Thriller Storyboard

Click Here to see our first storyboard for our Thriller Opening. This is mainly just a preliminary storyboard but we will hopefully do a more detailed one involving shot times which will let us check how long our film will be and whether it will be within the time limits.

Panic Room Opening Analysis

Institutions: Directed by David Fincher and starring Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart and Forrest Whittaker, Panic Room was  Columbian Pictures Corporation film which was released in the 3rd of May 2002. With a budget of $48,000,000 it gained $30,056,751 profit in America and £2,022,582 in the U.K.


Sound: The first sounds we hear are deep horns which usually are used in situations where tension is building and something is about to happen. For instance deep horns are used in Jaws for when the shark is about to attack. We can also hear what sounds like police sirens in the distance, the fact that they fade away could either signify that they are going away from you which of course in a bad situation is not good, but it also could signify just how lost you can get in the big city whether it's metaphorically when it comes to you being in trouble or just generally. The next prominent instrument featured are the violins (or cellos) which up the tempo of the music, this could be to signify that whatever tension was building up is now almost about to commence, the music also draws you into the otherwise almost 'bland' visuals. Lastly we hear the original horns but accompanied with cymbals which build up the energy of the introduction and exposes all of the tension thathas been previously built up.


Credits: The type face used in the credits is large and 3 dimensional, ithas a 'grand' feel to it which gives off the impression that this isn't just a quickly put together robbery film, it is a well crafted and almost important film. The credits are also floating above the city ground level almost making them seem more important than the rest of the world.


Mise-en-scene: With in the large building coming up all around you there is a sense of entrapment which is a classic thriller convention, they also make you feel small and insignificant in comparison to them. This is only highlighter by the large shadows which are thrown off by the buildings, which makes them look as if they are bearing down on you. The opening also introduces the location of the entire film. Which gets the audience more immediately involved in the film. 


Semiology: The buildings themselves are very straight-edged which when teamed with the shadows gives off the impression of bars, which again is another convention of a thriller. This is especially appropriate as obviously the film is called Panic Room. The level in which the camera is set makes sure that you are surrounded by huge building which all look the same give a feeling of anonymity within the skyscrapers. That you cold do anything if you were a criminal as you could just blend together. Even the title of he film gives off the impression of being enclosed in a small space and being closed off from the rest of the world.

Blog Labels

Only just realised I haven't added labels to any of my blog posts so this is very overdue.

Our complete Thriller Plot

There is a general plot for our thriller which is the idea that after being told that his dead daughter is in the house the man tries to find her but to no avail, later in the movie it is found that many people see the girl in various positions of danger for instance the delivery boy sees the girl drowned in the pool. But later on all of the people that claim to have seen her all are found dead in the ways that thy claim to have seen the girl die, for instance the pizza delivery boy is found drowned in a pool. The father is first suspected and it his job to prove his innocence while not getting caught in the process.

Thriller Opening Synopsis

Click here to see the opening synopsis for our thriller. We realise that the amount we plan to film seems like a lot but after we finish our more detailed storyboard we will be able to look at shot length and see if we can fit it all within the two minute time limit.

Thriller Location

We have sourced a location which is a large house with a long driveway which will be good for building up the tension and for getting plenty of footage on. Click here to see the blog with the pictures of the location from Google Streetview. We will also later post more detailed pictures not just from google streetview which go all the way up to the house to get a better idea for the landscape.

Thriller Character Posts

I think the casting of the characters helps the thriller effect and the realism of it. Liam is cast as the pizza delivery boy because the height difference between him and the father (me) of the supposedly dead daughter is quite large, emphasising the youth of the pizza delivery boy, and with youth can come vulnerability, so any danger shown in the film holds special presence when the boy is involved. The audience is also likely to be more emotionally involved/in tune with the younger character as because of his age he is at more of a similar level to our target audience. 

Profile
Male
16 Years Old
Friendly
Innocent, just trying to get his job done



Emily is cast as the daughter of the owner of the house, we chose to use a young girl character as it is a common character in thrillers, as it can be scary. So we chose Emily as of course she is a girl and she is quite small, helping to show how young the character is. We could have used an actual young girl (Jack's sister) but we thought it would be easier to have someone who has the look of a younger girl but can follow instructions and understand the concept more accurately.  She is first spotted in an upstairs window, and again behind her father looking as though she is about to harm or shock the other characters. This character is very significant in the film in helping to create tension and suspense.

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Female
Very young, about 7 years old
This is a ghost of the dead girl, haunting her house and seems intent on harming somebody, possibly in revenge for her death


I play the father of the girl. As I have a larger build I am best suited to play an older, father figure, again to emphasise the age difference between the three characters and the contrast in height with the boy adds to the boy's vulnerability. I also decide to wear a shirt and tie to make me seem older and more sophisticated; somebody living in such an expensive and large property would take pride in their appearance, this is shown in the well-kept gardens. Also the formal dressing draws more attention to him in this context which later comes into play where if the actual film were to be made fully he would be seen as the lead character. 

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Male
About 45 years old
Living alone after his daughter died, quite vulnerable
Intelligent, polite and friendly