2. NARRATIVE OUTLINE
The plot focuses on 2 characters sat in a café.
Across the opening, as an audience we discover a
troubled back-story which recently occurred.
We learn that the witness saw his best friend and a mob of
men, murder a man.
The sequence plays out as an interesting dilemma, where
the killer learns that his friend witnessed his crime.
The opening finishes on a cliff-hanger and the inference
suggests that the witness will face a bad fate.
3. MISE-EN-SCENE
Characters: Killer, Victim, Witness, 4 Mob Members
Props – bats, car, clothing – jeans, dark jacket but a white top to show
goodness in our witness but a dark past, mobs – dressed in dark
clothing, balaclava,
Locations:
Café – dingy location, limited lighting, grimy,
Unicorn Place – run-down estate, old worn out housing and
vehicles, pot holes, broken fences, used syringes, bricks on the floor
from previous beatings.
4. DIALOGUE SCRIPT
Killer: “Why did you call me here?” [7secs]
*Witnesses inner voice*: “What I’ve seen… it can’t be true”
Killer: What’s wrong? [15secs]
*FLASH BACK* Establishing shot of the mob stood on estate
Killer (voice-over flashback drawing it to a close): “Come on, out with it” [22secs]
Witness: “There’s something I need to say” [26secs]
Killer: “Come on” [27secs] (cutting into the end of Witness speech)
Witness: “I just don’t know how to phrase it” (said slowly) [34secs]
*FLASH BACK* Victim pulls up in his car [37secs]
*shot of the witnesses hands from the overhead café lighting* (eerie silence) [45secs]
*FLASH BACK* Mob members barge into The Witness; distressed camera movement (jittering)
and back into focus [51secs]
Witness: You know that estate? You know, the one across from the Bowling Alley, sorta…”
[55secs]
Killer: *clenched jaw* “Yeah,… (insert estate name)” [58secs]
5. Killer: “I was down there the other night… heading up towards the forest at the back of the
estate” [62secs]
Witness: “Anyway” (cutting in) [64secs]
*FLASH BACK* The Witness narrates what happens: “I was on my way back from the shops.
When I decided to cut through the estate to, you know, make it quicker… When I heard this
noise” (Insert non-diegetic sound of car) [74secs]
Killer: “so” [75secs]
*FLASH BACK* The Witness narrates what happens: “I saw this guy get pulled from his
car” (Looks over a car and sees this, hesitates and ducks down, before looking underneath
the car). “So, I ducked down and moved in closer to get a better view” [83secs]
*Mob surround man on the floor* “There were 5 guys and one of them kept hitting and
hitting the man until he stopped moving” [88secs]
*Non-diagetic: shoe scuffling on tarmac/road surface underneath the car* Witness: “Then
they must have heard me, one of the members moved closer to the car.” [97secs]
*Shot of handprint on the window, the Witness then runs off in clear view of the mob*
(including extension of the opening shot) [107secs]
Killer: So, what we gonna do about this? *shot of the mob walking through the café doors*
(shot of Killer to Witness to Mob)
6. Thriller Film Conventions
Plot
Plot twist: we discover who the killer really is.
The plot is characterized by a mood of violence, crime and
injustice.
A hero (The Witness) throws the plans of the killer and is
not uncovering something that has happened (typical)
Twist on general conventions: we know the protagonist but
not the antagonist (normally the other way around).
Mise-en-scene
Café: depicts British working class society. (dark and dull
lighting)
Estate: See the story from the protagonist’s point of view.
The audience pities the male protagonist by uncovering a
dilemma.
7. Sound and Editing
Eerie music will build tension when appropriate.
Flashbacks.
Titles: It is common for a particular event to be shown before the title appears. We will be
doing this within the opening few seconds.
Jump cuts: Cutting rate increases as the plot climaxs.
Use of Diegetic (to imitate hitting during violence) and Non-diegetic sounds during the
scenes.
Fast editing during violence.
The action fades to black after a scene has finished, which signifies that something bad is
going to happen.
Lighting and Camera
Tracking and panning shots.
Quick cuts and camera angle changes.
Manipulation of shadow (chiaroscuro lighting) will be something we play on.
Long shots are used to set the scene and show the audience where action will later take
place.
Clear shots of body language. E.g. Use of shaky camera to represent the characters
emotions.
8. Shot list
0 secs - Title sequences – POV shot from witness
7 secs - Over the shoulder/POV from the Killers perspective
15 secs - Close – up of the witness from the Killers perspective
22 secs - Establishing shot of the flash back, very wide zooms in to wide shot (may
include close up of the shoes as the character is looking down)
26 secs - Over the shoulder of the Killer
36 Secs – flash back, POV from witness of the vehicle
45 Secs – Cutaway from the light to a Cut in shot of the Killers hands
51 Secs - POV from witness perspective
55 Secs – POV of the killer
58 Secs – Extreme close up of jaw-line
9. Shot list
62 Secs – cuts to an over the shoulder shot
64 Secs – Close up of the witness
74 Secs – Flash back, POV from the witness
75 Secs – cut in
78 Secs – Flashback witness POV
83 Secs – Mid shot
88 Secs – Low angles, close up shot zoom out to a mid shot showing the killers
power
93 Secs –
97 Secs – Eye line close to the floor to a Low angle (highlighting the shoes)
1.47 Secs – Eye line/mid shot. The angle may tilt up to look at character.
?? Secs- Initial running scene, POV from witness. Mid shot to wide angle shot, as he
looks around.
?? Secs – Mid shot (possibly POV from witness) of the Killers face.
?? Secs - Mid shot of the front of café, enter mob. (Transition pivot from the table)
10. Ideas, Messages
We’re going to highlight the dark side of British
youth culture and it’s thuggish perception by
society. Although we do not feel this to be the
case with all youth culture. It’s still believed by
the public an therefor a popular topic for a film.
The film deals with the inner conflict of the
witness, as he has to decide where he’s morals
lie. The conflict is only made worse when he
confronts his friend.
