Individual Storyboard - Miss Miller

The importance of using a storyboard when planning for the creation of a production is that no unnecessary time is wasted thinking of what techniques to use. It helps you when filming as you have a profound knowledge of which scene is to come next and also brings all of the ideas together. By using a storyboard, this shows that your group are efficient and carefully considering each individual camera shot and that you are planning well ahead. This also helps to be able to give input to your group and find a way in order to incorporate everyone's ideas into the final narrative. The importance of a storyboard enables you to feedback different ideas you may have. For example, you could have a completely different idea of which camera angle to use within the murder scene therefore the planning of a storyboard helps you to draw up your individual ideas that could make the thriller as successful as possible. It also helps to make it clearer what exactly is happening within each frame.

I have created an individual storyboard within my group so as to form my own ideas of what camera angles, editing and sound techniques to use in order to create the maximum amount of suspense and tension as well as creating key elements of shock and surprise for my audience to encourage them to watch the entire sequence. My partner Kate also created her individual storyboard which has been done so that we can come together and feed back our ideas to one another to try and piece together a final narrative using some ideas from myself and some ideas from Kate so that our thriller opening sequence will be as engaging and thrilling as it possibly could be. By creating a storyboard, this will allow me to see a visual guide as to what my thriller would look like and what would be happening in each scene of the sequence. It will also allow me to identify anomalies within the opening and rectify these in order to make my thriller more conventional to the genre or to add in extra details to improve the mood within the scenes therefore creating a more thrilling atmosphere for my target audience. Within my storyboard, I have included several frames showing me exactly what will appear in each shot while also considering the different camera angles, editing & sound techniques, lighting, actors, iconography and locations which will also be featured. This way, I am thinking about the scene as a whole and helping to build a structure for each frame so that I am able to film with ease and with no problems as I know exactly what each element will create for the audience. This makes it easier for my group and I when we begin filming our thriller opening as we know straight away what shots to use etc. therefore reducing time wasted as my group won't have to decide what techniques to use due to having them already carefully planned out.

My storyboard is devised of images of what I want each individual frame to look like. I used inspirations from previously analysed thriller films which helped me greatly in creating my storyboard and having a profound knowledge of what to include in order to make the scene conventional.

This is the first page of my storyboard. It shows how the opening sequence is going to begin and what the audience will first witness when beginning to watch. On my first page, I have the hit man (hostage) waking up in an unknown location and discovering that he is tied up and has masking tape covering his mouth. Throughout the first couple of shots, I have aimed to use low key lighting with the exception of some possible flood lights to represent a cold atmosphere relating to the mood of the scene. This type of lighting will also help to suggest to the audience that they are watching a thriller film. The first shot helps to engage viewers and create elements of tension as they are unsure of how the man could have got to where he is and what may happen to him. This will also help to create a relationship between the audience and the character as they immediately feel empathy towards him due to seeing images of him laying on the floor tied up and obviously scared. These restraints also help to suggest possible vulnerability of the hit man which misleads the audience as the hit man will turn out to become a murderer later on in the sequence which evidently helps to create suspense even further. The first 4 shots also use the same type of lighting and individually focus on something such as the antagonist entering the room and it becomes clear that the hit man is needed to do something for him. The 3rd shot focuses solely on the hit man's facial expressions, combined with the camera shot and sound techniques, this will help to display our psychological theme which is present in the sequence where the hit man has suffered from amnesia and is no longer aware of who he is. Sinister music and distant screaming will be played over the top of these images to represent the antagonist being near.

The next page shows how this scene will progress and intensify throughout the duration of the sequence. Low key lighting is again used throughout as the scene remains in the same location and this lighting is ideal for creating tension as the audience wonder what the antagonist could possibly want from the man. The next shots help the audience to gain an understanding of what he is needed and it soon becomes clear that the antagonist wants him to kill his cheating wife in order to teach her a lesson. This immediately creates an element of shock from viewers as the hit man is willing to kill straight away with no thought whatsoever. This also creates a relationship between the audience and the antagonist's wife as everyone but her is aware of what is about to happen. The iconography within this scene are the the murder weapon, an envelope containing photographs and money as well as house keys for the hit man to freely enter the house and the address of where he needs to go. I have decided to use a knife as a murder weapon, taken from inspirations of Halloween and Scream as both these films used a knife to inflict injury upon the victims and is conventional to the thriller genre. This also acts as an example of foreshadowing due to the audience now knowing that a death is extremely likely to occur which helps to prolong suspense as they are left unaware of the exact moment in which the hit man will strike. The sound used will be sinister music gradually building in volume until the scene where the antagonist is shown to be giving all the items to the hit man needed for his murder to be carried out. I have decided to build the music up gradually so as to create suspense within the audience and allow their emotions to be heightened significantly when watching the sequence. An enigma is also created to help the audience to wonder what could possibly happen next.

The next four shots within my storyboard capture the moments leading up to the antagonist's wife's death where the hit man is on his way to kill her. Low key lighting is also kept throughout but will be naturalistic also as these scenes will be filmed outside therefore this change in setting will help to set a new mood to the scene. Within the shot where the audience witness the hit man making a phone call for a taxi to transport him to his murder location, some speech will be used but the sound of silence will be heard all around to connote that the wife's life is about to come to an abrupt end. As the address is given to the taxi driver, the hit man also asks that he is dropped off down the street so as not to raise suspicion in order for the hit man to be able to slip into the house unnoticed and kill his unsuspecting victim with no one to witness it. This is conventional to a thriller as the killer is usually never caught until the very end and is therefore free to kill again and allowing for the enigma to be extended further. The non-diegetic sinister music will be played continuously and cut sharply when the hit man approaches the front door of his victim's home so as to create tension and signify that his victim's life is about to be cut short.

