Film Production Screenplay

 EXT./INT NEIGHBOURS HOUSE- DAY

The MURDERER is seen with his first victim going towards his home and the wheelchair boy, who is the murderer's neighbour, on the inside trying to get the young woman's attention.

1) The MURDERER and the FIRST VICTIM walking down the road.

2) WHEELCHAIR BOY, seeing this bangs on the window in desperation.

3) The MURDERER and the FIRST VICTIM continue walking and into the murderers house, appearing not to notice.

INT. MURDERERS HOUSE- DAY

We see the MURDERER acting friendly and flirtatious with the FIRST VICTIM, it appears as if it is a date. Then it switches to her dead body. It’s made obvious that it was the man that killed her.

SERIES OF SHOTS:

In the kitchen the MURDERER is turning on the kettle and acting friendly, smiling etc.

1) They are now in the sitting room with drinks in their hands they are laughing and it appears that they are having a good time. It’s visible that the woman has no idea that the man wants to kill her.

2) The FIRST VICTIM is now dying on the floor.

3) We see the feet of the MURDERER walking out of the room.

INT. ESTATE CORRIDOR- DAY

The MURDERER has caught on to what the WHEELCHAIR BOY is doing. So in this scene the MURDERER threatens the WHEELCHAIR BOY and then locks him in a room.

MURDERER

I know what your doing

WHEELCHAIR BOY

What do you mean?!

MURDERER

I saw you watching me from the window

WHEELCHAIR BOY

I don’t know what you’re talking about, I don’t know what you mean.

MUDERER

I’m telling you, if you tell anyone I’m going to kill you

WHEELCHAIR BOY

NO! Arrgghh what you doing?! Stop it!

CALL SHEET

Production Obstacles

19th November 2010
The opening sequence was meant to be filmed at night time so it made getting the lighting correct a bit more difficult. It was obvious that it was day time so we had to alter the plot slightly. the days filming also took longer than we had originally anticipated...

Production Successes

18th November 2010
Today we were able to transport all of our props and equipment to our filming location off school site shows meticulous initiative and precision as we were able to be organised.Another success was being able to borrow the schools only wheelchair, I handed in a letter to a member of staff that stated what our intentions were and this I believe was essential as it showed maturity and organisation, this was our most important prop as it strayed from the conventional thriller which we wanted to do.

19th November 2010

We started and finished our opening sequence production. I think overall the groups organisation and corporation made the day successful. Another success was that a member of the group was able to accommodate the scene in their home this helped us greatly because our complex storyline relied upon a house location. The scenes that were supposed to be at night were replicated to a decent level since we was in the day time.

29th November 2010
Today we started the editing of our opening sequence, it was good looking at our ideas and storyboards come into action.

6th December 2010
We were able to do another day of filming, this was needed in order for us to improve the quality of our thriller work.

3.2 Analysis of two opening sequences in the thriller genre

2. Panic Room opening credits analysis

3.2 Analysis of two opening sequences in the thriller genre

1. Jaws opening credits analysis

The Editing Process: Preliminary Exercise

In the editing of our preliminary exercise we used Final Cut Pro, it is an editing software that is able to edit camera projects. During our last lesson we learnt some basic knowledge about the Final Cut Pro tools like what use the knife that helps in cutting clips also timebars that...

The synopsis of the film & Shot for the opening sequence

A wheelchair bound, teenage boy, begins to have disturbing dreams of female characters and his neighbour. Only to wake up to see the exact same women walking into the house accompanied by the neighbour. He then begins to keep tabs on the neighbour using a video camera to record his findings. Though danger seems to creep his way, as subtlety is not his strong point because the neighbour begins to become suspicious of someone watching him. As he cannot get solid evidence on his camera alone, he get his friend to help him, as she can get nearer to the neighbours house.  The neighbour is a serial killer, the teenager spends days making a diary of his findings see little things that can just LOOK wrong. Such as stroking females faces in a sinister way as they shiver away, or him looking towards a door and then backing away cautiously, or even some of them apparently “fainting”. However appearing like some fishy is going on isn’t enough to convict a man. It is obvious that this dark sinister man is up to no good, but is too clever to get caught. So in desperation for convicting evidence, the teenage girl breaks into the house with the camera.

