Shooting Schedule

We created a shooting schedule in order to know what days we will be filming and when we will need certain people,props, outfits and settings. It helps us to be organised so we can get the most out of filming and do it the way we want and need.

Storyboard for Opening Sequence

We had to create a storyboard on Celtx to show the scenes we are going to use in our opening and our camera shots that we are going to incorporate. This storyboard shows exactly how we are going to produce our opening. It shows that we are going to start off with a black screen which will then show the title of the film 'Christian Carter' because it is the protagonists name and is a film about his life, so it seems relevant, it then shows that we are going to have an establishing shot of a field and slowly zoom in on the figure that is in that field where all gets revealed: That it is a teen male holding a dead female body in his arms, this creates enigma also due to us not knowing anything about what is happening and wanting to know why she is dead and why he is carrying her through a field. We have a series of close ups on the female body then to show that she is in fact dead and she is a female. After this, there is a close up on the boys face to show his emotion and then the medium shot after this shows the environment of which is a bedroom and we see that he has just awoken, the voice over helps to anchor what was happening in the field. There is then a P.O.V shot of a picture frame which connotes that it has some sort of importance and then zooms into it revealing what the picture is of, and it is the boy and the dead girl which connotes that they had a relationship, it then fades out to show the same girl on a missing poster, the dream at the beginning anchors that she is dead and shows us that the characters in the film (apart from the boy) think that she is missing but only the audience and the boy know the truth, the audience feel as though they have been let in on a secret. There is another long shot showing the boy walking down the street, creating enigma, where is he going? The medium shot connotes that the voice over is coming from the boy and the voice over then answers our question as to where he is going and the flash back anchors all of what the voice over is saying. We are in a medium shot until he gets to a door and then we get another long shot to reveal all 3 people in a frame and also the dead girl... which will also be shown via an over the shoulder shot, it will then fade out to black to end the opening sequence.

This storyboard is going to help with our filming and will be a major guideline with filming and will help us know what shots are going to happen and where, it will help us to produce a good opening we have imagined and thought of. 

*At the very very start of the opening we will have the institution that is going to help with production etc with our film, like, Fox, Disney etc*

Character Portfolios

This is the protagonist Christian's portfolio of which says everything about him as a character.

This is the protagonists girlfriend Alice's portfolio of which says everything about them as a character.

This is the therapists portfolio which says everything about them as a character, there isn't much to say about the character because they are only there for Christian to talk to, they are not a major character.

This is Christians brother Matthew's portfolio of which says everything about him as a character, there isn't much to say about Matthew due to him not being a major character and only being used as a little backstory as to why Christian goes to therapy etc. 

Script for Opening

Final Idea

As a group we bought our individual ideas together and came up with an overall idea for a Psychological Thriller opening. We came up with the idea of a teen boy called Christian (the protagonist) kills his girlfriend Alice so the opening opens up with a black screen and non-diegetic gunshot and female scream, then we are introduced to Christian walking through a field carrying a dead body (Alice) he then jolts awake in bed and then looks at the picture frame next to his bed which has a picture of him and Alice connoting their relationship (girlfriend,boyfriend) they look happy but Alice's eyes are crossed out connoting that there is some sort of anger coming from Christian towards Alice but we do not know why, we find out later on. We are then shown a 'Missing' poster with Alice on it connoting that no one knows that she is dead. Christian is walking down a street to his therapists office (we find out from a voice over and flash back of him when he was much younger walking through a room, opening a door and seeing his brother dead on the floor, this is why he is seeking therapy) When he gets to his therapists office, we are shown and introduced to the therapist and also see Alice as a ghost, the screen then fades to black.

There is no real equilibrium because the psychological thriller starts in a bad way where there is only just disruption and ends bad because it results in the protagonist killing himself, there is no real happiness or equilibrium because there is nothing to really disrupt at the start and nothing is restored at the end. This table above, helps to put the stages into context and how things are going to work, for example, Christian and the therapist are going to recognise that something bad has happened (the disruption) It also shows what roles the characters are, for example, the helper/donor is the therapist. It also shows how the characters are going to be represented in the film and opening.

This codes and conventions table shows how enigma is going to be created, how the plot is going to be set up, how the characters are going to be introduced and what the pace, rhythm, mood and tone are going to be like in the opening. It helps us to see if we are actually going to be creating enigma, introducing our characters and setting up the plot.

Preliminary Task

We had to do a preliminary task in order to give us a chance to use the cameras and get used to them, in order for our filming to be good when it comes to the real thing. We were given the scenario of a girl walking through the door and walking across the room and then two characters having a conversation, we had to include a shot-reverse shot and had to make sure we acknowledged the 180 degree rule.

We included elements and shots like: close ups; we used a close up on the door handle to add emphasis to the fact that someone was entering a room, zoom ins and outs; the zoom in at the start helps to show that the girl is doing work and that she isn't in the room for no reason at all and sets up the plot and conversation, also the zoom out at the beginning shows the character actually walking through the door and helps us to see her journey from then on into the room, the shot reverse-shot helps to show that these characters are looking and listening to one another and in a way we get to see the other character from the other characters perspective, a pan was used when the characters were talking, making us able to see that these two characters are talking to each other and we get to see them both together and where they are, this also allows for a two shot when the characters were sitting across from one another at the table which once again shows that these characters know each other and are having a conversation which also shows that no one else is involved in this conversation, only these 2 characters.

I feel after doing this task, I am much more confident with the camera and how to produce certain shots etc. 

Brainstorm of First Idea For a Psychological Thriller and Opening

It was important that as a group we both came up with an individual idea, this meaning that our opening is the most effective and best it can be. If only one of us came up with an idea, it wouldn't be that great and would be quite bland, so we both came up with individual ideas and then next time in class we will bring the ideas together and come up with one big idea.

Most of my ideas have helped been produced via the research we collected earlier on, this means that it will be much more effective and will be what our target audience expect. I involved certain elements like an out cast teen because that is what is common in this genre and one of the stock characters our target audience expect. To show that he isn't 'normal' and has some mental issues, I have incorporated a therapist (another stock character expected to see) Fields wasn't something our target audience fully expected, but I feel it could give a twist and would fit very well in where the plot is heading and would be something very different. 
Here is my idea for a possible psychological thriller and opening...