Preliminary Task

Preliminary Task

This is our preliminary task!

Rough Storyboards 2

Rough Storyboards 2

I have produced a rough copy of the final storyboards so that I can rearrange the shots and frames if necessary when I produce the final storyboard that I will use on set.

Roger The Dog

This Is Roger

I wasn't sure whether to put Roger on the props or character list so I have just given him his own post.

He will be starring as the role of 'Dodgy Rog' 
He is a 2 and a half year old rescue Labrador Mastiff cross.
He is very playful with quite a docile temperament so I am hoping that with the right camera angles, editing and music that I can make him seem at least a bit intimidating.

A bit of a poser...

Could be scary....

...maybe not

Props List

Here Is My Props List

I have made sure to use all props that I already own as to reduce the overall budget of my film. The only exception being fake blood which I will order from amazon.

Axe

Canvas Tarpaulin

Shovel

Rubber Barbed Wire

Dog Muzzle 

 Fake Hand Gun

Fake Blood

Landrover 1965 Short wheel base Series 2a

Location

The Location Of My Thriller Opening

For the location of my thriller opening, I am using a country park near me called Trent Park. It has a large area of pine forest in it which is near a road so it is a perfect location to film at the large trees cause a low-lit and eerie setting.

Rough Storyboards

Rough Storyboards

These are only some very initial storyboards to establish the order of shots and also camera angles, I will be developing a more finalised storyboard to work from when filming.

Final Idea

Ok... This is actually the final idea, I promise!

After reevaluating all my ideas and the thriller opening I had come up with, I decided that it didn't really make any sense at all, even if it was just an opening.

I have decided that it seems silly not to take advantage of all the useful props/animals that I have access to. For example, I have a wartime landcover which will be used as the vehicle of the antagonist. I also have a reel of very realistic looking barbed wire which can be put to good use in a thriller opening. I will also be using my dog (called Roger) as the antagonists hunting hound. In my eyes, he is very cute, but silhouetted in a dark forest, I can understand why he would look very menacing. 

My Thriller opening starts a shot looking up through the trees of a pine forest in the early hours of the evening, that tilts down to reveal a girl in the forest who has clearly been running and ended up here. She is very on edge and almost trying to listen for something (we don't know what). We then see a clean point of view shot looking out over the calm and empty country road that runs along the edge of the forest. This will forbode what is going to happen. The camera will then cut back to the girl who is getting more and more panicked as time ticks away. We then hear the noise of a car approaching the forest, sending the girl into a crazed panic, causing her to break into a frantic run, stumbling over tree roots. I will include shots of her feet running and also film from the car to get shots running alongside her. 

I then cut to the the road where we see the landcover come over the horizon, with the headlights dazzling the camera. I will then be cutting between shots of the two scenes as the protagonist and antagonist have now been introduced.

We see intimidating shots of Roger the dog with a muzzle on. A hand takes off the muzzle as if to unleash danger.The girl is now hiding behind a tree and we see the man taking an axe out from under tarpaulin in the back of the car, under which is also a shovel, making the viewer wonder what he is saving it for.

As he kicks the door shut, the girl hears this, turns and runs. The running shots cut back and forth to a shot of Roger sniffing along the grounding the man coming over the horizon with the axe. 

As she reaches a fence, a shot of her hand grabbing the fence match cuts to a shot of the man's hand on the axe. She climbs over the fence. 

Youtube Videos That I Have Watched For Inspiration

Youtube Videos That I Have Watched For Inspiration 

During the process of planning my two minute thriller opening, I watch various videos on youtube for reference and inspiration. I wanted to see examples from real movies that had been particularly effective based on how I reacted to them.

Top 10 Powerful movie scenes with minimal dialogue 

Top 10 heart stopping movie moments

Top 10 horror movie opening scenes

Top 10 opening shots of all time

Idea 2 Overview

Idea 2

This idea is inspired by the film 'It Follows', as it is a totally unique thriller movie, gripping the audience from the first second.

I am doing it slightly differently as I am going to have my very first shot as an extreme close up that slowly zooms out. This is going to be a close up of my protagonist's eye, which slowly zooms out to a shot of her sitting on the edge of a sofa/bed looking terrified. The very next shot will be from outside of her running out of the house into the street as if she is being chased. As she gets to the road she will stop and walk slowly backward as if the person behind the camera is what is chasing her, but the viewer still does not know what is following her. At the point she starts running again, the music will pick up and she will run to the car that is in her driveway and open the door. We see a close up of her rummaging in the glove compartment and pulling out a gun and running into the house, slamming the door behind her.

In the next shot, we will see her sitting on the floor of the bathroom with her back against the door crying. This shot will slowly zoom into her face then suddenly cut to a shot of her face underwater in the bath.

Idea 2

Actually, scrap that...... take 2

After reading over my initial idea a few more times, I have decided that it is a little too.... cliché? I kind of wanted to work a bit more outside the box and create something that did not only encapsulate all of the thriller conventions but also have eyebrow- raising moments.

I have spent some more time watching horror film openings such as The Shining, Get Out and It Follows, which really intrigued me. I loved the opening scene to It Follows because it builds this amazing tension created by the viewer not knowing who is following this terrified girl down a street in broad daylight that no one else can see. The fact that she is wearing very high heels is also a contributing factor as it gives her instability and weakness. It is fairly low-lit and there is not much colour. The slow and smooth motion pan across the street contradicts the girl's frantic domina. As the girl reaches the middle of the road and the camera becomes in line with her, the pan ends and slowly starts moving towards her, taking the role of whatever is following her. This is a point of view shot, however, the tension is created by the fact that we do not know whose point of view it is. She starts to walk backward away from the camera, unstable on her heels and looking terrified. A lady putting bags into her car asks if she is okay and needs help, which she responds to with quick one word answers. Her dad also asks what she is doing as what she is doing would appear very strange to any spectator.

I would like to base my thriller opening on this as it is unique and original. I did not want to go for anything too cliché, however, I must make sure that I still include the generic thriller codes and conventions.

Personally, I think that one of the best ways to open a thriller movie is to start at a very small point, instantly causing the viewer to ask questions and start to feel tense. For example, starting the movie at the point of a needle in an operating theatre is tense, yet throws you straight into the story. 

I would like to start at a small point such as an eye or weapon. 

I am going to use my friend Holly as the main character. This means that I will also explore stereotypes, such as a woman being helpless and vulnerable.