Cast List

Tugba Tunc as Amanda Clarke

Elise Ruddock as Elise Smith

Costume & Props

Costume:

Elise Smith - Black skirt, leopard print top, boots, coat, scarf

Amanda Clarke - Light pink night gown



Elise's costume:

Amanda/Tugba's costume:

Props:

Make-up brush
Other make-up products
Mascara
Mobile Phone
Knife

Roles For Each Member of Group

Throughout the filming process, we will take turns to do the camera work and shooting and most of the other roles, like director to decide on how to do every scene. However, we each will also have individual roles. 

I will be the main director and music/sound, dealing with any copyright issues with any of the songs we intend to use, e.g. Walking On Sunshine and Ring a Ring a Roses, to avoid any copyright infringement.

Burcu will be the main camera woman controlling the camera work, however we will all take turns at this too. She will also be in charge of the setting, i.e. where to film.

Naziah will be in charge of the lighting and costume. As we are shooting outside, she will be in charge making sure the lighting is correct and making sure the light is brighter on the main character to make them stand out etc. She will also provide the costumes, e.g. the white dress Amanda will wear.

Focus Group

Me and my group decided to ask a focus group, consisting of people from our target audience (aged 16 and over), questions to help us improve and make our thriller opening and to also make it more effective and make sure it's the best it can be. This also helped us gain more insight about what people like to see in thrillers and what makes a thriller etc. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=db8-BSi_VPc

Script

Writing the Treatment and Opening Scene

When writing the Treatment and Opening, we took into account many things to help us write it and included many effective things. 

We used the Todorov Narrative Theory which suggested that there are 5 stages to a narrative:

1. Equilibrium – A happy start
2. A disruption of this equilibrium by an event – A problem occurs
3. A realisation that a disruption has happened
4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption – the problem is solved
5. A restoration of the equilibrium – A happy ending

We also used the Blake Snyder Beat sheet which gave a list of events/things that are found in a film.

1. Opening Image-mirror of final image, protagonist at the start, hint of upcoming events
2. Theme Stated-what is the theme of your piece
3. Set-Up-introduction of protagonist, build up of film, introduction of other characters
4. Catalyst-what will force protagonist into action
5. Debate-protagonist will doubt whether they should take action
6. Break into act two-your protagonist must walk willingly into act 2
7. B Story- often love story, new character emerges to help protagonist
8. Fun and Games-where the protagonist has fun on their journey
9. Midpoint-mid point of film, something significant happens 
10. Bad Guys Close In-these can be physical, like in a thriller or action movie or they can be metaphorical 
11. All Is Lost-your protagonist loses everything 
12. Dark Night of the Soul-your protagonist has a major moment of doubt but must emerge brighter and stronger 
13. Break into Three- problem to the protagonist's problem has been found. your protagonist is bigger and stronger and has won the fight against the bad guys.
14. Finale-your character defeats the bad guy
15. Final Image-opposite of opening image

Using both of these and help from different thrillers we have watched we wrote our treatment and opening sequence.

Treatment

For our main task, we decided to do our third idea with a young disturbed girl murdering another girl. We decided on this one as we thought it was the most creative and developed idea. It would also make use of a variety of different camera angles, shots and movements but at the same time wouldn't be too hard to shoot. It would also be different as it is a psychological thriller, inspired by other successful psychological thrillers, e.g. Psycho and Black Swan.

The main plot is based around Amanda, who is a 15 year old girl and is the "villain," and Adam Morgan/Detective Morgan, who is the main protagonist.
Amanda is a mentally disturbed girl who kills women who resemble her mother. This is due to an abusive childhood where her mother would physically and mentally abuse her and one day shoots her father. This deeply scars Amanda leading her to become mentally unstable. Her mother gets imprisoned which means she is taken away and forced to live in an orphanage.
In the orphanage, she is bullied and ignored by all of the other children due to her being quite strange and unsocial. She'd ask the other children to play with her, looking for the love and affection her mother failed to give her, and they'd always refuse. She would stay in her room singing 'Ring a ring a roses' (her favourite rhyme) and playing with her toys. This negatively effects her already unstable mental health and she eventually runs away from the orphanage at the age of 13, looking for someone to play with. When they refuse or scream, it makes her angry and reminds her of her mother so she proceeds to kill them. She remains homeless and lives in alleyways and deserted/remote areas around London, still looking for people to play with and still murdering people.

