Storyline

START OF TWO MINUTES

There are two stories running at the same time between which the camera will cut. The main focus will be on the second shot, yet the most action will be included in the first, as this particular scene happens to be a relatively high paced fight scene.

The first scene is the general fracas in which our man is killed

We see the House being trashed, pictures falling off walls, doors banging, crockery smashing and such like, as the main fight will take place in the kitchen. There will be a deliberately wide angle shot that shows the setting in the house/ apartment to which we will go back to later on in the opening to show the same scene, but highlight the differences between the then present, and the now present.

The other scene entails a slow paced journey in the back of a taxi for a woman going home. There is a highlighted lack of dialogue, with all responses to an over chatty cab driver being in facial expressions from woman, her lack of engagement for all to see. One particular shot we wish to use is a mirror shot, where the cabbie looks back whilst/or doing/does a hand gesture of sorts, only for the woman reading a document of some sorts to do with work.

These 2 shots cut to and fro regularly and this can be seen by looking at our storyboard, for we have shown this by way of images.

She has clear dislike for this particular cab, and gets out asap, with all music immediately stopping, and giving way to the eerie sounds of street. She slowly walks up to her front door, noticing that the door is double locked, this surprise shown by her initial instinct of just walking up to the door and opening it with one key. Once she is inside there is no music, just diegetic sound showing what she is doing.  night/day?

She comes home and the house is completely normal but for a fallen plant which she picks up and tidies, thinking little of it. She then proceeds to go into the kitchen and there is a note explaining the absence that was shown by the complications with the lock. The note will say “be back soon” or something equally as vague. The note is positioned next to a general assortment of household nicknacks but there is a mock police badge located here that is clears to the audience. She then turns on the kettle, and proceeds in her normal home life: pottering around, watching television while putting away the dishes.

Suddenly there is a knock on the door and it’s the police, and with reference back to scene 1, We see the cop is the killer. Yet the strange thing is, the woman and him know each other and seem quite close (possibly through the husband’s work) we can see this closeness by the way they great each other.

He tells her there’s been an accident

They go through to the kitchen, her looking and acting emotionally weaker and unstable, and this is where we see same shot as before during the fight, but this time the surroundings being a clean, spotless hallway.

In the hallway, he straightens a picture on which the camera focuses; it is of a wedding or party, in which both killer and victim in the same photo but this time as close friends.

End of 2 minutes.

She finds out that he’s not dead and goes to look for him. She’s then confronted by the bad cop and finds out she’s been betrayed. She finds her husband eventually and he goes after the other police officer with the intention of killing him. When it comes to killing him he cannot. The wife turns up also with a gun. We hear a shot but do not know who killed him. The final scene shows them burying him.

JT

Location

Location

we have chosen to shoot in this house because the kitchen is very open plan. This will allow us to shoot the fight scene as we have plenty of space to put the camera and allow plenty of movement from the actors. The house itself is nice enough to represent our characters as successful middle class young professionals but does not show them to be unrealistically wealthy. there is a long hallway (1) that leads into the kitchen that would allow us to create the first shot of the fighting sequence where the attacker drags the victim into the kitchen. through the kitchen doorway there is a big gap where the victim can be thrown to the floor (2). there is a large space to put the camera when filming the fight scene behind the kitchen counter (3).

 1- Long Hallway

2- Open plan kitchen                                                                            

               

                                                                                3- Large space for victim to be thrown into

The Outside of the house doesn't give the appearance of  a big expensive house again this helps to add to the realism of the set up. In the dark the front garden almost looks ominous which would help to create tension as our character approaches the door. the door also has a frosted glass windows in the front which will give the effect of a silhouette once our character has walked through the door which would be both visually appealing as well as adding to the tension by drawing out the sequence.

4- Ominous front Garden

The taxi scene will be filmed on and around Balham highroad. we have chosen to film here as it is an urban area that has signs of deprivation. This will show that the couple are living in an area that, although relatively inner city is not a rich as other areas, adding to the realism.

4- Balham Highroad

TS

Characters & Actors

Charactors & Actors

Ray Winston has the grit required to play a corrupt police officer and would therefore be a good choice to play the villain of our film. He is recognised as a gritty British actor playing roles in films such as Sexy Beast. He often plays tough guys in gritty British films that are often based around crime for example '44 Inch Chest'


http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0935653/

Clive Owen would also make a convincing corrupt police officer for similar reasons.he has made the journey from small British films to large American ones. He is an actor that sells the film himself; people who see that Clive Owen is in a film will assume that the film is a good one and worth watching.

He regularly performs in action films such as The International and the Bourne Identity, as well as cleverer, less vilolent and action filled films such as Children of Men.

 http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0654110/

Gemma Arterton would be good to play the leading role as she has the right look. She also played the main role in ‘the disappearance of Alice creed’ a film of similar genre.She is a very versatile actress who has been involved in Hollywood action films such as Clash of the Titans, and smaller British films. she is very much an up and coming actress and would undoubtedly attract an audience from her large fan base. It may be arguable that her looks would also help to attract a male audience however more importantly, as this is already a fairly male based film, she would also attract a female audience as she is playing the main character in a film of a genre that is mostly dominated by males.
  
 http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2605345/

Jamie Bell would be good as the younger no corrupt police officer who is supposedly murdered in the first scene as he looks the part, and has done action films before such as Jumper. He is young enough to play the character we have cast him for. He has blond hair and light features which would make him seem more vulnerable in his role. He is also an up and coming British actor which would help to attract an audience.


http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0068260/


TS/JT

Graphics

The graphics used in our film will have to suit the genre. As the film has a strong gritty tone the graphics would have to convey this. We considered using a hand written font in order to match to the hand written note as the title is what is written. However we felt that this would not reflect the tone or genre of the film with the danger of looking comic.