These shots show what will be happening in the middle of the sequence which is the climax of the entire opening as it features the indefinite murder scene. The non diegetic music played over the scene will again be increased in volume as the audience see the hit man approaching slowly behind his victim and preparing to kill her. This creates a large amount of suspense within the audience as the victim is left unaware of her fate up until the last moment in which she is seen alive. This sound can be used to foreshadow her very near death and suggest that although her killer has not made contact yet, the hit man is still empowering her shown through the use of the victim being completely oblivious to what is about to happen. This also helps to provide the victim with a sense of vulnerability as she is completely alone in the house therefore making it easier for her killer to murder her.  In the 4th frame, the victim turns around and screams at the sight of the knife and drops the plate she is holding causing it to smash on the floor. The editing used will be a reaction shot which will be shown when the woman is screaming and focus will also be placed on the smashing of the plate to represent that the mentality of the hit man is completely unstable and fragile. This will have an immediate impact on the audience as they feel empathy towards the victim as, no matter what she has done to her husband, she still doesn't deserve to die in such a brutal and gruesome way. I have chosen to use this within my storyboard as by feeling sympathetic towards the victim, this allows for the audience to obtain an emotional attachment to her which would keep them engaged in what they are watching. I gained inspiration from Halloween to include a POV shot to show the hit man entering the house which helps to put the audience into his shoes and experience the same emotions and see the same things as the hit man which creates tension and also keeps viewers hooked on the narrative.

The next four shots help to demonstrate the period in which the victim is fatally stabbed and murdered by the hit man. The hit man is seen to completely overpower her shown by the simple use of grabbing her with his knife in position where he then stabs the woman repeatedly until she is dead and drops her onto the floor with no remorse. In the exact scene where she is killed, I decided to use a zoom out as it creates emotional distance between the scene and the audience helping to evoke a suitable response from them as they try to get their heads around what they are watching unfold. An editing technique I have decided to use within this is the Kuleshov effect. This will be shown when the audience first see a glimpse of the victim's dead body lied on the floor covered in blood in unison with the previous shot seen where the shadow of the hit man is seen stabbing and the sound of the victim's screams are gradually reduced until there is complete silence once again. This editing style helps to show two shots which both have an implied meaning without having the show the actual murder taking place. This helps the audience to create individual perceptions of what they think might happen to the victim. As the setting has changed within the scene, more naturalistic and high key lighting will be used to represent the transition in location as well as making the sequence seem more realistic causing the audience to feel more heightened emotions as well as creating maximum amounts of suspense and tension with the inclusion of shock and surprise due to the audience not expecting the murder to be so brutal and in such cold blood. Linking of section will also be evident within this scene when the hit man makes the phone call to let the antagonist know that the deed has been done which links back to the opening scenes where he is first asked to kill her. The impact of silence within the scene will have a profound effect on the audience as they have just witnessed a brutal murder and will therefore be engaged as they watch on further to see what could possibly happen next.

The last page of my storyboard helps to highlight that my sequence is coming to an end. It shows the antagonist coming to inspect the murder scene in person. After seeing it and being pleased with what the hit man has done, an image is shown where the hit man sits on the stairs rethinking about what he has just done which helps to portray some innocence as the antagonist had brought the hit man into this situation threatening to hurt him if he did not carry it out. This also helps to emphasise that the hit man shouldn't be considered as the antagonist by the audience and that they should feel some sympathy towards him. The last shot consists of the antagonist standing over the body of his dead wife and taking off his mask therefore revealing his identity to the audience. He smiles in a sinister way at the body and then directs this straight to the camera and the audience before the screen fades to black signifying the end of the sequence. A montage is used in these last few shots as the various clips of the antagonist coming to the murder scene, shaking hands with the hit man congratulating him as well as his scene where he is full of guilt are edited together with the addition of sinister music representing that the sequence is nearing its end. This helps to create suspense within viewers as the antagonist is portrayed as being threatening towards the audience due to the way he is smiling at his wife's dead body. This also helps to show that the antagonist's state of mentality is completely unstable and that he is in fact a complete psychopath and the use of the fade out at the end connotes that the antagonist could possibly strike again therefore raising questions toward a sequel.

Having created my storyboard, I think that this will aid my group and I when creating the group storyboard as my group can gather ideas from mine and attempt to incorporate this into the final idea. It will also help to bring ideas together and possibly use some of my ideas I have made within elements such as editing and sound. I hope that it will inspire my other group member in order to create a good quality storyboard together which includes both of our ideas. I also hope that some of my individual ideas are included within the group storyboard which will help in the creation of the thriller sequence as we would have included some of the best ideas therefore helping us to achieve a thriller that is most successful and engages our target audience fully. My storyboard is useful as it shows clearly what techniques I thought would be most effective at specific points in the sequence and a visual representation of what the shot will look like. It also gives a brief description of how the shot will help to present the narrative. When coming together as a group, we can make balanced decisions on choosing the shots and ideas which will be the best in showing the narrative clearly to the audience as well as helping them to understand what will happen in each frame. This will help us to produce a successful thriller sequence which will thrill the audience.