The opening scene will introduce her and what the film is about. It will start off with a girl, Elise Smith (played by Elise Ruddock), who is in her bedroom getting ready and singing and dancing to Walking On Sunshine. Elise eventually leaves her house and is walking to meet her friend. As she leaves her house, she sees Amanda singing ring a ring a roses. Amanda asks her to play with her. When Elise refuses, Amanda stabs Elise to death. 

The scene then cuts to a police station where the detective is investigating the death of several different women/girls, including Elise. All of them were stabbed to death. 
Adam/Detective and his co-workers, all assigned to this case, proceed to discuss the murders, trying to figure out who it is and look for clues and similarities. They conclude that it must be the same person doing all these murders. 

Adam Morgan is a man who likes his job has a happy family with 2 children, a boy and a girl, and lives a happy life. He's also good at his job. Adam's family is introduced and referred back to throughout the film. After yet another death of a woman the detective is forced to take action and must find the murderer before it’s too late and there's another death. 
Throughout the film, the love between Adam and his wife is shown portraying a happy, content family. 
Halfway through the film, the pieces are finally fitting together and he finally figures out who the person is. Just as he figures it out, he heads home and as he gets out of his car after parking, he hears a scream from the side of the house. He recognizes it as his wife and instantly panics and runs to the sound of the scream. When he gets there, he finds his wife dead and Amanda smiling him while slowly backing away. As Adam starts running towards her she runs away. He tries to catch her but can't, so he returns to his wife.  
At this point Adam feels like he's lost it all and has hit rock bottom. With the fury of his wife's death, he goes off to find Amanda to get his revenge and kill her. When he finally finds her, they get into a sort of hide and seek game where Amanda's hiding and he's trying to find her and she thinks he’s playing with her. This means, in a way, she does find someone to play with. 
When he finally finds her, he grabs her and she struggles against him. As Adam reaches for his gun, she starts screaming ‘let go of me mum’ which discourages him from killing her. He finds that he can't kill her as he realizes all the murdering is due to psychological issues and they run deeper than he originally thought. Amanda also reminds him of his own daughter. 
Adam decides to takes her to a mental institution so that she can get the help she needs. 

The doctor at the mental institution explains Amanda's psychological problems to Adam and why she murdered all those women. This helps Adam realize he had done the right thing by not killing her. The last scene is of Adam and his kids happily at home 6 months later when Adam receives a phone call from the doctor telling him she’s escaped. At that moment, the doorbell rings signifying that Amanda has come for him and the film ends.

Final Storyboard

Main Task Ideas

Our main task is to create an opening sequence of a thriller movie. The scene has to be a maximum of 2 minutes. After watching and analysing a number of opening scenes of many different thrillers, we found that all of the openings start with a death and then, maybe, the introduction of the protagonist or 'hero.' 

These are our 4 main ideas for our main task.

1) The first idea will be based on the story of a girl. It would start off with the girl in her house and while she walks around her house, the audience will be able to see a silhouette outside in the garden through the window, however, her back will be to the window so she doesn't see it. She eventually feels someone watching her, so turns around but sees nothing there. Her phone then starts to ring, which creates suspense and tension which is a key element in thrillers. At first, when she picks up the phone, no one talks but then it turns out to be her friend wondering where she is as she was supposed to meet up with her. She replies saying she'll be there soon. After putting on her coat on and leaving she walks down an alley way near her house as a shortcut. While she is walking, she hears sounds of footsteps behind her as if someone's following her but sees nothing when she turns around. She starts walking faster which builds tension and when she comes to a corner a man dressed in black appears with a knife, the girl screams and then the screen goes black. We can then elongate that and carry on with a police entering the office where his co-worker explains how there's been a serial killer on the loose and how three females have been killed and it is guessed to be by the same man. A picture of the girl who was killed is on the wall along with 2 other girls. We would then cut the scene.

