5. pre production

Pre-Production
Samuel Schoettner

The poster really should reflect the character and the concept of the movie I
want the posters to depict the pain that the protagonist is inflicting on others
as well as show off his psychotic nature. This is why I want to create 3
different posters. The first one being an iconography poster, showing the
head of the protagonist (aka the plague doctor mask) however the back of the
head and the neck is replaced by an axe, which will be an iconic weapon
within the film. The second poster will be a close up of a face that has been
hurt and is clearly one of the protagonists torture victims, this will show the
audience the impact and will give the posters more dimension as it will be
focusing on building an expectation and idea of what the film may be, rather
than just showing of some characters
I want the poster to make the audience uneasy, I want the Protagonist to be
in power and control, I will shoot the protagonist from low angles, I will also
Ensure that posters without the protagonist in it showcase how to
protagonist has effected the the person in the photo for example the person
who is in pain and has blood on his face, as a result of being tortured by the
protagonist. This will ensure that the protagonist is always seen as more
powerful and in an ‘untouchable position’

Layout 1
This is a ‘iconographic’ poster
design displaying a very
important prop within the film
as well as part of the costume
of the protagonist. Because of
its simple design this would
work well as a teaser Poster.
The colour scheme is very
dark and monotone which is
intended as it makes the Title
and release date in red stand
out more, which will lead to
audience to remember the film
title and/or release date with
more ease.

Layout 2
This poster is perhaps a little
darker than it needs to be, this
poster depicts a close up shot, the
face of one of the protagonists
victims, we can see blood and
gashes on his face as well as the
horror and fright induced by
what we can only assume is the
protagonist. This poster will
serve to not only give an
expectation as to what content
might be within the film but also
it will help us create a more
detailed of the protagonist as we
the audience now see what the
protagonist can and will do to his
victims.

Layout 3
The third poster will hint at the
comedy within the film, it shows a
bloodied axe in a sink. This gives
the audience a clue that the film
will have a comedic nature.
It will also draw more attention to
the axe and show that it plays
quite a big role within the film.
It will also again showcase that
this is going to be a gruesome film
with lots of blood violence and
gore.

Story development
• This is the story development for the full film, as it will
help me shape the trailer.
• Having an idea of what the whole film would be like
helps me think of appropriate scenes to show as well as
what random cut in shots might be valuable/might make
sense to create interest.

Title: The Tortured
Genre Comedy/Horror
What 3 visual conventions of your genre will you include?
1. For the horror aspect of my short film, I will use a very dark colour scheme(lots of
reds and blacks), with very low-key lighting utilising lots of practical lights.
2. I will also utilise costume and props to evoke a sense of horror, for example the
protagonist will be wielding and axe.
3. I will also use lots of interesting camera movement as well as angles (low high,
Dutch tilt) for the horror, while keeping the camera work quite naturalistic for the
comedy scenes. This will give nice contrast as well as emphasising how broken the
protagonist is and that he can completely change his personality being around
different people.

What will you introduce early in the film to make the audience like/care about your
character?
I will have the character in lots of shots as well as making him both the hero, victim and
villain of the film. This creates lots of interest around the character, as there are lots of
conflicting emotions.
What is the ending to your film?
After protagonist finds out what he did, he calls the police and turns himself in, as he
realises it is the only way to honour the memory of his girlfriend, as she would have
never want him to do this. He gets sent to a high security prison.
Why is that your ending? What reaction are you hoping to elicit in the audience?
I want the audience to be surprised, as well as give them closure so that they have an
ending that makes sense.
What are the stakes for your character? What will happen if they don’t get what they
want?
If he doesn’t get revenge he will feel as though his girlfriend’s death will have gone
unpunished, this would make him restless and he would feel as though he had forever
let her down. In a way, it’s his last way of proving that he loves her, even though she is
dead and will never know.

3 Act Structure; Define each act
Act 1
We can see that the character is very happy, the scenes are very warm and the
camera angles are very natural, nothing is wrong.
Act 2
His girlfriend is ran over, this cause the protagonist to fall into a state of sorrow, while
he is in this state of sorrow. This is also the act in which the character looses his sanity
and begins working on his plan as well as actually beginning to find people. The
camera movement becomes more erratic, editing speeds up, the scenes become
darker with much more variation in setting and lighting.
Act 3
The final act depicts how the character fully changes into a psychopath and fully
uncovers how far he has gone/ how lost he is (mentally). It will also depict how the
protagonist realises how everything he did was not only morally wrong but also for
nothing as the person who was responsible for her death had taken their own life.

