Thriller Storyboard

Now's where the Thriller come alive. The storyboard allows us to show out story and what its going to look like before its even been filmed!

What is a Storyboard?

A storyboard is a plan of a film that is in the stages of being created using images or illustrations. A storyboard enables a film production company to display their film and have a plan of what the film is going to look like before its created.

What are the conventions of a storyboard?

Features of a storyboard include:

1.Scene Numbers- Scene numbers are needed to prevent confusion as there may be many scenes and shots could end up in the wrong place.

2.Shot numbers- By putting in the shot numbers, again it prevents later confusion when an animatic is created from a storyboard. There will be loads of shots in just a few minutes of a film so it's important to number the shots.

3.Drawings and sketches of the scenes- This is what brings the idea in your head alive by sketching out the shots that will make up your film. A film really begins to come to life when the shot sketches are created.

4.Shot Selection- Shot selections are shown through the images and sketches, e.g. close up, long shot, mid shot etc.

5.Dialogue- The dialogue going on in each shot is written underneath the image/illustration to give an idea as to how long the shot needs to last.

6.Camera Movement-

7.SFX- Any special effects such as snow, a flash, explosion etc. need to be included inn the storyboard.

8.Location-Location type needs to be added to the storyboard. Where it is being filled and whether its int. or ext. etc.

 Benefits of producing a storyboard before filming?

• By having a storyboard it you have a plan on what you are going to be filming. You don't have to follow it exactly if another shot type or camera movement is better but having a plan that you can roughly follow is helpful.
• Planning out what you are going to do allows the studio team to all be in agreement on what is happening in each shot without anyone not knowing what is going on or disagreeing the day you start to film.
• By planning you know exactly what is going on when which prevents you from getting confused or frustrated.
• Without a plan you are more than likely to lose all hope and sanity. If you plan out each shot you have a fighting chance of creating a good film without ripping someone's head off.
• Allows a studio team to get all the details on each shot like how long they need to last with the dialogue used and when the SFX's are going on.
• You don't have to be an artist to create a storyboard. So long as you can see what is going on in the scene without wondering what the scribble on the page is supposed to represent!

Example of existing media storyboards

This is the storyboard for an extract of Forrest Gump. This storyboard is what we see or hear on the screen illustrated in individual shots to allow easy creation of the film.

From this storyboard the following extract from the film was created and this is what it looks like after all the editing and shooting of the film. This extract starts from 0.12 seconds.


Reflection Studio's Thriller Storyboard

And so here is the storyboard for our Studio's opening to a thriller including all the things needed in a storyboard.

Storyboard for Thriller

With the storyboard now complete and the thriller opening starting to come together next in the process of creating this opening is the animatic.

Research 3- Costume

The costume choice of the both the characters in our film is very important. Each item of clothing represents and stands for something that is either significant to the plot or the characters attitude and motive.

Crimson, the female character in our film comes from a Upper class family, so as she her parents will have an adequate amount of disposable income this will allow her to have a more expensive wardrobe, which could feature designer clothes, bags, accessories etc… However, seen as Crimson is the first to be introduced in our film when she is in her bedroom, she will be wearing a pair of tight denim jeans, a woolly jumper that looks rather expensive and a pair of pink fluffy socks that you would see someone wearing around the house which suggests to the audience that she lives there or it is a place she is familiar with without physically telling the audience this is where she lives. She will be in this outfit as she wishes to relax and feel comfortable in her house and as she is alone, she has know one to impress. Although, she is wearing a golden necklace as she is a 'girly girl' and she loves jewelry and shiny things. The gold necklace also suggest her wealth as an un-wealthy person is less likely to be wearing a gold chain. This again suggests to the audience that she comes from a rich background or her parents are wealthy.
  

Compared to Crimson, the male character Luke, comes from a Working class family who lives on a council estate. He will be wearing a big over sized black jumper, with dark skinny jeans and a pair of Converse.  He shall wear this attire as he is from the 'Gothic' genre and his friends are also Goths. In addition to this, Luke's clothes will not look brand new and they will not look too expensive as he only works at a low paying job and his parents can't afford to waste money on expensive brands. The jeans may be ripped and the converse all dirt covered and scruffy to clearly convey to the audience that he is the complete opposite to Crimson.

