location of the film; which will take place mostly around or inside the taxi.

Al three films use different shot types and angles during their opening sequence but they are all in order to establish to following plot of the film, the locations and the genre or sub genre. Collateral and inside man are similar because they use long shots mixed with close ups and mid shots in order to establish the location, but Swordfish uses match on action and point of view in order to establish location. All of these techniques are typical for the thriller genre, and because all of these films are of the action thriller genre they use many of the same camera shots.

EDITING

Editing is very important in the thriller genre because it has a massive effect on how the audience view things.

The editing used when John Travolta is talking to the camera is very snappy and confusing for the viewer, it jump cuts from one point of view to the other and almost acts like a surveillance camera, which in itself can represent danger which is typical for a thriller film.  The editing when they exit the building is short and snappy and the shots are for a very short duration, this again is something typical of a thriller because it represents a build-up of tension to a big event or upheaval, which in this case is an explosion.  The editing in this opening sequence is only smooth and flowing when Travolta is talking which could show how he is the one in control of the situation.  However when the situation moves away from Travolta and we start the build up towards the explosion the editing becomes increasingly more and more rapid, we see several jump-cuts and rapid match on action shots; this is something very typical of a thriller film to show a build-up in tension of events.

The editing used in swordfish is a contrast to the other two films, because swordfish uses a slow build up in Editing to show the balance in power. However the editing used for Inside Man is very different, it is continually smooth throughout the whole opinion sequence, this is because Clive Owen is always the main focus, and because he is the one in power, the editing represents this by being smooth all the time. It is shown by a number of close ups of Owen, from various different view points, and the scene in the bank is mainly focused around him; which is also shown by the camerawork being central on him with close ups and mid-shots. The brief moment in which we see a police officer ( which is again typical of thriller films because it represents justice and consequence, and maybe a conflict between two different sides) the editing becomes much more awkward, the shots are for a shorter duration and viewed from a much greater distance. This could show how the police officer is small and insignificant to the situation going on, in which Clive Owen is in control. Again this is something typical of a thriller film because the editing is a way of showing who is important in the storyline. The editing used in Collateral is similar to that of inside man; it is used to represent who is in a position of power. During the scene in the airport the editing used on two different characters is very different. When we see Tom Cruise the editing seems smooth and free flowing, it is easy to watch and it portrays the character as comfortable in his situation. When we see Statham’s character  the editing is very jumpy and unregularly cutting from different angles, it appears as the character feels slightly awkward because of the editing used and puts him in a lower social standing to Cruise; almost shows his submission. So overall editing used in all 3 films are similar because they are used to represent power and control, however Swordfish does it in a different way to the other two.

SOUND

The sound plays a more important role in thriller films than a lot of other genres. For example in Swordfish when we see Travolta talking, the moving camera is coupled with the noise like that of a security camera, we are uncertain what this noise is and it creates a great sense of confusion for the viewer when it is coupled with other elements. The confusing and unidentifiable sound used here represents how the future of the character is very uncertain, once again; the sound used here is nothing like the sound used in either of the other two films. Once we come out of the coffee shop and we see the explosion, all sound becomes muffled and drowned out; I think this is because it shows how at that particular moment, fighting and conflict has stopped and nobody is in power.

Sound used in Collateral and inside man is similar but very unique to the thriller genre. The sound used in Collateral is there to show a build-up in tension or to a certain event.  In the airport, the orchestral sound builds up louder and louder until the two characters meet; this is something typical of the genre because it shows a build-up to an important event. Inside Man builds up tension in a very different way,  during the title scene in which they are driving to the bank we hear orchestral music once again; which builds up as they get closer to their destination, but other than that the sound is very natural which I believe is used to show that element of realism.

During the scene of Collateral in which we are introduced to the taxi driver, there is a moment when all of the sound stops suddenly when he closes the door to his taxi, once again this is a way of showing power. In this particular instance it shows how he is in total control of his current situation, the sound installs a sense of calmness in the audience, which contrasts to later on when he has no power what so ever.