Dan Harmon’s Story Circle: Reference how your film follows it
A character is in a zone of comfort
He is with his girlfriend and evidently happy and comfortable.
But they want something
After his girlfriend is killed, he wants revenge, to ‘balance out the scales’
They enter an unfamiliar situation
He begins to kidnap and torture people, he is not very good at first, as he doesn’t know
what to do.
Adapt to it
He slowly learns how to cover his tracks and becomes better and finding kidnapping and
torturing his victims.
Find what they wanted
After killing everyone on his list both men and women, old and young, he thinks he has
definitely killed the person that was responsible for his girlfriends death.

Pay its price
After he has tortured dozens of people, he finds out who really killed her, and that that
person had taken their own life. This destroys the protagonist as he finally realises
what it is that he has done, killed dozens of innocent people. Furthermore, he has
isolated himself and lost all of his friends because he was obsessively seeking out
the strangers, to find and hurt them. This leaves him in state of depression, as he
has lost all his friends and loved ones, killed dozens of innocent people and at the
end he finds out/realises, that not only was it a terrible thing to do, but it was all for
nothing.
And go back to where they started
He does not go back to where he started as such, however he returns to his normal
mental state, though he ends up going to prison however this again, shows he is normal
again and like a ‘normal person’ he is willing to pay for his sins.
Having changed
The protagonist has changed from being a ‘normal’ person to a very psychopathic, mass
murderer, back to his normal mental state.

Romance Style sheet
For the romantic section of the trailer the colour tones should be warm and
innocent so lots of soft colour such as oranges golden oranges and violets and
pinks.

• Though this section of the trailer will only be very brief, it sets
the tone and mood for the rest of the trailer as it establishes
why the protagonist does the things he does.
• The style of cinematography will mostly of medium and medium
close shots, for this section that camera will have a handheld
feel for a realistic and natural feel. There may be some static
shots but for the most part they will be kept to a minimum. I
want to utilize warm and comforting colours as well as romantic
colours so the scene will consist of lots of reds, yellows, golds
and violet/pink tones.
• The Protagonist will be wearing light coloured clothes, as it will
strongly contrast with the fully black outfit he will wear
throughout the trailer, and will highlight that he has undergone
a mental change.
• I will mostly be utilizing natural light, using gold Light
reflectors to warm up the faces of the actors to push the image
of a warm loving relationship even more.

Horror Style sheet
For the horror/torture aspects of the film I would like to use very desaturated
and dark colours, mainly grey and blue tones with only (desaturated)
yellow/orange highlights

• Cinematography: This section of the film trailer will mostly consist of
fast paced shots with lots of movement to emphasize the action as well
as lots of tracking shots. I will utilize a wide range of shots, from
extreme close-ups to establishing shots and everything in between, to
really build a detailed image of what the film will contain. I will also be
using a lot of static medium/wide shots, to emphasize the isolation that
the character is undergoing when he is not torturing people, this will
show the audience that hurting innocent people has almost become a
necessity and a drug for the protagonist.
• Colour: The colour theme will be quite dark and almost creeping up to
Film noir. Using desaturated colours and drawing attention to reds
blues and yellows. As a rule of thumb I will be using complimentary
colours, however I will also use split complementary and triadic
colours when I want to show something is off or not quite right, or to
simply exaggerate a situation.
• Lighting: The lighting will mostly be quite lowkey as a lot of the shots
will be indoors or at night time, I will often back light the protagonist
so that we can only see a silhouette and when indoors I will use quite a
warm colour temperature and most probably candles all over the place
as it will act contrapuntal (much like the music within the trailer) you
would expect the scene to be very cold and rejective, but because he is
a psychopath I want it to come across as warm and
comforting/welcoming.

• I want the costume to look very makeshift, its not
supposed to look professional by any means. I want it to
look like he picked up a few things from around the
house, some gloves, his coat, and then welded together a
mask.
• The yellow apron and gloves will be used in a scene
when he is calmly washing up his bloodied axe in the
sink, using said yellow gloves and apron.
• (If I manage to get a hold of some organs) They will be
used mostly as set design to real create a horrifying and
disgusting set, just to show how far from humanity the
protagonist has strayed.