When crimson appears in the first and last scene she will need to wear similar style clothes to Luke to create this hidden identity of the character.

We've got all the research we need on our location, props and costume. Next up for our production studio is the storyboard that will bring our story together shot by shot.

Research 2- Props

Props are a major part of a film. Each prop serves a purpose within a film meaning one slight slip in prop choice and the meaning of your film could be changed in the mind of the audience. 

So here you'll find the props research. This includes all of the props that we will be considering using in our Thriller opening. Each item has been analysis as to what the object is designed to represent in the Thriller opening and how the audience may view that object when watching the Thriller opening.

Props List

Now the props research has been completed we've now got to decide on the props that will be used, when and by who. So here you will film a table that underlines all these points to make life easier when collecting all the props needed. 

Final Props List

The location and Props research is sorted. Whats next? Ah, costumes, again a key feature for manipulating the audiences opinions and views of characters and the overall film.

Research 1- Thriller Location

No location is used just because that's the location we can find so we'll have to make do with it. Thought is actually put into finding each location that you see in all these blockbuster films and a lot of time too!

In our thriller, the choice of location has a big impact on the audience's interpretation of the film and what the see on screen symbolises something that is significant to our film ideas. Each part of the location symbolises a part of either a character or the storyline and the plot of the thriller in the opening.
Here is a list of our Locations and images of locations we have found and will be using in the filming of our thriller.


Location 1- Dark gravel filled area- ext.

This location will feature near the beginning of the 2 minute opening. A dark eerie area is needed to represent the mysterious action that is occurring on screen at this location. The location needed to be abnormal and a place you wouldn’t traditionally go to ‘hang out’.

Existing Media:

This gravel grounded area is an idea of what we are looking for in a location for our thriller film opening. The idea that there are crooked paving stones places within the gravel gives us the impressing of a place that isn’t quite right and not a place you would really want to hand out. The location we chose doesn’t need to be as perfect as this location. This image represents the ideas we have as a production team in what we’re looking for in a location for this opening. It has the feature of the opening we had in mind with the gravel ground and stones lying around.


Real Location chosen:
 
The location chosen to us is perfect in representing the action that is going on onscreen at the time this location is shown. The location isn’t prefect which represents the idea that the main character Crimson isn’t as perfect as people thing. It gives the message of not judging things by the way they look. Also this location is rather eerie and not a place in which people would wish to hang out at night or be there on their own. The miss placed paving and broken fencing creates an atmosphere where the audience get the idea that only the eeriest and creepiest of people would hang out in a place like this. This then emphasises the idea of a mysterious figure hanging around in this area at night which allows them to draw the conclusion that whoever the character is isn’t going to be up to any good here. The fencing suggests that the figure shown shouldn’t be where they are meaning again they aren’t the nicest of people to be hanging out with. This again emphasises the action that then follows the establishing shot of this scene when a figure comes on with a hockey stick dragging in their hand. With an obviously creepy location such as this one, the audiences can easily put two and two together and work out that the character just shown has been out causing trouble but doesn’t give away to much of the upcoming storyline.


Location 2- Dark Alley- ext.

This location features in the film when the mysterious character walks off with the hockey stick dragging in their hand. This again needs to follow on from the previous location with its eeriness and darkness that doesn’t quite seem right.

Existing media:

 
This is the style in which we wanted this location to be. The alley is narrow and could probably only fit one or two people down which is what we want. In the dark a place like this would have the ‘you wouldn’t want to meet anyone in an alley like this’ look.






