Organising Location and Set Design

We used two different locations during and throughout our shoot. At first we built our set, which was located in the Studio Room. We used 6 wall holders to stick on our background of bricks and made wooden floor boards, this meant the set was sturdy and was safe to work on.

Our second scene we shot was the car scene which was shot in the upper car park's entrance to our school. We used that spot for reasons such as: it would not block visitors entering the school entrance and it had the right scenery and setting for our films mood and atmosphere, creating a tense feel. In addition, we were easily able to move around the area, enabling us to get a variety of intriguing shots.

We were able to organise the locations easily and efficiently as all of the land was owned by the school, therefore only the permission of the headmaster was needed to film in the car park. In addition, we were able to use the studio by arranging a convenient time with our Media teachers and when it will be free to build the set and film. 

Make up and Costume Ideas

The make up for the two men in the torture room included subtle yet still distinctive bruising which would be appropriate for the context of the scene. The bruising should be developed, as if it happened one or two days ago prior to the scene. We felt that swelling, large gashes, and immense of blood was not appropriate as it was too dramatic and much less realistic. We want the audience to ask themselves how they were injured, however we didn't want it to distract from the great tension of the scene. Their faces will be similar to the two pictures I've found on the internet. We will include some small facial scratches, but not fresh as they will symbolise the fact that these characters have been there for a long

time.

 For the woman in the car, I want her makeup to be subtle as this indicates that she has been stripped of her make up by the people who caught her, leaving her powerless. I want her hair to be tied back and for her to wear a simple black dress. However, I am relying on our actress's appearance to capture a style of modern-day femme fatale. Although she will have a blind fold on, a dark brown lipstick will give her a sexy edge conveying a slight sex appeal.

I chose brown for the lip stick as its a mature colour, but a dark shade will suggest something sinister and less 'in your face'. The lipstick will enhance the sex appeal as we plan to do close-ups of her lips and face.

The costume for the two men in the torture scene will see them wearing baggy clothing, such as jeans or tracksuit bottoms as we felt this was a simple yet effective contrast. It gives ideas and connotations that they might of been physically tested in some way before the scene has taken place- especially as they are strapped down to chairs. The white t-shirt gives the effect that it is a clean and tidy area but we plan to stain the t shirts with sweat and blood which will be effective when looking through the camera lens. Sweat stains will be achieved using apple juice which gives a yellow stain to the white T- shirt. We felt this was a simple, cheap but effective way to create this and when tested, looked realistic through the camera. By having them both in white T- shirts, it also suggests they have no identity, which creates a further mystery to who these characters are in the opening title sequence. It gives little real information about their character such as fashion interests, which usually shows part of a persons personality so the audience must judge for themselves and use characters faces to discover who these people really are.

We casted one man with a buzz cut and another with long, luscious blonde hair to give a contrast between both characters which makes it easy for the audience to identify who is who. Both actors are visually different looking creating a bigger mystery to the audience of why the characters are there and if they are friend or foe.

Shot List

Shooting Schedule

Our film date was on the 18th January 2015. We filmed in the studio and on location in the Hurtwood car park and lay-by. We filmed in the studio for a total of 4 hours, 3 in the morning (9am-12pm) and 1 in the afternoon (2pm-3pm) , and a total of 1 hour in the Hurtwood car park (1pm-2pm). 

Filming in the studio

Hurtwood Lay-by

Organising and Creating Costume

For the two actors in the room we purchased two XL T-Shirts from Primark at £2.50 each. We wanted each of the T-Shirts to contrast the brick wall which is why we chose white. However, we dressed each of T-Shirts up to look heavily worn by created blood marks, sweat stains and holes in the T-Shirt. As you can see below, we used scissors to create a small hole in the T-Shirt and then ripped the hole apart to make it look slightly threaded and that it was created by accident. The sweat stains were used by dipping cotton wall into plain apple juice and letting it soak in on the chest and under the armpits to make the feature look real. There are a few tiny blood stain on the T-Shirt, however, we didnt apply too much as they hadn't started the challenge yet so may not look real. We mainly used blood for the rope to show rope burn and on the face such as nose bleeds and knocked heads.

