Who we are and what we’re doing.

• We are filming our opening trailer for a mystery thriller, which will feature a varied range of AS Media techniques and skills.

Concept • We plan on creating an opening to a thriller with a duel narrative that link and join together at the end of

the opening sequence. Our thriller can arguably be compared to the mystery thriller, ‘Silence of the lambs’, as there is a common theme of two main characters isolated that remain the key focus throughout.

•

• One narrative will follow a stalker and him collecting items and images of a young girl. We will also hit that he may be preparing to capture her eg putting on gloves and collecting rope. It will contain a scene in which the preparations of an unknown antagonist are made to abduct a child. The main sequence will also include the ‘chase scene’ and the enigmas that surround both the characters and the setting. The second narrative will follow the young girl walking home through woods. The narratives will then come together and as the girl is walking through the woods you will see the stalker following her and eventual catching up with her and capturing her.

• We will then cut to a missing poster of the girl and this will be where the title of the film is included as we plan to call it missing.

• Foreboding camera shots as well as a purposefully tense soundtrack are also key features we will be hoping to replicate in our thriller opening.

• Our Unique Selling Point (USP), is going to be our ability to showcase a varied and ranged shot selection, which we hope will allow our thriller opening to be of the highest quality. Enigmas will be crucial in our production in order to suitably match the thriller sub-genre, mystery.

Target Audience: • Target age: Between 15-30• Gender: Both genders as conventions appeal to both and this allows a wider choice of

audience to appeal to.• Background: Average/normal, enjoy family time and have time for leisurely activities

such as watching films or telly, going to the cinema or pub.• Interests: Film and television and other media and film items. They will be interested in

relaxing and unwinding which will leave time to watch television. Enjoy socialising and hanging out with Friends due to their young age and wanting to be social.

• Enjoy thriller games or thriller T.V. shows such as The Last of Us, Orphan Black or The Walking Dead.

• Demo: particularly pointed at to C2, D and E, we feel this as this consist of younger people, our targeted age group, and consists of part-timers which allows room for leisure time.

• Psycho: Targeted at explorers due it typically being young people and commonly students. Attracted to adventure, experience and energy which is what you would find in a thriller. They are also the first to try new things, our thriller would be new which would also attract them and make them want to watch.

Type of hazard

Description Likelihood 1-5

Severity of risk 1-5

Actions to be taken Who Where How to avoid

Trip Filming outside could mean anyone could fall

and cause harm to their body e.g. cuts or bruising.

3 2 Clean out any cuts and apply plasters and ice to any bruising. If the trip is serious

and you suspect a major injury call for medical

assistance

Cast and crew

Any filming location

Be cautious when filming and make sure

that the filming location is clear and nothing is

left on the floor

Electrical equipment

If weather conditions are bad electrical equipment

could get damaged. Also, if any equipment is dropped

it could cause bruising.

2 3 If electrical equipment is severally damaged do not

touch to avoid further damage. If dropped on

someone apply ice if causing bruising

Cast and crew

Any filming location

Keep all electrical equipment safe and

paced away if not being used.

cars When filming near roads you must be careful no

one is close to the roads as they may get injured by

cars. This could cause fractures, bruising cuts

and broken bones.

2 5 If the injury seems serious do not attempt to move to person injured and call for

medical assistance.

Cast and crew

When filming

near roads

Try to avoid filming near roads and if you need to

film near a road make sure it is safe and clear.

Wet grass/ pavements

If the weather conditions are not good then surfaces could become slippery and

people may trip.

Wet weather conditions:4

 Clear weather

conditions:1

3 Take caution when walking/ filming on any wet surfaces.

If anyone does become injured follow the tip

emergency action.

Cast and crew

Any wet surfaces

Wear sensible footwear and avoid slippery areas

Tree roots/ low

branches

When filming in woods roots may cause a trip

hazard. Low branches may also harm people as they may scratch them or if at

eye level cause eye injuries.

4 3 If someone falls follow the trip emergency action. If

low branches scratch someone clean out any cuts and if they have caused any

damage to eyes wash the eye out and if vision is damaged see a doctor.

Cast and crew

Any forest areas

Be careful when walking in woodland areas, and watch when walking in

woodland area.

Bags and props

If any bags or props are left on the floor they may

cause someone to fall.

3 3 Follow emergency action for trip hazard if people have

tripped over either bags or props. If props have been damaged make sure that they are still safe to use.

Cast and crew

Any filming location

Keep all bags and props in safe places and not

on the floor.

