Make-up Timelapse

This is a time lapse of the makeup used in our filming. Most importantly we used hairspray to contain the make up and make sure it didn't run down the face due to Scarlett being underwater. The makeup had dark around the eyes and a very pale face to conform to the sterile theme.

Location Scouting

My Bathroom 

This bathroom has the white, sterile feel as most of the furniture is white and the tiles add a creepy feel we are aiming to achieve. This bathroom however doesn't have the luxury of the establishing shot of the whole bathroom because it is on an 'L' shaped design. The mirror could be useful as well, to do the blood in however is smaller than Scarlett's and therefore may be harder to write longer names into. The sink however is useful for the final shot as it all matches with the bath dn the other taps, also it is large enough to fit many names in. The bath is also useful as it is black and white and has the victorian feel, adding history and therefore complying with some of the thriller conventions.

Scarlett's Bathroom

This bathroom is good as it has an intimacy element as the bath is enclosed by the walls. the shape of the bath is also interesting and could be used to our advantage as there would be more room for our actor to move around. The two sinks could be used to our advantage as they could be used effectively to integrate the credits. The long mirror, although may be hard to film could look effective with a blood smear across it. The wooden feel is nice as it suggests an older house and therefore more likely to harbour spirits. The shelves would also look effective is their contents were messed around and therefore giving the sense of intrusion.

However the image we want to create a more sterile and white, therefore the wood back setting would interrupt the idea of complete sterility and over clean. Within this vision we also imagined a more victorian or older style bath, adding to the sterile idea.

Conclusion

i think we will use my bathroom as it has more of the sterile feel to give the audience the sea that this actor has, in a way, ruined this clean bathroom. the mirror in Scarlett's bathroom, would be a better fit however, we would want to keep with the same look and miss en scene. The wooden style in Scarlett's bathroom would fit well if the location of the film was in a cabin or an old house, however to highlight the possessed nature the more modern style suits our vision.

Test Shoot

This is a compilation video of our test shots. We experimented with the bathroom shots and shots that may be more difficult to produce, such as the in bath ones , where we discovered the cameraman has to be in the bath with the actor. this also raised health and safety questions because the camera will be right over the bath and there is risk that it can fall in. The mise-en-scene is very important for the mirror shots as we discovered we needed to place a black object behind the camera as the reflection because otherwise it is hard to read the words on the mirror in condensation. With the first mirror shot, we worked out the correct angle to obtain full view of the words that would be written in blood, with the tiles in the background. In these test shots, we also played around with editing such as desaturating the colour to make it more black and white and therefore more creepy. 

Test Shoot Time - Lapse

Filming Schedule

Target Audience

This is an avatar of a section of our target audience. We mainly thought that the age would range as a younger audience as we feel these are the most common people to watch a thriller film. We think that the gender is more female oriented but we also believe that couples would typically watch it together. The persona is very organised and we believe that the person has a steady typically office job with an apartment and pets. We picture this person as having old of hobbies and likes to meet up with friends, they are confident and a happy person. Also within these hobbies they do lots of sports such as visiting the gym regularly. This person is good at balancing work and life and likes to wear more neutral colours. This person does however have an edge to them and like to be scared with an  interest in psychology and is keen to learn.

Film Titles

"Before Your Very Eyes"

These are our initial ideas for our Title. we liked the idea of using 2 words, with 'the' in front but then discover that all the adjectives we researched didn't sound right or were already a film. However after reviewing all these ideas we decided to use the idea of eyes and based the film title on the theme of eyes. We researched phrases and words that link with eyes, especially in other languages and we narrowed it down to: "Before your very eyes" and "All Eyes On You". We then took a survey of our class and they decided that "Before Your Very Eyes" was more suitable.