2)The second idea we had starts with a two shot of a girl pointing a gun at a man. The man is shouting and asking for forgiveness and saying how they can discuss it but she replies with "there's nothing to discuss."  She then pulls the trigger and the screen goes black while you hear a gun shot. The screen then cuts straight into the next scene of the same girl getting ready. Text appears on the screen saying '1 month ago.' The girl is shown getting dressed with contrapuntal, happy non-diegetic music playing. This would create confusion for the audience and make them want to keep watching to find out what happens. She's in a party dress which suggests that she's going out. This will help the audience compare her two different situations as in scene one she would be dressed in jeans and hoodie which shows how much has changed in the last month. The door bell would ring and the man who is at the door is the man she killed which would get the audience thinking and get them confused. They would then hug and they would have dinner together either at the house or at a restaurant. We could end it there or carry it on to the point were they've had dinner and he proposes to her which would get the audiences attention as she kills the man she seems to be in love with a month later. This would also engage the audience and make them wonder what this man must of done to deserve death from his lover.

3) The next idea is similar to the first but more interesting and more developed. This idea starts with a black screen but very loud, non-diegetic music. The happy music is ironic and contrapuntal as in only a few minutes she will be killed. As the camera moves up you get the images of the room with a girl getting ready. As you get full image of the girl, the music turns into diegetic sound and the loud music turns into music from her headphones. Throughout this scene, there would be names of the producers, director etc fading in and out. While the girl is getting ready, her phone rings and the music cuts abruptly. This signifies the change in the atmosphere and also creates tension. The phone call turns out to be her friend who asks her where she is. She replies and says she's leaving soon. She then carries on getting ready and leaves the house to meet her friend. She walks down a dark alley way/footpath as a shortcut but then hears foot steps behind her. She looks back but sees no one, but as she turns around to keep walking, she hears footsteps again. We would use a point of view shot for this scene as this would make it more effective and portray her emotions. She then turns around again and sees nothing but then loses her balance and falls. When she lifts her head up, as she is getting up off the floor, she sees a girl standing a few meters away from her dressed in a dirty white dress holding a baby toy. The little girl starts to walk toward the girl on the floor and starts singing ring a ring a roses. Throughout this scene there is just diegetic music of the wind, the girl singing and the girl on the floor moving backwards while still on the floor and saying things like, who are you etc. The little girl will ask her if she wants to play with her, to which the girl doesn't reply as she is too frightened and is thinking of how to get away. The little girl then gets angry and we will use another point of view shot to show the girl pulling out the knife and when she screams and closes her eyes the screen will turn black.

4. The last idea that we had starts with a girl walking into a shower with her clothes on. No sound will be used aside from the diegetic sounds in the scene to create a serious, eerie atmosphere. She sits down in the bathtub, hugging her knees and turns the water on and starts to cry. This will get the audience confused and interested about what's happening. Then she closes her eyes and we see a flashback. The flashback will be short and not very clear so it won't give away the whole story yet. It will be of someone dead on the floor but wouldn't show the murderer to give a sense of mystery. Then, the flashback will end and she opens her eyes. She then starts screaming and crying. This makes the audience wonder whether shes the murderer and regrets it or whether she witnessed it and whether it was someone she loves. The scene would end with her tucking her head into her knees.

Shutter Island - Opening Scene Analysis

Shutter Island is a psychological thriller directed my Martin Scorsese. It was released in 2010, however the film is set in 1954. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio as the main protagonist who plays Edward "Teddy" Daniels, a US Marshal travelling to a remote island to Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane, investigating the disappearance of a patient.

Before the film actually starts, slow, non-diegetic music immediately sets the atmosphere for the film and clearly shows that it is a thriller. The sound echoes and plays throughout the opening scene which makes the audience feel disoriented as it isn't necessarily pleasant and is quite eerie. This could reflect Teddy (the main character)'s inner turmoil inside his head which is explained and portrayed throughout the film and is a central motif in the film. 

The film starts off with a sailing ship emerging from a large cloud of fog. Everything seems quite unclear and mysterious which causes the audience to become confused as to what is going on.  The ship, as it's emerging, seems quite daunting especially since there seems to be no one else around and the fog hides everything in the background behind the ship. This use of the fog is very effective as it creates a cold and creepy atmosphere and sets the theme for the rest of the film. So the fog, as well as the non-diegetic sound effects and large, daunting ship, are all effective conventions of thrillers and also clearly indicate that this is a thriller.