MISE EN SCENE

The mise-en-scene used in a thriller is a very important aspect of how the audience perceives the film. For example in Swordfish we see Travolta with a cigar, not only is this a phallic symbol but it is also something we associate with someone being in a position of power. During the collateral sequence in which we are introduced to the taxi driver, we establish his connection with the photo of the Island; this is an important piece of Mise-En-Scene because he makes him the most relatable character for the audience, someone that’s just trying to get by with a decent job working hard. This is something typical in thriller films, because it means the audience empathize with a certain character so it has more of an impact if something happens to them later on in the storyline.  Finally, the Mise-En-scene for inside man is very simplistic and relatable, similar to Collateral. I think this is a technique that a lot of directors use for thriller films because it makes the situation seem more real, as if it could just happen to any member of the audience. The only important prop used is the guns,  during most of the film the guns are used to remind the audience who is in charge of the situation, it is something we associate with death and violence; so it helps the audience to establish who is in what side, and who is a protagonist or antagonist. Often the Protagonist is only pictured with a gun when it is absolutely necessary, this makes the audience trust them more and side with them subconsciously.   

feedback sheet analysis

From our feedback sheets we found out a number of different things we could do with our film to make it better, and also what’s already good about it.

It was good for us to have feedback from the rest of our class because that’s the target age range that we are after anyway so it means we will get a really accurate idea of how effective our opening sequence will be when it’s all finished.

One hundred percent of our classmates thought that the sun genre we chose for our film                     ( physiological thriller), was the right choice,  they felt that it would work as a sub-genre and fitted with the idea of our film. Which means we have made the correct initial choices for our opening sequence.

When we asked our classmates what they thought of the entire plot of our film, that would follow on from our opening the majority of them said that it is a great idea for a film, but only if we can pull it off properly. Because it is a complex idea, having also got other people’s opinions we now need to make sure we get everything right so our film actually works because if we do it in a poor way the final product won’t be as good because it is not a simple idea, it will be very difficult to film, our classmates pointed this out for us.  A small minority of classmates said that they thought our idea would be slightly impractical to film, because we need an older actor which is very hard to find, especially one that would understand the plot of our film. This highlighted to us that we maybe need to change our plot slightly in order to make it easier to film for ourselves, in order to maximise the potential of our final product.

When we asked our classmates if they think our film idea appeals to our target audience ( 15-30) the vast majority agreed with us and stated that they thought the film is very current with what people are watching at the moment. And also captured the imagination of teenagers and young adults.  This was good for us because it meant that we had sold our film to our target audience which would lead us to believe that it was going to be relatively successful.  Another small minority of people suggested that our target audience should be slightly more mature (25-35) for example, this created a bit of a contrast for us because it meant that we needed to consider that the entire plot for our film might be slightly too grown up for the younger audience. Therefore we need to change the plot slightly in order to appeal to the greatest age range possible in order to maximise its success.

When we asked our classmates it they thought our narrative, characters, locations and genre was introduced well. Most of them simply put yes, which is again very encouraging for us because it meant that we are meeting all of the needs for our target audience, leading us to think that if our classmates like it then it would also be liked on a larger scale also. 3 or 4 surveys suggested that they were all introduced well, however it might be hard to make our current actor look older in order to make the sequence more realistic. This has been a reoccurring theme for us from our surveys and it means that we might have to reconsider our choice of actors or change the storyline in order to make it more realistic and suitable for a younger actor.

When we asked our classmates ‘do you think we are right to represent a drug addict in a negative stereotype?’ everyone answered in a positive way, which suggest we are right to portray a drug addict in a negative way. Which again is encouraging but since then we have decided to move away from the ‘ drugs’ theme and focus more on the idea that our character has mental problems. This is mainly because the majority of our group are basing their film around drugs and we want to be slightly more niche and unique with where we go with our film.  So although this wasn’t one of our questions, the opportunity to present our idea to the class meant that we changed our plot for the better.

Our next question was ‘ do you think we will be able to achieve the mood and tone we are hoping to?’ again, everyone replied with a positive answer. This for us was the most encouraging question because it meant that people liked our general storyline, and they appreciated what we were trying to achieve.

Our final question was ‘ do you think this idea will grasp the audiences attention?’ once again we got all of our responses back with a positive answer, this again was extremely encouraging for us and meant that we didn’t need to change a huge amount of our sequence or idea because it means that in general people from our target audience felt that we had a good idea providing that we can pull it off. So for us in general the feedback session was very helpful because it showed us that in general people like our film, but also highlighted what faults we have, it gave us the opportunity to get an outside perspective from our film in order to make sure we had the best final product possible.

