1. Storyboard
Alex Burton
Our production starts with a transition of three
shots that slowly become closer to the door at
the end of a dimly lit hall. We will have low
key lighting to create shadows and an eerie
atmosphere that will look more conventional than
a corridor in broad daylight. We start it in
this ambiguous way as we want our audience from
the very start to be questioning what is going
on.
The shots will start as a long shot to a medium
shot until finally a medium close up. We also
want it to seem as if it is P.O.V so the shots
may be slightly shaky.
2. The camera will continue into the room at
the end of the corridor. A medium long shot
will show the back of a man wearing dark
clothing standing in front of a desk. By
showing only the back of the male figure it
conceals his identity.
The room surrounding the figure will be
simple and look like a normal everyday
bedroom. This will connote that the
antagonist is someone that will be part of
the victims everyday life and give the
impression like many horror films do that it
could be anyone.
The next shot will then be medium close up
of the same figure. We will see that on the
desk before him is a small mirror, however
the camera will be positioned at an angle
that does not show the reflection of the
mans face.
3. The next shot will be a medium close up
of the figures shoulders and head. His
head will be bowed forward connoting
secrecy and it will conceal the man’s
identity. This should build tension and
anticipation for the audience as they
become curious as to who the man is.
The next shot will be from a different
angle so that when the man lifts his head
in the reflection of the mirror we will
see the mask. The shot will be
accompanied by a sudden crescendo in the
soundtrack that will hopefully shock the
audience as they will not be expecting to
see the mask in the reflection.
4. The next sequence of shots will be the title sequence. We
have decided to have this separate to the action on screen
as from watching other films we feel it an be rather
effective. Our title sequence will be a variety of photos of
different victims written on in red pen taking up part of
the screen. The titles will then appear in different corners
of the screen each shot. The photos will help to further
explain the narrative of our productions as the seven deadly
sins will be written on them. The title sequence will also
be accompanied by a backing track that will be low and dark
to set a menacing and dangerous tone and atmosphere to the
rest of the opening scene.
5. The title we have recently chosen for our production
is redemption and this will appear on a black screen
after the end of the title sequence. We want the
font to be plain and simple as many film titles
often are. However if we could find font with slight
sharp looking embellishments this would be fitting
as we do want to indicate that it is of the horror
genre.
The screen will shortly after cut to black where the
camera will thereby be placed into a wardrobe. Our
actress will then pull clothes apart looking through
the wardrobe. We thought this would be a good
transition from the dark title sequence to a normal
everyday setting without looking roughly cut and
edited.
The next shot will then simply be a medium longshot
of the clothes chosen from the wardrobe being thrown
onto the bed connoting the normalcy of someone
preparing themselves for the day. We wat it to seem
realistic and as if the events of the horror are
happening to a normal person so it could happen to
any member of the audience as well which will
heighten fear.
6. The next shot will be a close up of some makeup on a
desk. The takes whilst the girl is getting ready will
be short only a couple of seconds each but we wanted
to introduce a mundane task whilst at the same time
introducing the narrative. Whilst these shots take
place in the background a TV news report will be
taking place explaining that there is a killer on the
loose and will create a sense of foreboding on the
girls future.
The next shot will be an extreme close up of the girl
putting lipstick on. We wanted to bring attention to
the lips as this victim is guilty of committing the
lust sin and we wanted to hint toward seduction in a
inconspicuous way.
We will then have a close up of a radio that was
previously playing in the background and she will
reach over and tur it off. This could connote her
ignorance towards the killer and could imply that she
will be unsuspecting later in the scene when she
becomes the victim.
7. The camera will then zoom to a close up of a
vibrating phone. The phone screen will be
illuminated to show that a boy has text her the
audience will assume that this is who she is
getting dressed up for.
Two different angled medium close ups will show the
girl texting back and forth to this boy. Instead of
zooming in on the phone which may look unfocused
and ruin the effect the text conversation will
appear on the screen as it happens(a technique we
have seen in other films).
The conversation will show that the boy is planning
to come over later which also further implies the
reasoning behind her committing the lust scene.
This is also implied because the girl will mention
her parents have gone out suggesting intimacy
without being explicit.
8. The next shot will show the girl placing something
inside of a cupboard. Again like the wardrobe shot the
camera will be placed inside. The screen will then cut
to black as she closes the door.
We have decided to do this because we wanted to show a
passing of time to later in the day. We thought the
best way to do this would be to have the camera then
inside a cupboard in the kitchen for it then to be
opened by the girl as she pulls out two wine glasses.
She would be wearing different clothes to show the
change in time frame.
The shot will then change to a medium close up. I will
be outside holding the camera in a P.O.V shot of the
murderer. The shot will be looking into the
conservatory where the girl will be walking in and
placing the glasses on the table. We will then add in
the sound of heavy breathing as if the antagonist is
the one looking in at the girl instead of the audience
seeing it through the camera.
9. The next shot will be a close up of the two wine
glasses being filled with red wine. We will emphasis
the sound of the pouring of the drink by increasing
the volume. We wanted to include red wine because
again it connotes lust and seduction with the use of
alcohol and the colour red, but also red can connote
danger which will come later in the scene.
In a medium close up the shot will show the girl
slowly raising the glass of wine to her lips. Before
she drinks it however she will the sound of the back
door opening. She will slowly put the glass back down
and go to investigate. This is a typical genre
convention of a horror film as people who are home
alone often venture to investigate mysterious sounds.
The next shot will be from a low angle showing the
girls lower body walk into the frame and see the
kitchen door open in the background. The music will
the start to slowly build connoting a start to the
action and danger within the scene.
10. It will then cut to a long shot of the kitchen area. The girl
will again walk into the frame from the left. She walks to
the kitchen door and closes it and locks it. As she turns
around to walk back to the conservatory the antagonist will
walk into the doorway into the background of the frame. This
scene will be accompanied by high pitched uncomfortable
sounds to hopefully frighten the audience as we see the
antagonist in the house for the first time.
The next shot will be focused on the conservatory table as
the girl walks back in and sits at the table again going to
take a drink. Again she will hear a sound, this time the
stereo will start to play some creepy old fashioned music and
she will get up to turn it off.
The shot will then be a long shot as the girl walks into the
frame towards the camera so only her head is shown in the
foreground of the frame. She will then be looking at the
stereo that we cannot see, turning the music off. Behind her
we will then see the killer walking into the room coming up
behind her. We could slow this down like in ‘scream’ so it
looks more daunting. By also positioning it in the way we do
it brings the focus of the audience to the girl before the
antagonist appears in the frame.
11. The screen will then cut to black and then open on a
extreme long shot when a car drives into the frame. The sky
will be dark showing that the person arrives late at night.
It may also be raining showing pathetic fallacy as it will
reflect the dark grim mood of the scene. The audience will
also assume this is the victims boyfriend as the text
conversation earlier in the opening showed he was going to
come over at night.
There will then be a high angle close up of the boys shoes
walking towards the front door. He then slightly hesitates
for a reason unknown to the audience. We wanted to do this
because it would -even after the death of the victim- build
tension which would keep the audience on edge right till
the very end of the production.
The last shot of our production will show the mask hanging
off the front door the boy has just walked in to. We wanted
it to be a sort of calling card when he kills people –
like we see in Batman by the use of the joker card. We also
splattered the mask with blood to further show the death of
the girl and the violence she suffered.