Real Location Chosen:


This location gives us a lot to work with. The over grown weeds within the gravel suggest to the audience that no one ever goes here which instantly gives them the idea that this character that is seen in this location can’t be doing much good if they are hanging around in a place such as this. The gravel floor allows us to create tension though the sound it makes. When you hear the sound of gravel you know someone is coming or is nearby. The fact this loud gravel sound is going to be made and no one has come out to investigate or is around to see who it is suggests that it isn’t a place that people would want to or should go to. The fencing and walls allow us to represent the idea that its blocked off and that no one really should be going down here without permission. With this location the camera work as well as the sound can add to the overall effect and creation of atmosphere.

Location 3- Crimson’s Room int.

Crimson the main female character has two sides to here and so her room has two sides to it. It has this happy go lucky girly girl feel to it and then later on in the film it turns dark and vicious and so through her room we need to reflect this change as well as her personality.

Existing Image:


This image shows the girly girl side of crimson but shows it could easily be a cover up and easily changed to portray the dark murderous side hidden within the character.

 

Real Location Chosen:

This location will be dressed up with clothes and fairly lights to make it look more like a girl’s room. The size of the room will represent the wealth of her or her parents. Usually the more wealthy have a larger room such as this. The large sofa will be covered in clothes that are of fine materials to represent again the wealth she has and the colours will symbolise the innocence and purity the main character has. As the props list will show there will be many toys around the room such as collectable bear and dolls. They will be perfectly aligned around the room to represent the perfect side of the female as well as show the fact she cares about appearance reflecting the perfectness she shows in the way she looks and dresses. The number of bears and dolls will again show the wealth of this female and suggest that she is in some ways too perfect and wealthy. The lighting of the room will also represent the girly girl side of her and not show through her inner evil until later on in the scene. There will be candles around the room which will be there for later on in the opening.

When Crimson’s personality changes the style of her room changes too; the perfect dolls all around the room now not in line. One set of dolls are taken out and the head has been fetched off the male character and stuck to the female’s hand. This is there to represent the breakdown of the relationship between here and her boyfriend. It brings out her inner evil and the opinion she has on the male race. The candles there were there just for decoration are there to represent a sort of shrine now as they are all lit and lined around the room. They’re there to show the audience the person Crimson is becoming as well as allow them to predict the fate of Luke, Crimson’s Boyfriend.

Location 4- Crimson’s Staircase- int.

This really is there just to allow Luke to get into his girlfriend’s house and up to her room which he doesn’t know is a shrine. The stairs just need to look like a normal set of stairs that allow Luke easy access to Crimson’s private life without permission.

Existing Image:

The stairs don’t need to be too fancy even though Crimson is obviously rich as can be seen from the room Crimson is in. The idea of the stairs being metal and rather normal downgrades Crimson slightly which is what needs to happen in a way.

Real Location Chosen:

The stairs chosen will be decorated so that they look more like stairs in which you would find in a home. These stairs are rather large which still allows the audience to see the rich side of Crimson preventing them from suspecting the inner killer that Crimson has. These stairs represent the pathway to Crimson’s private life and that Luke is in the wrong by entering with force rather than asking and not demanding.

Location 5- The door to Crimson's House- ext. 

The door to Crimson's house where her boyfriend is soon to meet his doom in only appears for a few moments when Luke come storming into the house without knocking. We don't want the door to be too fancy and posh as it would detract from the horror that lies within the house now.

Existing Image:

This is the sort of door we were looking for, a wooden door with windows. With this location we want to start detracting from the idea that she's rich and start to give the audiences hint as to what Crimson is really like inside. 

Real Location Chosen:

This location is what we are looking for for this scene. Its simplistic yet it does the job we want it to do, look dark and mysterious when Luke is shown storming through it. The door isn't as posh and intricate as the interior but at the point where this door is shown, we don't want the focus to be on how rich Crimson is. The audiences need to start thinking of the other side that Crimson has to her which leads them to the scene that is going to occur in the next shot up until the end of the film. This location isn't in the opening sequence much however it is an important fill shot for the lead up to the events that are about to unfold. There will be a few plants by the door to give the audience the homely feel that a house should have when you enter it which in a way side tracks the audience from seeing the obvious that Crimson is a killer. It distracts the audiences and prevents them from coming to the right conclusion straight away.