Potential Colour schemes for the start of the trailer, quite neutral and
natural colour palette with soft contrast and colour contrast (both in terms
of shade and colour) I will also weave in vibrant colours to emphasize that
the characters are happy and in love, using lots of pink tones.

Potential colour schemes to accent and highlight, youth of the protagonist
as well as comedy aspects within the film, however next to the warm tones
there will also be bright and sharp yellows to highlight madness and
naivety of the Protagonist.

These are the potential colour schemes for the darker/horror parts of the
film these will be very dark and desaturated blues and dark browns. Using
yellows, reds and greens to give mild contrast within the highlights.

• The colour schemes and palettes I have chosen will be used as
a strong guide for what each ‘section’ of my trailers visual
identity will be.
• I will use the colours to heavily influence everything from
costume design, to set design, to colour grading in post
production. These colours will be used to ensure that the
audience has an easier time figuring out what the emotion on
screen is.

Potential Poster Fonts
Almost all of the fonts I have chosen are very simple and clean the only
exception is: ‘Surfing Capital’ this is the font I am most tempted to use
as the title font on the posters as it looks handwritten and unclean. I
will use a selection of the other fonts (e.g. Atami, OptimusPrinceps and
AgencyFB) for things like the billing block, release date and/or cast list.

Planning that affects both
The Trailer and The poster

Resources
Props/ Costume needed Locations needed
Axe 50 Hob Moor Drive, York, YO24 4JZ
Plague doctor mask Wharram Percy, Malton, YO17 9TW
Yellow washing up gloves York Police Station, Fulford Rd, York
YO10 4BY
Yellow apron
Large black coat
Organs
Fake blood
Candles
Images of people
Black boots
Welder
Leather Gloves

Resources
Equipment needed Equipment needed
Camera Adobe Audition
Microphone (Maybe) Garage band
Tripod Led Lights
Light Reflector Memory Stick
Steadicam SD card
Slider
Shotgun mic
Handheld recorder
Adobe Premier Pro
Adobe After Effects
Adobe Photoshop
(Maybe) DaVinci resolve

Pot. Problem Effect on Production Solution/Control Person Responsible
Camera runs out of charge. Unable to film. Bring spare batteries, ensure they
are all charged. Bring charger.
Sam Schoettner
SD card is corrupt/won’t write. Unable to film/ edit Bring spare SD card, check SD
card before filming by taking a
few test videos.
Sam Schoettner
Defective kit/kit broke. Unable to film some shots. Check that kit is functional before
filming (Check it at college before
bringing it to shoot.)
Sam Schoettner
Lighting breaks. Shots will be underexposed or
extremely grainy/noisy.
Bring light reflectors and spare
lights to shoot. Utilize natural
light.
Sam Schoettner
Unable to organize props/costume. Final product will be lacking
props, might confuse the story.
Get all the props well ahead of
time. Make checklist so you can
tick of what props/costume you
have and what you still need.
Sam Schoettner
Not organizing the personnel
needed.
Unable to shoot due to lack of
actor(s) or crew etc.
Organize cast and crew. before
hand and ensure they will be able
to come and shoot when you need
them.
Sam Schoettner
Bad weather e.g. Rain, stormy
weather.
Unable to film as equipment could
break or personnel could get
injured/fall ill.
Check that weather is
appropriate, bring weather and
protective gear for both equipment
and personnel.
Sam Schoettner
Unplanned incidents such as
cast/crew/model(s) falling ill.
Unable to film due to lack of
cast/crew/model(s).
Have backup cast/crew/model(s). Sam Schoettner
Inappropriate weather for the
scene.
Unable to create a
convincing/appropriate feeling
shot
Have a backup shooting date,
check to see if the weather will be
appropriate before filming.
Sam Schoettner
Unable to organize appropriate
actors
Unable to make the protagonist
(or other characters) convincing,
will lack immersion
See how different actors portray
the character before casting them
for the shoot.
Sam Schoettner
Personnel unable to get to shoot
due to lack of transport or traffic.
Unable to film/delay filming. Make sure you have worked out
how they will get to the location
Sam Schoettner and cast/crew