Props and Costume

Actor Requirements

For our film opening we do not need a highly qualified actor, or even anyone with much experience as there is very little acting to do in our opening. The main requirements are:

• An average to small height
• Long hair (preferably darker coloured - not crucial)
• Comfortable with shots needed (bath shots being depicted nude)
• Able to and comfortable with wearing contact lenses
• Someone used to water and able to hold their breath
• Do not have to be an actor

These requirements aren't set in stone and are negotiable however the closer we can stick to these, the more the vision will be depicted correctly

Shooting Schedule

Iconography - Thriller

This is a collage of some of the kinds of iconography used in thriller films. Most common are shadows as they add mystery and the feel of darkness and therefore death and bad occurrences. Also among these images are; masks, to be able to hide identities again adding mystery; small confined areas, preys on the audience's fear of being trapped and claustrophobia; blood ad it represents danger and hurt; abnormal creatures, again a sense of mystery and therefore danger and fear of the unknown; weather, worse weather and poor visibility conditions tend to render the audience uncomfortable; and finally weapons, as these display hurt, danger and a threat.

Storyboard - Images

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Actor Profile - Scarlett

Actor Profile

Name: Scarlett Denny
Age: 17 (minor)
Date of Birth:  26th October 1999
Gender: Female
Height: 5ft 9in
Hair colour:  Blonde
Eye colour: Brown / Hazel
Ethnicity: White British
Language: English
Previous acting experience: None 

Why Scarlett is suitable:

• in our media group - shares the same vision
• available at time of planned shooting
• long hair, can float in the water
• right build and shape to fit in the bath comfortably
• the darker eye colour will make the edited eyes look more effective
• happy to be filmed
• happy to sit in a bath
• was the actress in our test shoots

Parents Consent Form:

History - Thriller

Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film and television, having numerous subgenres. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety.Successful examples of thrillers are the films of Alfred Hitchcock.Thrillers may be defined by the primary mood that they elicit: suspenseful excitement. In short, if it "thrills", it is a thriller.

Origins of the Genre

We mainly recognise that the thriller started in literature and it was mainly around the Victorian period that it became very popular, the classic novels such as The Count of Monte Cristo and Heart of Darkness were recognised as the early building blocks for what the modern thriller is now based upon particularly in film.

Suspense
Suspense is a crucial characteristic of the thriller genre. It gives the viewer a feeling of pleasurable fascination and excitement mixed with apprehension, anticipation and tension. These develop from unpredictable, mysterious and rousing events during the narrative, which make the viewer or reader think about the outcome of certain actions. Suspense builds in order to make those final moments, no matter how short, the most memorable. The suspense in a story keeps the person hooked to reading or watching more until the climax is reached.

Themes and Characters

Common methods and themes in crime and action thrillers are mainly ransoms, captivities, heists, revenge, kidnappings. Common in mystery thrillers are investigations and the whodunit technique. Common elements in dramatic and psychological thrillers include plot twists, psychology, obsession and mind games. Common in horror thrillers are serial killers, stalking, deathtraps and horror-of-personality. Elements such as fringe theories, false accusations and paranoia are common in paranoid thrillers. Threats to entire countries, spies, espionage, conspiracies, assassins and electronic surveillance are common in spy thrillers.

Characters may include criminals, stalkers, assassins, innocent victims (often on the run), menaced women, psychotic individuals, spree killers, sociopaths, agents, terrorists, cops and escaped cons, private eyes, people involved in twisted relationships, world-weary men and women, psycho-fiends, and more. The themes frequently include terrorism, political conspiracy, pursuit, or romantic triangles leading to murder. Plots of thrillers involve characters which come into conflict with each other or with outside forces.

The protagonist of these films is set against a problem. No matter what subgenre a thriller film falls into, it will emphasize the danger that the protagonist faces. The protagonists are frequently ordinary citizens unaccustomed to danger, although commonly in crime and action thrillers, they may also be "hard men" accustomed to danger such as police officers and detectives.