With the location research sorted and all the locations that are starring in our film opening, next up is the props research and list!

  

Thriller Script

With the film treatment sorted, as a film company we now have a storyline to work with meaning we can write a script for the actors and actresses starring in our Thriller.

All you wannabe actors and actresses here we have a masterpiece of a script for the opening of 'The Black Widow'.

The Black Widow

Now the script is written next up is the research to help us create the film. This include location, props and costume.

Thriller Film Treatment

So with the film pitch over and the film studio executives agreeing to letting us create our film, we then had to write the treatment for the film opening.
The treatment is the storyline of the film plot with every little detail added in from a cat meowing to a tree making a slight sound.
So here is the film treatment for the opening of The Black Widow...

Black Widow 


So thats the storyline of our opening sequence to the our thriller. We've got the storyline but there's still a lot more to do before we even think of filming!

Thriller Film Pitch

So after our research about target audiences, openings to thrillers etc, we came up with our film idea. Once the idea was planned and we knew what the story line was going to be, it was time to pitch our idea to the dreaded studio executives to see what they thought of it. Here's how it went...




Evaluation
From watching our pitch back, I think our studio came across and confident and knew exactly what they were saying and going to be doing in order to create this film opening. 
Some people found the story line a little complex but once simplified, it was easy for them to grasp the concept of the film. 

When grilled by the executives about details of the film opening, to me as a group we answered them pretty well. None of the question asked were left unanswered and they made sense and gave the executives the answer they needed to understand the process of our film making. As a group when answering the questions, we didn't panic; one of us was bound to know the answer to each question as I feel we had planned the film with everything in mind.

Overall I think our pitch was clear and to the point with good responses to the questions thrown our way. 

Role of a Sound Editor

Pitch over. Now the film work begins. Something that might help us create the film and is a crucial part in creating the atmosphere of a thriller film...A SOUND EDITOR!

So what actually is a sound editor?

A creative professional in charge of selecting and assembling the sound recordings for a TV programme, Motion Picture or even Computer Games. This involves 

playing around, adjusting or recording over sounds created for the above.

Before sound...

All films were silent. No music, no talking and all that could be seen on screen was things like people getting on and off trains (the camera never moved). Someone famous for keeping silent through out a film was Charlie Chaplain. All his films are in silence...except when he gave in to sound in 1931 in the film City Lights for comical effect.

This all changed in 1927 when The Jazz Singer was released with synchronized dialogue and even diegetic music (Music produced by something on screen).

Since this, film and sound have progressed drastically. All sounds are recorded and manipulated to create atmosphere and set the mood of a film. One wrong sound can ruin a film!







Film companies go all out nowadays to make their film the best there ever is. With the development of sound, all different ideas have come about. Recently one new way of filming sound was in the musical 'Les Miserables' where all the sound and singing was live. Below is a video showing the process the sound editors had to go through in order for this idea to work:

Some key things to remember in sound editing are: 

• Dubbing- to remove the sound from an original film shot and replace it with edited sound that has been manipulated and edited to perfection. An example of this is musicals. In most film musicals, they dub the on screen sound to make way for a studio recorded and edited version. 

•  Foley- real sounds created and recorded to dub over a film. Someone called a Foley artist goes out and records all the sounds they have been told are needed in the film and then they get edited and added into the film. Say if someone wanted the sound of a brush sweeping or ball being kicked, they'd go and record it. This allows the sounds used in motion pictures etc to be realistic rather than sounding fake and ruin the whole of the film.

We had a go at creating some Foley ourselves. Take a listen and see what you think of our sounds for walking in the snow, a cat purring and a punch.

We used all sorts of things to create our sounds. 


Walking in the snow was created by...emptying flour into a container then placing a scrunchies in the flour and pressing it down with a stick. (Bit messy but made the sound we needed it to make!)






Cat Purring was made by...Getting someone to make a cat noise down the mic








A punch was produced by...hitting a rolled up news paper off the table.

Role of a Film Composer

A film composer created the music that will go over or be played during the film. Their job is to test out and create music that will bring a film to life. When a piece of film music is composed and played right, it can take a film from being average to outstanding!