Mise-En-Scene

Costume:• Male: The costume the male will wear will consist of dark and black

clothing to connote the idea of him being dark and frightening and that he has some sort of authority/show he is the more powerful character.

• He will wear either a black top with either a black coat or sweater/hooded jacket. Alongside black jeans. Footwear will consist of either black trainers or boots that will be suitable for our setting. In addition, heavy duty boots also create a stereotypical feel of being ‘strong’ and are mainly wore by men who do much labour work e.g. builders who often have a strong physique.

Costume:

• Female child: The girls costume will consist of school uniform. We feel this will connote her innocence and immaturity and show her age. It will either be primary uniform or secondary. This will consist of long black/white socks, skirt and polo-shirt/shirt. Her footwear will be a typical school shoe or something durable for the location to prevent injury. Her hair will be tied in either plaits or up in a ponytail with added ribbons. Again, the idea of this style alongside ribbons gives the stereotypical look of a young girl.

Lighting

• As the location is a wood, natural lighting will be used and readily available. This will be natural, low lighting.

• The second use of lighting will be via a match. This will highlight certain images on the board and connote keeping the antagonists identity a secret.

Actors

• We will be using a young male and a female child as our two actors. We chose a young girl firstly due to wanting to create the vulnerable and suspicious atmosphere surrounding them both. Using a child tends to make the audience feel on edge and question the narrative more. The young male will pose as a stalker and kidnapper who is after the child. We felt this would create many enigmas and tension about the narrative and relationship between the two.

• Both actors are known to crew members.

Make-up • The girl will have make-up on to create a

mucky look and add realism to her running in the outdoors. This will involve either brown make-up or real mud.

• The girl may also have cuts or bruises present to show she injured herself either in the wood or allow the audience to question or the antagonist did.

Props

• To be used:• Leather gloves- add to the idea of the antagonist remaining

anonymous and in power• Rope- to show that we will be using this to tie the girl• Cloth and liquid ‘drug’- to show that we will be using this to

‘drug’ the girl• Photos- to add background information/clearer narrative• Possibly a backpack- to go with the idea the girl ahs been to

school• Possibly candle/match- to be used alongside the photos and

possibly go with the song of choice.

Setting

• Our thriller is to be set in a wood. The wood creates the atmosphere of vulnerability and isolation. This goes hand in hand with the idea of having a child and being vulnerable and becoming lost, which will create tension for the audience.

Genre

• The genre will be a psychological/mystery. The psychological due to one of the main characters appearing to be mentally unstable and the fact it creates many questions and enigmas for the audience about both actors. The mystery is present via tension/build up, the anonymous stalker, why he wants her and if she escapes.

Chosen Actors

Samantha Bacon• We chose Samantha as she has acting experience and takes regular

classes. This is really helpful for our production. She was also the most confident and spoke the clearest and loudest. We feel she also fitted the image we had in mind. We feel this as she looked young/the youngest and like the vulnerable and innocent little girl we wanted. This would link in with her being of school age and would fit/suit the costume well.

Josh Doyle• We chose to use Josh due to the fact he fits in well with the image of the

‘stalker’ we had in mind. He is a well built and tall, this will go well with the idea of him being dark, mysterious and strong. Out of the actors he auditioned we felt he looked the most appropriate to represent the ‘young male’. His voice is deep which connotes the idea of him being of an older age which adds to the eeriness and tension of him being after the girl. The emotions he showed were strong and clear and were ones that would be needed if asked. He understood his role in the opening and appeared the happiest to do it.

Location Scouting

• We chose to use a local wood. This being local makes it easy to get to and not mean we need fees to get there or travel long distances. We also felt a wood reflected the atmosphere are our thriller through the way it was isolated and a desolate place. Woods are also very vast and would therefore strengthen the idea of the girl becoming lost, panicked and in danger. Woods are also places of uncertainty and often given the impression of what is inside and that you never really know what you may find or come across.

Garage

• The start of our thriller will involve a dark room. We decided a garage would be the best place as it is dark and typically has various objects such as tools which connote danger and the idea of it being a man’s area/space and this is where our antagonist will be introduced . Most people have garage, therefore it would be easy to find one to use.

Our Company ident.

• For our company ident we decided that we wanted something simplistic but effective. Our ident consists of a black box with a spotlight inside it which will be the trade mark of our company. The text is also in a simplistic font with the ‘spotlight’ text bolded because it is the most significant part of our ident. We wanted to keep it simplistic as we found that simplistic silhouette idents are more memorable than more complicated ones.