In addition, for the car scene, we asked Cameron to bring in a suit of his, as his character is very formal and mysterious. Whereas Reagan wore a long black coat to give the impression that she had just come from a night out, meaning that the kidnapping of her may not have been as hard as it seems. Bern, a member of my group, brought in the long black coat for her to wear. 

Organising Props

Getting the props together wasn't as hard as it originally seemed. The list of props we used included:

• Rope
• Two Chairs
• Table
• Swinging Lightbulb
• Fiat Punto
• Blindfold
• iPhone 4

On set with the two chairs dressed in bin liners

I managed to purchase the rope from our local Homebase store costing £6.50. The two chairs were classroom chairs, however we covered them up whilst on set with bin liners to give the impression the person who designed this did not want anything to spill on the chair. The table was organised from one of the classrooms in school however it was never used. We also purchased a naked lightbulb in which we hung from the ceiling of the studio which gave off enough light to see the tops of their heads, however, the cord from the bulb was not long enough so we didn't get it in shot. The Fiat Punto was our media teachers car, so he was able let us borrow that for the shoot. We created a blindfold out of black material but thick enough so the victim was unable to see out of it. One member of our group had an iPhone 4, which meant we could use that to film as the phone in each scene. 

Confirming Locations

We brain stormed an ideal place to shoot the scene with the blindfolded lady in the car. I was sure that at the top of the hills, near Peaslake, would be a great place to shoot as the brown plants around that area gave the impression of claustrophobia and how it was a discrete place. However, on the day of the shoot, we were unable to film up the hills as the roads were too icy to transport all of the equipment up there. Therefore, we resulted in the car park for our school, which seemed to work just as well, giving the impression that the characters have pulled over to take this phone call. Moreover, this meant we did not need to get permission to film on a certain premises as the property that was filmed on was owned by the school.

This is the car parking space where the car pulls up

Designing the Set

Blood Stained Effect

From the beginning we were sure that we just wanted a white tiled room, with a table in the centre and two chairs either side. This would create the plain, creepy look we originally imagined. We also decided to have a swinging lightbulb from the ceiling, which has no lamp shade illuminating the light onto the actors and the set. The reason we decided to do this is because we believed that the single light would create dramatic tension which would enhance the opening sequence. The white tiles were designed to have blood stains on them, creating the impression that the people who have caused this trap are 'not messing around'. However, on the day of the shoot, we used brick walls as they looks more appealing when lit and also used long LED lights from the floor which projected onto the actors faces, making them look even more exhausted than originally planned.

Set Design

For our set design, we have officiated two locations; the studio at out school where we will build a white room and the car park for our car scene. These two locations are both key but only one requires a lot of effort for designing the set. 

The white room is our focus for set design- here are some images for inspiration and to help show they exact sort of outlook we want as our final design, if possible. 

The white room would ideally be in a tight space, suggesting a sense of claustrophobia for the characters. The room would consist of one table and only two chairs with a single light bulb in the centre of the room, however, we may not use the table depending on the area we have to film. However, during shooting we realised that the table didn't enhance the scene as much as we had hoped and chose to not use it and instead have the chairs facing back to back to create a mysterious feel. Additionally we didn't use the white walls on shoot day as we felt the brick walls were much more effective and original when lit.

Here we see, on shoot, the characters facing back to back without the table

As inspiration by 'The Exorcist', we felt that the furniture should be wrapped in soft material which suggested that the capturers care about the victims. On shoot, we decided to use bin liners to cover the chairs as we felt the capturers should care less about their injuries but care more about blood stains etc- hence the plastic bags. Make up will show the men's exhaustion and bruising. We know that they are not in a safe environment when watching the scene due to the connotations made.