One of the most famous film composers is John Williams, composer of the famous Death March from Star Wars right through to the memorable Hedwig's Theme for Harry Potter. 

Here is a video starring John William's himself, talking about the musical genius he had during the  Star Wars scoring.

John Williams has won over 90 awards for his compositions to some of the greatest films of all times. His music is still played from today and most people will never forget things like the Death March and Schindler's List. His is an example of his work from the famous Schindler's List:



Other films he has composed include: 

• Harry Potter
• Star Wars
• Jaws
• Jurassic Park
• Indiana Jones
• Super Man 
• War Horse
• The Adventures of Tintin
• ET

That's to name but a few of the films he has composed on with so many more that could be listed.

Wilhelm Scream

The wihelm scream is known as a 'stock sound' which has been used in over 200 films.

It began to be used in 1951 and usually is played when someone is stabbed, pushed off a building or some sort of violence is shown. Nowadays it can be used for comedy effect or to actually show violence and terror. 

Here's a compilation of the WILHELM SCREAM to show you just how much its used.

Personally one of my favourite sound moments in a film has got to be in Harry Potter, When you hear the first note of the harpsichord playing. It just hooks you in straight way. Have a listen: 



For me it just brings alive the magic and mystery that unfolds within the film series. 


So over all this research is going to help in the creation of my film opening as it allows me to discover all the different techniques and equipment used to create the sound. You can't just record the sound on the camera and be done with it. Some of the sounds might not be heard or could be different in shots filmed in different places. 
In the Thriller film, the music and the sound needs to be carefully produced, chosen and edited to prevent atmosphere kill in the film. 
Our Production team REFLECTION STUDIOS will be designating someone to be sound editor so that the sound for our opening is perfect and creates and serves the purpose we need it to serve.

Target Audience Profile For Thriller

So here's our idea of what our typical target audience would be for our THRILLER....

 

Simon Davies is an 18 year old male is currently in his last year of sixth form at Hydesville Tower School (Private School) in Walsall. For two years he has studied Media, Drama, Business Studies and English and is set to achieve high grades to allow him to continue his Business Studies at the University of Edinburgh.

Simon currently lives with his parents but is hoping to move away when he leaves for university and live in an apartment in which his parents will pay for the rent.
In his spare time, other than playing cricket and rugby, Simon likes to go to the cinema with his friends to see films of the genre, comedy, horror, thriller, action adventure and Sci-fi.

The most recent film Simon has been to see was Gravity with his mates from school. However he prefers the old school thrillers such as Psycho (the original) and Vertigo.
Even though his parents are rather rich, Simon has to work on Saturdays and Sunday at the local shop, stacking shelves and serving customers. His parents don't always give him everything so he has to earn some money for outings to the cinema and buying DVDs when they're on offer at his local ASDA. Simon also has to get himself places in his Black Mini which his parents got him for his 17th Birthday; he only recently passed his driving test after failing first time round.

When he's not watching films at the cinema or at rugby training, Simon likes listening to his music, especially Indie, Rock and some Pop Bands such as Arctic Monkeys, Fall Out Boy and Linkin Park. Simon's friends don't agree with his music taste and so has to socialise with his mates about films and games consoles. His friends love the film genres he is into and so they all go to the cinema in their free time; mostly Wednesdays.

Target Audience

When Identifying our Target Audience for the Thriller Opening we will be creating, we had to do a little research as to what sort of people would watch our film. 

We thought that our target audience would certainly consist of a male audience. We then came to the conclusion that it would be males between the age of 17-25 as these are the people we feel are more likely to go out and buy the film or go to the cinema with their mates and watch the film. 

Classification-

When creating a film, you have to take into consideration the classification (age rating) of the film. This all depends on the content of the film e.g the violence, sexual content, the number of times certain swear words are said etc. This is all taken into consideration and the rating is chosen accordingly to match the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). 

So what are the BBFC? 