Shot 1- Point of View Shot

Shot 2- Medium Shot

Shot 3- Point of View Shot

Shot 4- Medium Shot

Shot 5- Long Shot

Shot 6- Medium Two Shot

Shot 7- Point Of View Shot

Shot 8- Worm View Shot

Shot 9- Long Shot

Shot 10-Long Shot(shot reverse shot)

Shot 11- Medium Shot(shot reverse shot)

Shot 12- Close up(shot reverse shot)

Shot 13- Medium Shot

Shot 14- Medium Two Shot

3.1. What I Learnt By Doing The Preliminary Exercise

During the first time of filming I found the latter more difficult because in a school environment it is not easy to find a relevant setting, but after researching and asking questions I was able to get the permission from the library assistant to use her office, this I believe was a logical decision because the location was quiet and also allowed us to get good shots of the film. the filming was successful until the group got together and watched the video where we realised that the sound on the film was too low and it was hard to hear the actors and another fault was that we failed to stay within the 180-degree rule. This meant we would not be able to run with footage.

However on the second time we filmed the same challenges were encountered with noise and setting becoming and issue because this time we were unable to use the library instead we decided to use the recording studio but this had been double booked and we knew in the agreement we struck with another group meant we were not going to finish the scenario. A while later as we were having a group meeting I spoke to a senior teacher and then he gave us permission to use his office, this was truly the perfect location for our scenario. I believe at this location we were able to show all the necessary requirements for the preliminary exercise. 

Ultimately I feel I learnt a tremendous amount throughout the launch stages of the preliminary exercise and also the factors of filming, this I aim to take on board and develop further in the course and on the next film project.

During the preliminary exercise I learnt how to handle a video camera. I learnt to accurately direct scenes. I learnt some of the key terms when staging a scene. Some camera shots that I learnt to incorporate into my own storyboarding and staging include.


Point of view shot: This is one of the first shots we used in out preliminary exercise. In my opinion it  works effectively at giving the audience the impression that they are along with 'Jessie' at the interview feeling her nerves and makes it seem as though the viewers are about to be under scrutiny too.

Medium two shot: This type of shot is of two character in one frame where the camera does not have to cut as each person speaks. We used this in our scenario fairly frequently because it allowed us to expand the message we wanted to give to our viewers in our scenario. 

Over the shoulder shot: The over the shoulder shot is a cinematographic shot taken from over the shoulder of a character whose shoulder can be seen at the side of the frame. In our scenario it was vital we were able to show this and I believe we did this because we were able to set up our scene to establish a situation where this was possible.


Match on action: Is when something happens in the scene then when there is a cut the same piece of action must e going on it helps the audience understand exactly what is happening. In my opinion my group were able to show this through the shot of another person walking past the screen and then a cut with 'Jessie' walking just behind the extra after exiting the interview room.


180-degree rule: Is a technique that is used to prevent the audience from becoming disorientated in the film, it is used to keep film continuity and so this means filmed are only filmed within the 180-degree range. I believe my group was able to stick to it and keep the viewer entertained and not confused.


The next we plan to film I will use the skills and knowledge I have learnt in the preliminary exercise.

The Start of The Media Course

The Preliminary Exercise

For the preliminary exercise we had to film a short continuity scenario in order to better our filming and editing skills. The scenario provided for us to use in the preliminary exercise was to show a character walking across a room, sitting down and then exchanging a couple lines of dialogue. To make the short production pass the necessary criteria we have to demonstrate a match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.  

In the first lesson we were asked to get into a group and decide what roles we were going to undertake. My group consisted of Abderahim, Gina, Zainab and myself. Then decided what jobs we would each undertake. We came to the conclusion that I would be  the director .But I will also have to act in the story due our groups size.One factor that came across my thinking was, would I be able to do both roles simultaneously. The answers will only be found out during the filming process. Me and Gina who made the script, came up with the idea that the storyline will follow a teacher's interview whereby she is being interview by the headteacher Bob (played by Me). Part of my role as director meant I had to create a storyboard (first three frames shown below) of the shots and scenes we were going to film and find a location.

Frame 1: Jessie approaches interview room

Frame 2: Point of view shot of Jessie opening door

Frame 3: Bob and Jessie come together for handshake