Photo Storyboard.

List Of Tricky Shots.

1. Long zoom out from an EXCU of Ebony's eye to a 2MS of Ebony's body laid on the floor, dead, and of Nicole's calves as she drops a brick.
2. Zoom from a CU of Lily's face to an EXCU of her eyes before flashback.
3. A MCU right pan from Ebony to Nicole.
4. A MCU tilt down from Ebony's face to her iPod.
5. A MCU tilt up from Ebony's iPod to her face.
   

Costumes.

Each of our three characters has two different costumes: one for the scene where they meet and another for the one where Lily is rescued from Ebony.



Nicole's costumes
Throughout both scenes, Nicole is represented as being very girly and stylish. To represent this, we've deliberately chosen to display her in two very different costumes in both scenes to demonstrate her diverse wardrobe. To make her outfits look girly, we have chosen for her to wear shorts and skirts in both scenes and for her to be wearing a frilly pink shirt in the scene where the girls meet.
Nicole's appearance
For the girly image to run throughout Nicole's character, we have decided that she will have long, flowing brown hair, will wear eye make up that accentuates her eyes and a selection of pink and red lipsticks; these characteristics will make her look high maintenance and girly and so represent her how we want our audience to perceive her.




Lily's costumes
We want Lily to look innocent and vulnerable throughout both scenes, so we have decided that she will wear light, pastel and flowery patterned clothes with light, floaty cardigans. Within the scene where she first meets Ebony and Nicole, she will be wearing a flowery dress to connote her purity, and within the scene where she is captive, she will be wearing a white, floaty dress that will contrast with the dark, dingy atmosphere of our chosen location to once again make her purity and innocence stand out within the film.
Lily's appearance
For the innocent image to run throughout Lily's character, we have decided that her make up will be minimalistic with her only wearing mascara, and her hair will be down and in loose, natural curls so that she looks very low maintenance and natural to again represent that she is pure.



Ebony's costumes
Throughout both scenes, we want Ebony to look very dark, mysterious and different. To achieve this, we have chosen to dress her in two very different outfits in both scenes, yet we've chosen for her to be wearing the same leather jacket so it represents her dark personality throughout the film. Within the scene where Ebony is killed, she will be wearing black shorts and a skull t-shirt which will make her look dark and mysterious, and within the scene where she meets Lily, she will be wearing a red skirt that will connote evil and represent the events that will unfold around Ebony throughout the rest of the film.
Ebony's appearance
We want the darkness and mystery to run throughout Ebony's character, so we've decided that she will wear very pale face make up and very dark eye make up that will contrast and make her eyes stand out as they're a main focus within our two minute opening sequence. Her hair will also be very big and back-combed to make it look messy so that she will stand out from a crowd as an individual, and so make it obvious to the audience that her personality differs from the people's around her.

Rough Storyboard.

Title Sequence Storyboard.

Locations.

Location one: Abandoned Location/Drama Underground Rooms

This is the place in our story where the character Lily will be kept captive by Ebony and where a section of our opening sequence will take place. We chose to use this location because it looks very unused and dingy to give it an authentic, believable look that will make sure that our opening sequence doesn't look unrealistic or tacky.

Location two: College corridor

This is the place in our story where the girls meet for the very first time and will spend a lot of their college time together, and it also is used in a section of our opening sequence. We used this location because within our story the girls meet within college outside a lesson and so by using a real college corridor it gives our film a realistic look.

Location three: Robyn's kitchen
This location will only be used briefly within our title sequence. We chose to use this location as Ebony slips a pill into Lily's drink while she's having tea at her house within our story, so we thought that by filming at one of our houses we would be able to achieve a realistic, authentic look of two girls at one of their houses. 

Thriller Reviews

Here are some film reviews that are similar genre to our film-

Similar Film: Captivity.

Short Plot Summary
"A man and a woman awaken to find themselves captured in a cellar. As their kidnapper drives them psychologically mad, the truth about their horrific abduction is revealed."

I chose to compare our film to this as it includes the aspects of abduction and psychological torture as our film does. One of the people in this film that is captured is drugged, and the person in our story who is abducted is also drugged, meaning both the characters and the audience are initially unsure as to who abducted them, showing plot similarities between our film and Captivity. A contrast between the films is that the captive woman frees herself from the situation whereas the captive girl in our film is saved by her friend.

This is the trailer for Captivity. It makes good use of the aspect of mystery by not revealing who is keeping the people captive, as our title sequence will do. There is also a shot of someone's legs being dragged away, which is also a shot we have decided to use within our title sequence. The titles make good use of scratchy, distorted looking fonts to demonstrate the thrilling genre, and we intend to use the same style of font, too. This trailer focuses more on using jumpy, adrenaline pumping music that will thrill you and scare you, whereas we've decided to focus more on eerie sounds that will thrill you in a way that isn't necessarily scary in a jumpy manner, but in a way that makes you anticipate something odd and unexpected.