These are the people that decide the rating all films created in Britain from the soppiest love story to a blood- curdling horror. They have criteria for each film rating and depending on the content of the film they rate the film appropriately. The BBFC officially decide the rating of the film following the guidelines set for each rating. 

Here are the ratings and what makes them...what they are:

-Stands for UNIVERSAL. This rating is deemed suitable for 4 and above however there are children's programs suitable for children younger than 4.

-Mild language such as 'Bloody' and 'Bugger' can be used and the even milder use of 'damn' and 'hell'
-Characters in the film may kiss and sexual behavior may be implied

-No illegal drugs are to be shown in a U              

-Parental Guidence. Most of these films are suitable for a young audience however some may contain inappropriate themes for younger children.

-Mild bad language such as B**** and S*** can be used but the way it is used defines whether it is a PG or the next rating up. If
it is meant in an aggressive way and is repeatedly said at one time it may be considered a 12.

-smoking and drinking shall not be promoted and encouraged in a PG.

-Sexual references can be made but not shown full. 
-no detailed violence is allowed. Blood is allowed but the cause of the injury is not permitted to be show in detail.
- drugs can be spoke of and shown but not focused upon unless it is an anti-drug film
or has an educational message that children over 8 will understand.

- bad language such as f*** can be used, however it cannot be frequent. moderate words such as B**** and T*** can be used.

-Aggressive racist and homophobic comments and language used is not accepted and will mean the film is classified higher.

-Sex can be briefly and discreetly shown. 

-Comedy can be used to create crude comments and lesson the impact of the sexual content. Brief nudity allowed.
- violence can be shown but cannot be shown in detail.

-Sexual violence can be implied but not shown in detail. (must be justified)

-Dangerous behavior can be shown but should not dwell.

-Drugs can be shown but not frequently.

Whats the difference between a 12A and 12? 

12A follows the same rules as a 12, however this classification rating is for cinemas. The A stands for 'Accompanied' or 'Advisory' which applies to those younger than 12 who wish to see the film. 

-15's are stronger than 12A's. Suitable for 15 and over.

-Strong violence

-frequent use of strong language such as f***

- sexual nudity is prominent. 

-Strong verbal sexual content.

-brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal reference to sexual violence. 

-racist or homophobic language or behavior
-scenes of drug taking

-Extremely strong language

-Frequent use of the 'F' word and use of very strong language such as the 'C' word.

Strong sexual activity and violence

-Strong horror

-Strong blood and gore

-Full nudity allowed as well as crude and explicit sex references.

-Extreme racist and homophobic language allowed

                                 -drugs shown and used but not to be promoted.

- specialist category and a legally restricted classification for explicit materials.

-Only shown in specially licensed cinemas. 

for more information visit British Board of Film Classification

and so after considering the rating rule of the BBFC, we've decided to rate our film a...

This is due to the implied violence and horror that isn't likely to be suitable for young children.

We then came up with a basic idea of what our target audience would be like. 

Age: 16-25

Gender- Male

Ethnicity: White British

Income Levels: Students with casual jobs

Education: Sixth Form and University Students

Film Tastes: Thriller, Comedy, Horror, Action, Adventure

Class: Class DE of the classification system

Ways of viewing the film: Cinema, Internet Streaming (Love Film, Netflick, etc), DVD's if on offer in local supermarket.

Where would they find out about our film: You Tube (Trailers before video they are watching on you tube), TV adverts, When looking on cinema sites to see what film is on. Adverts at beginning of film in the cinema.

 Similar Film Analysis

Now, here are two films below. Both of them are Thriller films with a similar age rating.

American Hustle and Oldboy support our target audience choice. Their main audience is male and around the age of 16- 25 which is what we chose as our target audience.
The classification of these two films are slightly different to our film in the way that their films are aimed at AB (higher working
class people).
Other than that our Target audiences are almost identical.
For more examples of films and their audience viewing percentage click the link below.
 Pearl and Dean's







The next post will be the TAP (Target audience profile) of someone likely to watch the thriller we are going to create. Using the research collected here, a typical target audience profile can be made.