Story and Setting
An atmosphere of menace and sudden violence, such as crime and murder, characterize thrillers. The tension usually arises when the character(s) is placed in a dangerous situation, or a trap from which escaping seems impossible. Life is threatened, usually because the principal character is unsuspectingly or unknowingly involved in a dangerous or potentially deadly situation.
Thrillers take place mostly in ordinary suburbs and cities, although sometimes they may take place wholly or partly in exotic settings such as foreign cities, deserts, polar regions, or the high seas. These usually tough, resourceful, but essentially ordinary heroes are pitted against villains determined to destroy them, their country, or the stability of the free world. Often in a thriller movie, the protagonist is faced with what seem to be insurmountable problems in his mission, carried out against a ticking clock, the stakes are high and although resourceful, they face personal dilemmas along the way forcing them to make sacrifices for others.

Research Prezi

Research Slideshare

Storyboard - Animated

This is an 'animated' version of our storyboard. In this video, we have used the same lengths of film that we plan to use in the real opining to see how our video will flow. This also includes any movement of panning from the camera.

9 Frames - Research

Silence of The Lambs

These 9 frames clearly depict the genre and style of this film. The colour palette is bright and almost abnormal, with some of the scenes depicting strange and otherworldly creatures and movements. The close ups also show that there are intimate and almost scary scenes in this film. the various locations within these frames shows frequent movement and fast pace. There are recurring images of blood and gore in these frame, highlighting the genre and style of the film. The colour palette is mainly dark colours with dim and dingy lighting. The whole 9 frames show abandonment with the set and settings and the lone characters in every shot, adding to the suspense and thrill of the film. All the frames clearly depict the genre and the eerie style of the film. The colours clearly present the genre and we could use these examples as these colours and the lighting suggest, on their own, the horror/thriller genre. the loneliness also could be used to our advantages as it seems we are using an unsuspecting woman in a very vulnerable sate and therefore our film and storyboard should reflect this vulnerability and therefore prey on the audiences naive emotions and sympathy for the main character.

Se7en

These 9 frames present the thriller genre perfectly also, as the colour palette is also dark but more mysterious with more black and green undertones. The lighting, being single spotlights and dim, hard to see lighting. This lighting combined with the colour palette causes the audience to find it hard and uncomfortable to see. These 9 frames only show the opening, even so the genre and type of film is obvious through these 9 images. The creepy, eerie and random images cause the audience to be confused and want to know more, the black and white undertones also imply darkness and therefore death and destruction causing our audience to feel uncomfortable which allows the target audience to feel the emotions that the film is intentionally making them feel. The close ups also suggest mystery in that the rest of the shot and the person doing everything in the shot is not seen and therefore the audience is pulled in. The miss en scene proves a dirty and rugged feel also implying that it is either not legal or not normal. We can draw from these frames that the low lighting and the colour palette of darker shades with a monotone undertone allows the audience to make assumptions about the style of the film before it is fully introduced, allowing our target audience to be intrigued and the message to be delivered.

Inception

The 9 frames in this film are slightly different as they have more of a range of colour palettes, due to varying locations, and this suggests a fast paced film with the weather depicting the colours mainly for each picture. the extreme temperatures and changes between the frames also suggests fast pace and mystery. the props such as the gun and th out of place train in the road suggests that props are key when making a horror/thriller film and the miss en scene has to be right to convey the suspense and the mood. the styles of shot such as the slanted shot and the through the bars shot and the double image also suggests variation with not only the location but the style of film and therefore the genre of the film. Most of these shots included scenery but the ones that do contain characters are almost all lone characters in shot, showing the use of vulnerability of the characters and therefore using the audiences emotions against them. I think we can maximise the use of the props and make sure the miss en scene is perfect to keep with consistency and continuity.

Music and Sound Effects

Sound Effects For Opening

This is a compilation of many types and styles of sound effects we wish to use in our opening sequence. We gathered and edited these sounds together through research of typical sounds used in horror films. We also wish to exploit the natural diegetic sound heard in the bathroom and enhance this, using the normalcy of the sound to manipulate the audience's emotions.