INITIAL SHOT LIST.

SHOT LIST - 


(This was our initial idea for our thriller, when shooting we then realised it wasnt tension building or suspensful enough as there was no element of fear. )

• The first shot located in a normal bedroom and is an over shoulder shot of a girl looking at a picture of her and someone else both looking quite close together. Diegetic sound of the girl crying will be shown enabling the audience to feel for the character. 

• It then cuts to a close up shot of her crying which enables the audience to get to know the character and see the characters distressed emotions. The audience should already be left in suspense and should start to question why this girl is crying? and what relevance does it have to this picture? Who is the other character in the picture? 

• This then cuts to a mid close up shot of the female character standing in her bedroom and there is a  window in the shot as well with the character underneath showing the audience the location and the window could bring light into the situation.

• This cuts to the camera then zooming into the window and then you see the title of the film which is currently undecided. Also whilst the camera is zooming into one of the window frames the sound of the girl crying gets quieter and this shot fades to the next scene.

• It then cuts to a close up shot of the lift buttons also showing some of the lift door, the female character is then shown pressing the button on the lift, the camera shows a close up shot of her hand pushing the button. It shows the importance of her entering the lift as you don't know what could happen when she enters the lift, it leaves you in suspense. You can also hear the diegetic sound of the lift coming down, as it is a diegetic sound it adds tension to what's happening. The door then opens and you see the character walk into the lift, the audience can see the character in the lift as the doors close but only not all of her, giving a sense of ambiguity  to the scene. 

• Cut to a shot of the character looking ahead into the distance, this will be a close up shot so the audience can get to know this character. The character will have headphones in whilst she is standing in the lift and there will be diegetic sound of the music the character is listening to, however it the audience will only be able to slightly hear the music as the audience would be put in the perspective of someone nearby that character who can only hear a quiet sound. This gives the illusion that there may be another character near by but your never sure if there is or not.

• Cuts to an over shoulder shot of the character walking out of the lift as the door is opening.The diegetic sound in this shot will be of the female characters footsteps. You then see her look at someone however you cant see who she is looking at but an over shoulder shot of that character is shown walking into the lift.

• This then cuts to a shot of dingy looking toilet, the camera then pans across the toilet cubical's, this will set the scene and show the audience what a grim place it is. The female character then enters the toilet whilst taking her headphones out and walks into one of the cubical's and shuts the door.

• You see a close up shot of her sitting in the cubicle in distress looking petrified, there's something about this other male character that has threatened her and the audience are left in anticipation on what has happened between them. You then see an over the should shot of her looking at the same photo she was looking at in the beginning. Background noise of someone entering the toilet will appear, we know this by the sound of footsteps.
• Cuts to a point of view shot of the female character who is about to gradually open the door.This could make the character and the audience both seem vulnerable as there is no clue as to what might happen in the next few seconds. 

• The last shot shows the door opened and the male character standing right behind it looking menacing and powerful. He looks a lot bigger than her in the shot showing his dominance over her showing her vulnerable she is. However the audience are still not able to see his face clearly making the situation even more ambiguous.

• There would be ambient lighting used throughout to make everything seem more realistic and as the locations are dully lit this creates a tense eerie atmosphere.

Extra shots I thought we could include

-There could be a mirror shot where the camera just focuses on her reflection in the mirror, making the character seem more isolated and shows the intimacy's of being alone. It also allows the audience to see her emotions and get to know this character more.
- A point of view shot could also be used when the female character is hiding from the other leaving a tense atmosphere as your left unsure as to what will happen to this girl.
-When in the lift the girl may have dropped something that you see on her beforehand, for example a ring or a bracelet, she could be wearing a ring when she presses the button the lift but then suddenly after seeing the ambiguous figure the ring is on the floor in the cubicle which could be the last shot.

Characters + Costumes
-Female character- hopefully played by Alice. She is a vulnerable character - maybe she has gone through a lot in her life, audience are left unsure as to what has really happened to her.

Male character- He is a menacing character currently not cast. He should play a dominant fearful role making those around him feel threatened. His costume could show what kind of character he is- maybe arrogant and powerful due to a leather jacket or big black cowboy style boots which is also shown the film Kill Bill where you can tell what kind of character Bill is just by seeing what he is wearing. Another character like this is shown in Essex Boys and is Jason who wears fake gold jewellery and striking shirts showing his fake yet powerful and threatening personality.