• We also incorporated the idea of a spotlight into our design as this is media related objected that is used in the production of film and television. Hence, creating a link between us making our thriller and being a form of production company.

• We were inspired by other idents such as those from The Weinstein Company, Touchstone Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment. These are all simplistic titles were the first word is bolded or bigger than the second. They’re all accompanied by a symbol that links to their studios in some way. For example, Spyglass Entertainment shows someone holding a spyglass. All these idents are also animated in their actual films so we will animate our ident in some way.

Titles• Our film titles will be superimposed throughout our opening so that our titles are clear whilst fitting into

the theme of the film. Our title will be shown on a missing poster to further link into the theme of it being a realistic missing poster.

• We have a few title font ideas that we are planning to use in our thriller. If you go to our website https://pollev.com/goodforest171 you can vote for which title you like the most. The font on the left are examples of our titles with the font’s name to the right. They’re all in the same order as on the voting system.

• For our film title we want it to look as if the title has been written onto the screen by the stalker himself. We’ve picked out 6 fonts that fit our idea. • Other film titles that have inspired us are Se7en, Shaun of the Dead and Lost. These titles are worn out and damagedand link closely to the themes of their films.

Shot Types• The type of shots that will most commonly appear in

our thriller will be:• Close-ups: These give detail and show clear emotions

which are key for building tension.• Extreme close-ups: These again, give much more detail

and focus on a specific thing, which also builds tension and suspense.

• Over-the-shoulder: These make the audience feel there and adds to the realism. This also gives things from the characters perspective/view.

• Tracking shots: These will follow the characters and heighten the effect of the pursuit and create/add the feel of realism and suspense.

Shot Number Shot Type Reasoning1 Close-up/Medium close-up Having close-ups at the start of the scene that are not of

the character hides their identity and creates tension and questioning amongst the audience. The close-up of the match and board used allows the audience to see it in detail and have hints and foreshadowing as to the narrative.

2 Point-of-view/Close-up The close-up of the match and board used allows the audience to see it in detail and have hints and foreshadowing as to the narrative. Also, it being from their point-of-view as to the realism and makes it feel as if the audience are in their shoes.

3 Extreme close-up Having the extreme close-up of part of their face still conceals the identity of the character but also suggest that they may be the one in power due to the fact they finish the scene/blow out the candle. This leaves the audience with enigmas and wonder.

4 Blank/N/A We have left this shot blank/black to add tension and mystery straight from the start of the opening sequence. We felt this leaves the audience question what is going to happen further.

5 Long shot The long shot allows the audience to see the surroundings and establish what the setting is. In addition, this also allows them to view the other character fully, without showing the face.

6 Over-the-shoulder The over-the-shoulder adds realism, the feeling of being watched and as if they are the antagonist at that moment in time.

7 Long shot The long shot allows the audience to see the surroundings and establish what the setting is. They can also see what the girl is doing and her actions clearly and fully.

Storyboard

Sound Ideas• During our opening, to make it different from other film openings, we have decided to create a montage

sequence in which we will use voices to add help develop contextual information. For example we will use the voice of a mother ringing the police to report her child missing or a police man talking about the case at a police conference.

• We took inspiration from the 2013 video game, The Last of Us. The setting of the story takes place in a post apocalyptic world which is riddled with people who caught a virus and pretty much turned them into zombies. The story of the outbreak of the virus, who its affected and how people have responded are mentioned throughout the opening through a montage of voices. Some sound like news reports whilst others sound like public interviews. It helps to add context to the game and helps the player understand where in the story they’re being thrown into.

• We want to use this idea with our thriller opening so that people can understand what is going on, but also to create more enigmas. We also think it will make our thriller stand out from other stalker thrillers. Aside from the voice over montage, we will also be using a non-copyrighted track beneath the voices to help create more atmosphere within the sequence.

• http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-last-of-us/# - The Last of Us opening title is our main source of inspiration.

Time Line • 00:00 - Production company ident • 00:05 - Footage begins to play • 00:07 - Director • 00:10 - Editor • 00:13 - Photographer and videographer • 00:16 - Music & sound • 00:19 - Actor1 • 00:22 - Actor2 • 00:25 - Props and costume director • 00:28 - Director of locations and setting • 02:00 – TitleThe titles will be superimposed running over the video footage, we plan on having the titles within the first half of the opening so when to footage begins to get more tense and fast pace the titles will not be in the way and have the title of the movie at the end linking with images on the screen. we plan on using a missing poster to show the title as we plan on calling the movie Missing. We will go from having the missing poster in the video to it coming off the screen and superimposed.