Preliminary Task

Storyboard - Page 4b

Storyboard - Page 4a

Storyboard - Page 3

Storyboard - Page 2

Storyboard - Page 1

Images used for Storyboard

Plot Outline

Style:

• No diegetic sound (soundtrack?)
  
• Short scenes – jump cuts – dream sequence (haunting memories)
  
• Style – Flashbacks (slow motion in parts)
  

First Part:

• Car stops in front of camera (low angle)
  
• Passenger (Jake) gets out of car (camera moves up [1 take] from previous)
  
• Girl (Jenny) running through forest (low angle of feet, close up of looking over shoulder [profile])
  
• Passenger looks over at driver's side of the car (same angle as previous similar shots)
  
• Driver (Chris) exits the car in a rush and runs past the camera (low angle looking up)
  
• Jenny running through woods (tracking shot?) and stopping in front of the camera.
  
• Close up of Jenny as she looks around
  
• Camera switches to POV and continues to look around
  
• Jake and Chris entering woods, weapons drawn – cautious stance (tracking, low angle)
  
• Jenny held by [unknown male 1] and struggling
  
• Camera pans to the right to show [unknown male 2] walking forwards with and raising gun
  
• Close up of UM2's face (?)
  
• Jake is shot, (Chris is foregrounded in frame)
  
• Slow motion, Chris (face in profile) looks over in Jake's direction and then back forward
  
• Close up of Jenny screaming
  
• Mid shot of UM2, moves gun in direction of Chris
  
• Close up of Chris
  
• Flash of light/fade out to white
  

Second Part:

• Chris wakes up (suddenly) (high angle looking down)
  
• Looks and stretches to the other side of the bed but there's no one there. (camera pan)
  
• Looks up at ceiling
  
• Sits up in bed (Camera looks directly at him)
  
• Gets up and walks out of shot
  
• Camera pans in opposite direction to a bedside table, and shows a police badge, a gun and a photograph of Chris and Jenny on which the camera stops before fading out to white and displaying the title.
  

Or, alternatively:

• Chris wakes up (suddenly) (high angle looking down)
  
• Looks and stretches to the other side of the bed where Jenny is sleeping. (camera pan)
  
• Sits up in bed (Camera looks directly at him)
  
• Gets up and walks out of shot
  
• Camera pans in opposite direction to a bedside table, and shows a police badge, a gun and a photograph of Chris, Jenny, and Jake on which the camera stops before fading out to white and displaying the title.
  

Location of my Thriller Opening

This is the Location of my Thriller Opening for AS Media Studies. It is a privately owned piece of land that includes a small woodland that I will utilise. In the woodland are a disused, covered up caravan, combine harvester, and truck that the owner has placed there. I think that these help to set the scene as it is unusual and slightly scary.
I found it slightly easier to write the plot of my opening after I had seen the location rather than writing an idea and then finding a suitable place to film it which it what I usually do.

The following images are photos from inside the woods the first time I visited the location.

They show the machines in the woods and also the space in between the trees where I will be able to film the main action of the opening. There is also pieces of metal scattered around this area which adds to the overall atmosphere of the location.

Analysis of Thriller Film Openings (up to 2 mins 50 secs)

Valkyrie (Singer, 2008)

How do the following elements create mood/atmosphere?

Camera-work:

Reveal – from a red background (danger) to showing the Nazi flag, which is an internationally recognised symbol and everyone knows what it represents
Vertical Track shows Cruise's uniform which shows the audience that he is a German officer
Close up of Cruise, his face is half-lit, the lamp casting a shadow on half of his face suggesting that he is a mysterious character and is perhaps hiding his true feelings
Close up as he closes his diary in order to keep it private – suggests that his views are not those that would be excepted by his peers
Close up of Hitler's portrait on a leaflet – film based on events that focus on Hitler

Sound:

German soldiers speaking an oath to Adolf Hitler – Audience know that this film is based at the time of the Second World War
Actual recordings of the oath - realism
Wind can be heard in North Africa – cold, hostile environment
Tom Cruise's monologue first in German, then gradually into English
The scratching of the pen on the paper – selected – emphasising the importance of Stauffenberg's views in the context of the film
His monologue outlines the plot of the film, “A change must be made” (regarding Hitler)

Mise-en-Scene:

The fact that it states that the film is based on a true story creates a sense of realism for the audience
The words of the oath chosen suggest that the plot is based around the loyalty of the soldiers to Germany and to Hitler
Red flag as background – shown to be the Nazi flag – a symbol for what the film focuses on
Desert colours – light browns, golden browns – emphasise that the location is a desert in North Africa

Editing & Lighting:

Low-key lighting – only source of light supposed to be the lamp
Low-key lighting (& choice of colours) similar to sepia tone – past events

How are the characters introduced?

Tom Cruise (Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg) is the main character and is introduced through a slow track in into a tent in North Africa during WW2, while he is writing his diary

How are the credits integrated?

Words are first in German – symbolising the location and focus of the film – before they are translated into English so that the target audience can understand
Speech (Cruise's monologue) is in German and is subtitled in English, until it is slowly changed by Cruise into English

Analysis of Thriller Film Openings (first 2 mins)

Layer Cake (Vaughn, 2004)

How do the following elements create mood/atmosphere?

Camera-work:

Reverse Tracking act as a slow reveal

Tracking movement as one scene moves to another

Tracking in every scene – progressing like a timeline (Craig's monologue – background info)

Close up of Daniel Craig in shop – introduction of main character

Tracking shot of Craig walking down a street - realism

Sound:

Monologue from main character – Daniel Craig – his personal story, speaks directly to the audience

The monologue talks about the events happening on screen – gives audience information – a backstory

Swearing and orders from criminals in first scene – dramatic

Music – in the background, repetitive tones, woman's voice, quiet – layers of song building up in sequence, building up tension

Mise-en-Scene:

All drug products under one name - “one day all this drug monkey business will be legal” - sense of realism – using FCUK as company – real company

Products change from drugs to ordinary everyday items found in chemists – shows audience realism and a link between real life and what Craig is talking about

Craig dressed in smart/casual clothes

Editing & Lighting:

Slow motion – in keeping with the slow reveal

Colours very unsaturated – appearing as almost black and white, links with the monologue talking about the past

Cold colours – crime (robbery, prison) all prisoners wearing same cold colours (blue tints)

Warm colours - “summer of love” (golden tints) eras and places clearly defined

Fade into each scene – using the camera tracking horizontally – sense of time passing

Chemists – Bright white, over-exposed – cleanliness, clinical

How are the characters introduced?

Daniel Craig – monologue, directly speaking with audience

Introduced to the audience personally in the shop

How are the credits integrated?

N/A