shooting script

shot	Shot description	Audio and dialogue
1	The Very first shot is of a blank, dark screen	The dialogue is a conversation between therapist and Morris in an office, there may also be some white noise to distort viewer.
2	We then see several shots of random household objects to show disorientation	Possible white noise, the conversation between the two characters becomes blurred and hard to make out.
3	We then see a close up of Morris’s eyes after he’s been asked to remember what he has done in the past week to show that he is imagining it.	No dialogue, possibly some whooshing sounds and noises to show the transition.
4	Mid shot of him getting out of bed	No audio or dialogue
5	Over the shoulder shot of him walking out of the door	White noise in chunks to show lack of organisation in his life
6	Close up of his face as he walks out of his room	Possible white noise
7	Low angle shot as he walks into the bathroom	Sound of a creaking door

8	Over the shoulder shot of him entering the bathroom	Sound of the door and footsteps
9	Same over the shoulder shot, but from a longer distance of him looking into the mirror	No sound
10	Close up of the tap as water comes out	Sound of running water
11	High angle shot of character washing his face	Sound of running water
12	Revert back to the over the shoulder shot of character looking into the mirror	Water tap is turned off- hypereal sound
13	Swap to the other shoulder as he looks in the mirrored cupboard for some medication.	Sound of rifling through items in the cupboard, still no dialogue.
14	Revert back to the original over the shoulder shot as character realises that when he closes the mirror someone is standing behind him	Sound of the medication rattling and gasp of the character.
15	Camera moves with the character and jolts very quickly to where the other character was seen, but when it turns around fully there I nobody there	White noise or whooshing noise to create the air of disorientation.

16	Camera moves to a close up of the characters face when he is confused when there is nobody behind him	Sound of white noise suddenly stops to restore the state if equilibrium.
17	Camera then moves to a close up of the character taking the medicine with a glass of water.	Sound of the dripping tap.
18	Reverts back to the original over the shoulder shot to show Morris putting his medication back in the mirrored cupboard.	Sound of the Medication rattling, along with the dripping tap and closing of the cupboard.
19	When the cupboard closes we see the character in the gas mask behind Morris again	White noise returns but even louder
20	Camera jolts around very quickly to the view of the mysterious gas mask character	White noise is building up by this point.
21	Trumpet shot of the gas mask character as he tears up a photo of a girl	The noise has reached its loudest point by now
22	Shot becomes closer and closer of the photo he is tearing up	White noise is continuing
23	The shot cuts out very suddenly as it becomes closer and closer to the character.	The noise completely stops with the shot

24	Shot cuts out to the character walking in a field. Transition is very rapid to represent his loosening frame of mind,	The noise stops at the exact time the shot changes
25	Mid shot of the character walking very quickly through the field.	Natural noises
26	Rapid cuts from one point of view to another	White noise in patches
27	We see the character from one side then the other walking, shots swap very rapidly over and over	White noise continues on and off
28	Close up of characters face is seen very rapidly amidst all of the fast paced shots of him walking	White nose is becoming loud again
29	Mid shot of character as he stops and notices the girl from the picture	White noise has stopped, no sound
30	Long shot of the girl walking in front after Morris realises its her	Creeping noise as he realises what he has to do, violins.
31	Close up of Morris as he turns around to see his imaginary character.	White noise as the gas mask character makes an appearance

32	Long shot of the imaginary character standing in the trees pointing towards the girl to show he wants her dead	White noise is building up again
33	Shot slowly zooms in on character for eerie effect.	White noise, still no dialogue
34	Cuts to close up of Morris looking from the gas mask character then towards the girl	White noise is now even louder
35	The shot breaks away to the back of Morris as he starts heading for the girl at speed	White noise stops the second he starts walking
36	Long shots of him walking after the girl	Natural noises
37	Rapid different points of view shots of him edited very rapidly	Heavy breathing as he gets closer
38	Mid shot of him getting closer and closer	Breathing getting heavier and white noise building up
39	Shot editing slows down suddenly and we see a low angle shot of Morris carrying the dead girl in a body bag	All noise stops as the shot  changed, can only hear the dragging of the bag

                              

38	Continuous shot of him dragging the dead body getting further and further away	Dragging of the bag
39	Close up of the character as he is dragging the bag	Heavy breathing
40	Shot fades out and we see Morris back at home	No sound
41	We see an establishing shot of the room and Morris with his head in his hands on the floor
42	the shot becomes closer and closer until we can see his face clearly ashamed of what he’s done
43	After the shot has started to move away we see the alter ego character moving in behind Morris	White noise begins to build up again
44	After zooming out the shot moves in again as the gas mask character starts to wrap his hands around Morris	White noise starts to build up again
45	Shot cuts out rapidly to end the sequence, our last view is of the alter ego submerging Morris with his hands.	White noise cuts out at the exact moment the shot ends.