The scene then cuts to Teddy vomiting in a very small, dark bathroom with props like chains clanging beside it. This, again, is quite disorienting and confusing and also has negative connotations, bringing on a feeling of dread for the audience, which I think is a really good element to have in a thriller opening. You then see Teddy's mirror reflection with him telling himself to "pull it together". The lighting is even darker and Teddy's real self is seen as just a silhouette which makes him seem scary/mysterious. He then looks outside and continues to convince himself to calm down and not be frightened of the water. His desperation is shown through him clutching himself, heaving, vomiting and splashing his face with water continuously. This all creates sympathy for him and makes the audience empathise with him from the start which I think is important for an opening scene and for the rest of the film as it makes him relatable and shows that he is the "victim".

The scene cuts to a room with many handcuffs on chains dangling from the ceiling which again create a dark, foreboding atmosphere. The camera focuses and unsteadily zooms and pans Teddy's movements as he stumbles into this room. This creates a dizzy, unstable effect and portrays Teddy's emotions and feelings due to not only his sea-sickness, but also his mental health, which is very effective. 

This opening scene uses props, camera shots, dark, foreboding lighting, a suffocating setting and daunting sound effects to portray generic conventions of thrillers and make the opening scene set the theme for the rest of the thriller, which in this case is complex and perplexing. Shutter Island has been related to different films in the film noir genre and Alfred Hitchcock's work too. It is also a psychological thriller which is what I would like the genre of my media product to be as it is, in my opinion, a more interesting and effective sub-genre. This opening scene has therefore really helped me gain new insight and ideas for my opening scene.

Preliminary Task Evaluation

Preliminary Task:

For my group's preliminary task, we decided to do a police investigation scene to make it different and creative. The clip starts off with a detective walking into a dark lit room where a convicted girl (Elise) is sitting. The detective takes a seat opposite her and investigates her to find out if she has in fact killed the girl she has been suspected to kill. Elise doesn't talk or admit to anything so the detective leaves.

We used the 180 degree rule throughout the clip and also used shot reverse shots while they were talking. We also had a match on action shot and a high angle shot at the end to portray the fact that Elise feels powerless and show her emotions and status in the situation. 

After showing our preliminary task to the rest of the class and receiving feedback from them, we found out improvements that will help us for our main task. We could have used a tripod for filming as some camera shots and movements are unsteady and slightly tilted instead of being straight which looks unprofessional and not as good. We also could have made our match on action shot clearer.

Preliminary Task

Our preliminary task is to film a clip in preparation for our main task. It will help us to get used to the camera and how to film. It will also help us to learn how to edit scenes we have filmed and give us feedback that will be helpful for our main task.

The clip must include:

- A character opening a door and crossing a room.

- The character sits down on a chair opposite another character.

- They exchange a couple of lines of dialogue

- An action shot, shot reverse shot and 180 degree rule must be used.

Preliminary Task Planning

Exploring different camera movements

Movement	Explanation	When would you use it?
Dolly	The camera is mounted on a cart which travels along tracks for a very smooth movement. Also known as a tracking shot or trucking shot.	At the beginning of a scene to show setting or show a character’s movement.
Pan	Horizontal movement, left and right.	To show setting and landscapes and also to see where something is taking place.
Pedestal (Ped)	Moving the camera position vertically with respect to the subject.	To show the character and their movement etc.
Tilt	Vertical movement of the camera angle, i.e. pointing the camera up and down (as opposed to moving the whole camera up and down).	To show class differences or power of different characters. Also to make a scene have a certain effect.
Track	Roughly synonymous with the dolly shot, but often defined more specifically as movement which stays a constant distance from the action, especially side-to-side movement.	To walk with the character as they move around a scene.
Zoom	Technically this isn’t a camera move, but a change in the lens focal length which gives the illusion of moving the camera closer or further away.	Focus on facial expressions of a character or to focus on one specific character.

Maltese Falcon vs. Vertigo

Camera Shots

Before beginning to shoot an actual video, we recreated different camera shots using stills from different thrillers to help us when we actually do our main task and preliminary task. It helped us to see different camera shots and angles which we can use later on.