Here is the chair, wrapped in bin liners, whilst on shoot

Here are a selection of images that may have been similar to shots used on shoot day. They have been taken from 'Just cant rely on you' music video by Paloma Faith. These camera angles are likely to be the ones that we choose to use in the final edit.

Organising the Actors

Originally, we needed two actors both of which were Cameron Watson and Hannah Nanton for the hidden room. However, since the plot has changed to the extra scene, we now have used Mike Niland and Adam Grant for the hidden room and Georgia Packham-Anderson and Cameron Watson for the shot with the car and blindfolded lady. Once we found out the date for our shoot, we soon emailed all of our actors to inform them of the day of the shoot (20th January 2015) and let them know what to they are to do on the scene and if they need to bring anything.

However on the day of the shoot, Georgia was unable to film, so we had to find a replacement in which Reagan Muir filled in for her which was originally stressful, but she managed to fit the part and was willing to do it. Below, is Mike on set with all the costume and make up on.

Update on storyline of Thriller

Over the christmas break, we have decided to change the storyline of our thriller from the opening title sequence by introducing a new character. The reason we have decided to do this is because, when shooting the pilot thriller we soon realised that the opening credits may not be long enough to interest and engage an audience for two minutes.

The opening credits will now feature two different locations; an abandoned warehouse/basement where our original characters will be introduced. This will be two men, who appear to be looking drained and who have just woken up from being unconscious. Both characters will be sitting opposite to one another over a fairly large table, and are tied to the chairs via straw rope. They will be slightly battered and bruised but not enough to draw too much attention to this. However, instead of a gun on the table an old landline phone will be there. At this point, the audience will be left unaware of the importance of this phone, however, after a certain amount of time (approximately 30 seconds into the film) the phone will ring. It will then become evident that the characters are both struggling to reach this phone, as it may serve a level of importance to these characters lives.


This will be set here, in the studio (these pictures have been taken before our set has been made).

Meanwhile, in an outside location in a remote area, we will see a car where a lady with a large cloth wrapped around her eyes, acting as a blindfold, will be sitting in the middle of the back of the car. A man will be sitting right next to her, where he will be holding a phone up against her ear, so she cannot reach it. There will be a driver, however he will rarely be featured. The lady will appear very calm and relaxed.

Both of these locations, the room and the car, will be cut into one another which will build and create tension. The end of the sequence will see one of the men grab the one, answer the call and see a shocked and worried expression on his face.

Similar Media Texts to our Thriller

Saw, Taken, Manhunt (video game) and Strangers on a Train (book) are all similar media texts to our thriller. Saw was produced by Twisted Pictures in 2004, directed by James Wan and the main actor is Cary Elwes. Taken was made by 20th Century Fox in 2008, directed by Pieere Moral and starred Liam Neeson. The video game Manhunt was made in 2003 by Rockstar North and directed by Sam Houser. Strangers on a Train was written in 1950 by Patricia Highsmith. The film was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starred Farley Granger. They are similar because the basis of our thriller is on two men trapped in a room together which is similar to Saw and the use of the phone is symbolic in Taken as well as the idea of being kidnapped. Strangers on a Train is similar due to the intense relationship between the two males which would happen if our film was a feature length. The Manhunt video game is similar to our thriller due to the large amounts of controversy. However we have changed many of these conventions by making them are own including the phone on the floor and the two men fighting over it as well as the men not being scared. Additionally, there won't be much of a relationship between the two men (Stranger on a Train).

Intended Target Audience

The age of my intended target audience for my thriller is 15-18 males. This is because of the gore and bruises which will be featured on the characters. They will be into action video games and hanging out with their friends, likely to be social. They would like my film because of the gore and also because they are used to the action video games and therefore will be into this. They will be attracted within the first two minutes as it begins with showing our character held hostage with lots of cuts and bruises in a claustrophobic space which is a similar scenario to what they may have seen previously in films or video games.

Target Audience Profile