Possible Fonts:

Skin & Bones

Farcry

Rock it

The Title of the film would fade on at the end of the two minute opening in the centre of the screen. The screen would be black and the writing would be grey, as shown above, this gives a gritty nourish feel. We considered using white but decided it would be too bright and would not suit the tone of the film.

The production company, actors and directors would be credited in the opening shots of the film. Again the font would be grey on a black background. These credits will be in the bottom left hand side of the screen and would fade on (quickly). They would move very slightly and slowly to the right. This will make them look more professional and classy as they would not be static. We would include the Film4 logo however we may edit it to suit the colour code of grey and black.

Unedited Film4 logo

Edited Film4 logo

TS

Sound

Music: The arrival- to be used in the first half of the film opening; when the actress is in the cab, but with the volume much lowered for the periods of the fight. It will fade out as she opens the front door, having crescendod to a climax as she is walking up to the front door, to add tension.

            We chose this piece of music because it seems nice and relaxed, while at the same time, when the volume is raised; create an atmosphere of tension with the tempo.

For the second half of the film opening, ‘Separate’ was thought of, but after hearing it along with watching the film; we have changed our mind and will look for another track.

Diegetic sound (only): used briefly when paying for the cab, and when she is alone in the house.

Sound effects: We hope to use sound effects to enhance the audio during the fight, with punch noises etc. added over the top. These might be taken from a sound effect website or alternatively we could record them separately and add them in over the top. A doorbell noise is needed for when Jonathan comes to the door.

JT

                        

Costume

Costume

During the fight scene the bad cop would be wearing mostly black clothes. The costume would show that he is not a good character and may even be thuggish. He would wear a leather jacket and gloves. From this it is clear that he is the bad guy. When he arrives at the house later on the costume will have changed. He would wear a dark suit with a formal shirt but no tie. He would not wear a tie as although he is there on official police business he is also there to console a friend and would therefore not be overly formal. He would also wear a black work to make him seem slightly ominous to the audience.

An example of the sort of work coat the bad cop may wear.

The good cop’s costume would be casual as he is attacked in his home. The costume would consist of jeans, a t-shirt with a jumper on top. This costume makes him seem innocent and non aggressive. The jumper would be a dark colour as a bright one may compromise the grit of the film, as well as the fact that he turns out not be completely benevolent when he gets his revenge later in the film.

An example of the sort of jumper the good cop may wear.

The girlfriend of the good cop would be dressed in semi-formal work clothes as she is returning from work. Again her clothes would make her look fairly innocent without ruining the gritty tone yet they make her look benign enough that it is shocking when she goes after he boyfriend’s kidnapper

Something similar to what the girlfriend may wear.

TS

Production Companies

Production companies

The production company we have chosen is film4 productions. Our film is aimed at the younger generation as the company was only launched in 1998 it is fairly new and relatively fashionable. The production company also operated a TV channel that is paired with channels such as Channel 4, E4, 4music, Kerrang, Q, Kiss and magic. All of these channels are targeted to our target audience. This guarantees that our film will be advertised effectively to the correct audience.

Film4 productions have also been involved in the making of many British films of the same tone and style as ours. This includes ‘This is England’ and ‘Trainspotting’. Film4 productions have a reputation for creating gritty British films successfully.

Film4 would therefore offer us a guaranteed niche audience for indie style films due to there portfolio. Using Film4 would also guarantee us publicity as they often show 'special' previews in the breaks between films which would help us with the marketing of our film. when the film is out of the cinema using Film4 would also guarantee us air time on the Film4 television channel.

TS

Audience Profile

Our target audience would be the 15-26 year old market. As this is a thriller it is possible that the audience would be more male than female. However the protagonist is female so this may open up the market to female audience.

Our niche audience would be British males. There is a cult following to British thrillers such as Football Factory and Layer cake. We hope to break in to this market as our film fits into this genre.

The film is quite violent so it would have to be rated as a 15. To reduce this violence in order to make it a 12A may put the integrity and grit of the film at risk. It’s better to make a good film that is limited in audience by age than to make a film of worse quality that is open to everyone.

JT

Shotlist

JT

Storyboard

We found the storyboards extremely helpful because they were an outlet for our ideas in a literal form, on paper. Here we could discuss together, before putting pen to paper, how our film was going to look, how it was going to be made. It made it possible for us to visualize the final product and therefore work hard to realize this.

We have chosen to set our film in suburban london. The girl is taken home in a Mercedes Taxi, to a nice part of the suburbs and when inside, the house shows wealth through it's luxurious kitchen, and this is to keep in tone with the young professional, unmarried couple; he is a young but high up police officer, while she has an office job, both of which pay for this nice home.
 The red of the walls in the home indicates danger, to go with the mood of violence and betrayal. 


JT/TS

Original Pre-Production Proposal