Acccount of Shoot Day

To plan for our shoot for the thriller as a group we got together props, comprising if certain props were unavailable and set up our set. The set was built out of wooden boards for the walls and wooden floorboards for the flooring which was then partially covered by mock brick tiles to make the impression of a small, dingy flat in a rough part of town. However, this was different from our original plan which was to have dirty white walls and no windows but it overall turned out that it looked better than our original plan and created more interesting opportunities for shots. This did mean that we strayed away from our original storyboard which was to our benefit as in most cases it simplified the ideas and made the thriller storyline flow better. This overall created a better effect and made the shots seem more like a thriller as it created more suspense and showed more action.

The location was set in the studio, where the mock flat had been set up as it would be more practical than finding an actual flat that would be big enough to film in and have the right look to it. Also this gave us the opportunity to design our set how we wanted so we could make the set look like that of a thriller. To furnish the set we brought in two tables, a lamp, mattress and a light bulb which looked like it was hanging from the ceiling. This would attract our target audience of 16-25 years as having a creepy and so far unexplained setting would make them curious to see what the story is. We chose a few shots which highlighted the setting so that audience could clearly tell that this film would be a thriller. These included panning across a wall that we had covered in photos of people which were taken in their blind spot so they weren’t looking at the camera. This represented the genre as well as narrative because is gave the film a stalker effect. We also chose to use close-ups often as it would create an almost claustrophobic feel to the film. However the close ups were very mostly of the character Jenna, to establish that she is the lead character of the film.

In terms of props we had a mattress, old cups, a bowl with some tea in to look like soup and some newspapers scattered on the floor. We decided to use all of these to give the impression of a grotty, lived-in flat whose owner did not care much for hygiene. This would all relate back to the thriller genre as this setting is quite common in the genre. Other props included handguns, torches and a shot gun. We decided to use these for the officers to hold to make it look realistic and as guns are almost synonymous to the thriller genre. The photos on the wall were another set of props, which we took and developed ourselves to make it look like the person who lives here was obssesive over them and it provides the mystery for our thriller. Costumes were black jumpsuits and worker boots for the officers and for the character of Jenna we chose a smart shirt, skirt, a grey blazer and heels. We wanted to make her seem feminine to juxtapose her more masculine personality traits. However we chose the colours grey, blue and black for her to look official and restrained.

We chose our cast to match this. Specifically Karis, who plays Jenna had the right image for the lead character, pretty on the outside but still could be seen as intimidating. The officers, Richard, Jack, Will, Rollo, and Niall were casted to look tough and intimidating, of which Richard was casted as the supporting role specificly because he looked the part the most of an officer who lives for his work but it not as harsh as he looks. However, we did doubt how the audience would portray their age and we decided to save these decisions until we started editing our thiller sequence.

For lighting we kept it to a minimum for the main lights as we wanted to create the atmosphere of a dark, dingy home for the flat. Also it suggests that something isn’t quite right in the flat. We then added the pink light coming from the window to give the impression of the flat being situated in a back alley, perhaps with a dodgy club opposite. This would further the idea of the flat being situated in a bad area.