A review of Captivity from rottentomatoes.com reads, "Plunges the viewer almost directly into its nightmarish scenario," and shows that it is effective to create a storyline that a viewer could throw themselves into and relate with the characters' feelings and motives, meaning they become more involved with the storyline and therefore more eager to find out what happens next and will then be more likely to enjoy the film. We have touched on the aspect of our storyline being relatable to our audience as the characters within it are college students and these will make up the majority of our audience, meaning they could maybe relate with specific characters within our film and so become more involved with their choices of actions and their emotions.

Risk Assessment

Film Genre- Quesionnaire Video

Our Questions were:

1. Whats your favourite film genre?
2. Would you watch a thriller? 
3. What do you think makes a good thriller?
4. How often do you go to the cinema?
5. If you enjoyed a film at the cinema, would you buy it on DVD?

Possible film distributor.

we want our film to have a audience of teens (13-19), therefore we thought that having a small independent British film distributor would be the best option for our film. we decided to research into possible distributors and listed the possible ones. After this we then thought that because the film 'This is England' was such a big hit with this sort of audience, we researched into that and decided that the distribution company 'optimum releasing' was the best distributor for us.

http://www.optimumreleasing.com/

 
Since its inception in 1999, Optimum Releasing has steadfastly adhered to one mantra: supporting filmmakers with a vision, and bringing these visions to the widest audience possible.

From Michael Moore to Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, and Gus Van Sant to Guillermo Del Toro, the company - a UK-based, all rights company servicing the release of feature films across Theatrical, Video, Television and Online media - has therefore acquired a reputation for a dynamic, marketing-orientated approach to distribution; while the formation of Optimum Home Entertainment in 2004 has seen the company move into the DVD and video market, releasing over 60 titles in its first year of operation alone.

The company has enjoyed success with a wide range of films including key US Independents such as Gus Van Sant's Palme d'Or winning Elephant, acclaimed films Roger Dodger and Igby Goes Down and the groundbreaking Academy Award nominated American Splendor. Not forgetting Oscar winning films such as Spirited Away and Nowhere in Africa.

Optimum Releasing has consistently supported emerging filmmaking talent such as Alejandro Gonzalez Inarrittu (Amores Perros), Guillermo Del Toro (The Devil's Backbone) and Fabien Bielinsky (Nine Queens) as well as established filmmakers such as Oliver Stone (Comandante), Gus Van Sant (Elephant), Michael Moore (Fahrenheit 9/11), Jean-Luc Godard (Eloge de L'Amour) and Michael Winterbottom (9 Songs). The films feature an impressive array of acting talent that includes Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Susan Sarandon, Bill Nighy, Jeremy Irons, Claire Danes, Paddy Considine, Isabella Rossellini and many many more.

Documentaries have always provided a key element in Optimum's output with films as varied as Lost in La Mancha, Biggie and Tupac, Dark Days and nature documentary Deep Blue. The company's work in this field culminated with the 2004 release of Michael Moore's Palme d'Or winning polemic Fahrenheit 9/11. Grossing in excess of £6.5 million at the UK box, the film has become by far the most successful documentary feature of all time.

Celebrating classic cinema has always been a big part of Optimum Releasing. Titles such as The Third Man, This is Spinal Tap, Breathless, Spirit of the Beehive and Whisky Galore hold a deserved place in the Optimum catalogue and sit alongside new British cinema such as Dead Man's Shoes, Lawless Heart and Born Romantic.

With a commitment to developing Optimum Releasing in the future the company will be further exploring its activities through Production, Optimum Home Entertainment whilst also looking at new means of distributing filmed entertainment.

Music

This music will begin when the brick hits Ebony. I decided to pick this piece as it begins with a sharp banging noise, which will make it sound more dramatic. The rest of the music will then carry on in the background which gives off a mysterious vibe, due to the creaking sound affects in it.

SCRIPT

Shooting List

SHOT LIST- Main

         Location 1

1.     Fade In

2.     Extreme Close up of Ebony’s Eye- Zoom out to—

3.     Medium Two shot of Nicole’s Leg’s and all of Ebony’s body

4.     Medium Close up of Nicole’s face- Low Angle

5.     Medium Close up of back of Nicole’s head

6.     Long Shot of Lily tied up on chair

7.     Medium Close up of Nicole

8.     Medium Shot of Lily

9.     Long Two shot of Nicole and Lily

10. Medium Two shot of Nicole and Lily

11. Close up of Lily

12. Close up of Nicole

13. Close up of Lily, slowly zoom into her eyes

14. Flash to White (flashback of Lily’s Memory)

15. Medium Shot of Lily 

          Location 2

16. Long Three shot of Lily sat on floor, Nicole and Ebony walking/ corridor

17. Medium Two shot of Nicole and Ebony

18. Extreme Close up of Ebony’s Eyes

19. Medium Close up of Lily- High Angle

20. Medium Close up of Nicole

21. Medium Close up of Lily- High Angle

22. Medium Close up of Nicole

23. Extreme Close up of Ebony’s Eyes

24. Medium Close up of Lily- High Angle

25. Extreme Close up of Ebony’s Eyes

26. Medium Two Shot of Nicole and Ebony

27. Medium Close up of Nicole

28. Medium Close up of Lily- High Angle

29. Medium Two shot of Nicole and Ebony

30. Medium Close up of Ebony- Low Angle- Pan right to—

31. Medium Close up of Nicole

32. Medium Close up of Ebony- Low Angle- Tilt down to—

33. Medium Close up of Ebony’s iPod- Tilt up to—

34. Medium Close up of Ebony- Low Angle

35. Fade to Black.

Film Title.