Hazard Present? Seve
rity
Like
liho
od
Risk
Factor
1 Alcohol/drugs N
2 Animals/insects N
3 Audiences N
4 Camera cable/grip equipment Y N L 2
5 Confined spaces N
6 Derelict buildings/dangerous structures Y N VU 1
7 Electricity/gas (other than normal supplies) N
8 Fatigue/long hours N
9 Fire/flammable materials Y M P 3
10 Hazardous substances N
11 Heat/Cold/extreme weather N
12 Laser/strobe effects N
13 Machinery/industrial/ crane/hoist N
14 Materials - glass, non-fire retardant set materials N
15 Night operation Y N P 2
16 Noise – high sound levels N
17 manual handling Y N VU 1
18 Public/crowds N
19 Radiation N
20 Scaffold/Rostra N
21 Smoking on set N
22 Special effects/explosives N
23 Special needs (elderly, disabled, inexperienced) N
24 Specialised rescue/first aid N
25 Stunts, dangerous activities POSSIBLE L U 2
26 Tall scenery/suspended ceilings N
27 Vehicles/speed Y N U 1
28 Water/proximity to water Y L U 2
29 Weapons Y M U 2

Hazard no: 4 Risk Factor (1-5) 2
Description Camera cable/grip equipment
Person(s) exposed (detail if cast/crew (C), outside
company (O) or public (P) )
C
Action to take Make sure all equipment is well secured and out of the way such as
lights and cables so no one can trip over and get hurt.
Add a disability cable ramp (if necessary/needed)
Person/company responsible for action Sam Schoettner
To be completed at agreed later date -
Exposed person(s) informed? (y/n) Agreed action
taken? (y/n)
Risk removed?
(y/n)
Description Derelict buildings/dangerous structures
C
Action to take Do a location recce, which will enable us to look at and asses the risk and
will only go ahead with the shoot if the location is safe.
taken? (y/n)
Risk removed?
(y/n)

Description Fire/flammable materials
C
Action to take Check if there are flammable materials, only use the flammable
materials/fire in safe environment, ensure actors are wearing protctive
gear. Ensure that a fire extinguisher is nearby.
taken? (y/n)
Risk removed?
(y/n)
Description Night Operation
Person(s) exposed (detail if cast/crew (C), outside company (O)
or public (P) )
C
Action to take Have lots of light sources available, ensure all cast members
have torch available at their disposal.
Exposed person(s) informed? (y/n) Agree
d
action
taken
Risk
remov
ed?
(y/n)

Description Manual handling
C
Action to take Ensure Heavy items are carried by the appropriate amount of people.
taken? (y/n)
Risk removed?
(y/n)
Description Stunts, dangerous activities
C
Action to take Ensure that the area is safe and any dangerous activities are checked
and trialled before they are performed. Provide appropriate safety
equipment for any stunts (such as mats and mattresses)
taken? (y/n)
Risk removed?
(y/n)

Description Vehicles/speed
C
Action to take Ensure that all cast and crew members are at a safe distance from the
vehicles when they are in action.
taken? (y/n)
Risk removed?
(y/n)
Description Water/proximity to water
C
Action to take Ensure that all cast is cautious around the water, have lifebuoy at hand
so that (if necessary) it is available.
taken? (y/n)
Risk removed?
(y/n)

Description Weapons
C
Action to take Ensure that the weapons are only used when shooting and are kept in a
safe place when they are not needed on set. Ensure that the cast and
crew handles the weapons with care and that the blade is covered
(protected) at all times until it is needed on film.
taken? (y/n)
Risk removed?
(y/n)
Completed by: David Briggs Position: Producer
Signature Date:
Countersigned by: PRODUCER
Signature Date:

List of diegetic
sounds
Punch Screams
Slap crunching
Axe scrape Electric sounds
Axe hit Metal scrapes
gurgle Wood scrapes
Footsteps heavy Splatters
Footstep light Drip/dripping
Body movements
(cloth, swishes etc.)
Whimpers
Heavy breathing
Grabbing sounds,
soft to hard.
Ambient Sounds
City ambiance, (people
talking, footsteps, business,
machines etc.)
Outdoor ambiance, birds
chirping, insects. Animals,
mild wind.
Street ambiance, cars driving.
Room ambiance, mostly
silent, little humming,
creaking sounds.

Non diegetic sounds
Soundtrack
Voice over.

5. pre production

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5. pre production

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