Locations (pictures due to be put up shortly)
-A bedroom sets the first scene which will have hardly any objects in it and nothing that could give an idea of this characters personality. Set in a dingy public toilet and a poorly lit lift with little daylight in both- showing the cut off from what's happening and reality. This location is like in Witness where the little boy is looking though what is happening through the door this is also a grim dirty location making everything seem more gritty and fearful.

Reservoir dogs clip analysis

Directed by Quentin Tarentino in 1992 this film shows the difficulties that occur when five criminals are hired to carry out a jewellery robbery. Showing thriller conventions throughout to add not only fear but suspense as well to this crime thriller. Mostly shot in a dark grim warehouse making the crime seem more vulgar and wrong, this is a generic location for a thriller film because there isn't much natural light entering in it meaning that it makes the place feel more claustrophobic, and that there is no escape. Also as it is a dark and bleak place it reflects on what's happening as whatever happens seems twice as bad because of where it is situated, it makes the audience feel uneasy about what's happening. 

                                     Ironically right in the middle of this film the song 'Stuck In The Middle With You' is played as an introduction to a horrific torture scene involving the character 'Mr Blonde' and the cop that they held hostage.You see Mr Blonde dance to this music it this is ironic as you would normally expect a dance scene to be featured in a film where something good is happening whereas this completely contrasts this and makes what's happening seem even worse. When listening to the lyrics to this song it tells you that maybe the cop is wondering how he got into this situation and is scared he won't make it through this torturous situation alive. You could say that the cop being tortured is stuck in the middle, as the officers shouldn't have let the situation get so out of control and the criminals are on the other side who are leading him to potential death. A particular lyric that stood out to me which if you listen to carefully gives you an insight to what's happening, "It's so hard to keep the smile off my face" this could be because he knows that there is an undercover cop there too and that the cops are outside waiting to bust the operation make the torture stop. Also Mr Blonde seems to be in control of everything but really everything will get out of his control sooner or later and the cop knows this which relates him to the lyrics of this particular song. 

Particular shots that stand out in this film which set the genre and add suspense is the 'trunk and hood' point of view shot, Quentin Tarentino showed this shot when the Mr Blonde shows two of his accomplices the cop that he kidnapped and put into the trunk of his car. This shot is also featured in another one of Tarentinos films which is Kill Bill when the bride is looking into the trunk of the car at the character Sofie Fatale. This shot is from the point of view of the character in the trunk, it enables the audience to feel threatened as they can see what's happening though that characters eyes and makes them feel vulnerable. This particular shot also makes the three characters in the shot seem more dominant and therefore signifies their power.

Another shot used in this film which adds suspense to this film is a mirror shot of the character looking at themselves in the mirror but the camera only shows their reflection in the mirror. This enables the character to reflect upon a certain situation that may have happened. Also it tells the audience the character is alone and lets them get to know the character more. They can do this as it is a close up shot of his face, showing his reaction to what he can see in the mirror. There is also another scene where the undercover cop also known as Mr Orange looks into a mirror at himself before covering his real identity with a new nasty persona.


When watching this dramatic scene this shot particularly stood out to me due to the tension and fact you're left unsure as to who will be left dead. I researched what this particular shot is called and it is 'The Mexican Stand-Off', it is when two or more opponents aim at each other with guns. This shot was originated in the western 'The Good The Bad and The Ugly'. It is very effective in this scene as it leaves the audience in suspense, also Mr White is shown defending Mr Orange who is badly injured. The pool of blood around him and his arm are slightly covering Mr Whites legs in this shot which could signify that he's going to be the next one to die.

Costume- Throughout this film you see the criminals wearing smart black and white suits, the character 'Nice guy' who is Eddie Cabot doesn't wear the suits making him stand out more,He wears his normal clothes meaning that he isn't fake. As most of them are wearing the same suit this indicates that they all have a bond together, and operate like a pack of dogs. Their costume plays a big part in this film as it gives you an idea of what kind of characters these people are as subconsciously people judge others by what they wear. So these characters are trying to show off that they may have a lot of money and that they are typical gangsters and that it would be a mistake to mess with them.

Props-