We discussed the colours of the film's title image within our group and decided that the background would look better white so it'd fit in with the flashback style within out opening sequence. From that, I found a new font to use that has more of an edgy, distorted look to reflect more of Ebony's personality. I then made this:

I found an image of an eye and photoshopped it within the 'o' of the name as I feel it looks more professional and aesthetically appealing than the one that I previously drew. I also added tints of red to the eye and the font to again represent events that unfold within the story that once again link to Ebony.

Character Profile

Character Profile- LILY

Name: Lily

Age: 16

Character Trait: Lily is the new girl to the group of friends, she’s still quite vulnerable because of that, and she gets held captive, Lily is the main victim in the story, even though she’s the nicest and most honest person in the group. 

Appearance: Shortest of the group, Dark Brown hair, Blue eyes, Pale Faced. 

Occupation: College Student.

Hobbies: Lily likes art and design; she’s the creative one. Not only is she creative she loves English at college. She also likes being around people she loves, but also likes having a little time to her self. She’s also a very hard working student.

Family: Lily has grown up in a strong family, with both mum and dad and two siblings a big sister and a little brother.

Character Purpose: Lily is the new girl in the group of friend, therefore her vulnerability make her an easy target, because Ebony has grown up being bullied all her life, she’s always looks for someone to let all her feelings out on; Lily is the unfortunate one, she gets kept captive by Ebony, but she ends up being better off that Ebony in the end.

Character Profile

Character Profile- EBONY

Name: Ebony

Age: 16           

Character Trait: Ebony is the main body of the film, she’s the girl which was picked on by her two ‘friends’ when she was little, this is the reason why she’s like she is at present, Ebony is the girl which keeps Lily hostage, taking all her childhood out on her, because she’s so vulnerable.

Appearance: Medium height of the group, Dark Orange Hair, Quite pale faced, brown eyes, she’s got a really unique look to her  
Occupation: College Student.

Hobbies: Ebony likes music, she likes being around people, she can’t be bored, or on her own.

Family: Ebony lives with her mum, but stays with her dad sometimes; she has an older sister and a younger sister.

Character purpose: Ebony is the main character of the story, though she may not say a lot in the film, she’s a big role in the story line, Ebony keeps need to let her suffering out on somebody, Lily is the unlucky one and she ends up being kept captive by Ebony, Ebony is the worse off in the end, as she gets a blow to the head by Nicole.

Character Profile

Character Profile- NICOLE

Name: Nicole

Age: 17

Character Trait: Nicole is the main person in their group, she’s extremely popular and is really high maintenance

Appearance: Tallest of the group, dark brown long hair. Pail faced, lots of make-up, very pretty and unique.

Occupation: College Student.

Hobbies: Nicole always has to be busy; she likes going to gigs and socialising with friends.

Family: Nicole has come from a broken family, her parents split up when she was only 5, this could be a reason to how she treat her friend when she was younger.

Characters Purpose: Nicole is the girl that bullied Ebony when she where a little girl, Nicole is the main reason why Ebony acts like she does at present. Nicole thinks Ebony starts acting suspicious around Lily, and finds it weird, therefore one day follows her, and finds that Ebony has been keeping Lily captive. Nicole ends up hitting Ebony over the head with a brick.

Title Sequence Photographs.

We had an idea for our title sequence to have snippets of video of us three in character doing different things as friends, and it will have lots of pictures overlapping them, with the titles moving with it. To develop this idea we're going to take pictures of the three of us in lots of different places, at different times on different days.

These are a few photographs which we've started with:

As a group we discussed that using this idea as our title sequence would make our film seem more like a mystery drama, rather than a thriller. Therefore we discussed other way of giving our title sequence more of a thriller element to it, we decided that, to create the thriller feel we needed our title sequence to be; pacey, dramatic, dark. jumpy and mysterious.

Title Sequence Research.

The title sequence is what films and television programs use to present their title and cast member. It should be relevant to the film, by using appropriate fonts and sounds. The title sequence is the first thing you will see when watching a film, it is important that it excites the viewer, making them eager to watch the film.

Some of the best title sequences yet are:

Sweeny Todd

 How to kill a mockingbird

           

Seven  

Panic Room

Hostage

Lord of war