Planning: Film Storyboard

Note: This blog would not allow me to upload the scanned images of the sheets that were in in Microsoft Word, so these images are taken from photos of the sheets leading to a decrease in quality.

Planning: Location for Film

Ideally I would have liked a laboratory, but this was not possible, so this computer room at a local school is what I chose. As you can see it has a large amount of technology in it, which is heavily realted to science, so the actors can appear to be working. There is also a space where they can stand up at address each other. I will try to minimise dirtect shots of the wall on the left as it contains work form the school that would look out of place at close inspection.


This corridor will be where the janitor will be sweeping when he overhears the conversation. The door at the far end on the left of the shot has glass windows at it's centre which will be perfect for the character to look through to spy on the scientists. The long corridor also is a means to show him escaping after he is discovered.

Planning: Props

• 2 laboratory coats
• 1 pair of glasses
• computers
• a broom
• cleaning trolley
• wallet

Planning: Casting

In order for me to organise this fairly easily, I will use actors that I am familiar with and are therefore around my age. I know people who attend drama lessons and I am going to attempt to use them in my film. The main character for the opening part of the film will be a male and I will need two extra actors to play the scientists, those would preferably be one male and one female, but it does not matter if they are both male either.

Planning: Plot Details

My Thriller movie will be a hybrid of a conspiracy thriller and a medical thriller. The main idea of the plot is that a young man overhears heads of a pharmaceutical company discussing the possible dangerous implications of a new drug they are testing. He is spotted whilst doing so and leaves the building in a hurry, forgetting his wallet. The pharmaceutical company then uses it to track him down and test the new drug on him unwillingly to see if it is indeed dangerous. It is slipped into his food at a restaurant while he is with his girlfriend. He then suffers adverse side effects later and becomes dramatically ill on the way home where he is abducted by scientists and stuffed into a truck. It is then the girlfriend's quest to find her boyfriend and uncover the circumstances surrounding his illness.

I do not intend to film all of these scenes, but this gives adequate background information on the plot.

Research: Suspense

One of the main components in creating a compelling Thriller film is the correct execution of suspense. Through this, the audience becomes more intrigued in the film and finds it easier to feel more involved with the storyline as they can feel some of the same emotions as the characters are feeling.

The most relevant definiton found on Dictionary.com was this:

1. a state or condition of mental uncertainty or excitement, as in awaiting a decision or outcome, usually accompanied by a degree of apprehension or anxiety.

I feel that although there is an element of excitement in awaiting the outcome for the audience, the general feeling for them is apprehension or anxiety if suspense is pulled off well during a film.
It is my aim to create suspense during the opening of my film.

Research: Definition of Thriller

The best definition I could find of the Thriller genre was this:

'Thriller is a genre of fiction in which tough, resourceful, but essentially ordinary heroes are pitted against villains determined to destroy them, their country, or the stability of the free world. Part of the allure of thrillers comes from not only what their stories are about, but also how they are told. High stakes, non-stop action, plot twists that both surprise and excite, settings that are both vibrant and exotic, and an intense pace that never lets up until the adrenalin packed climax.'

I agree with this definition because I feel it encompasses the main aspects of the genre, namely the importance of a plot that makes the audience have to think and which intrigues and surprises them, and the build up of tension throughout the film. The ability of film to draw the audience into the world of the Thriller through the settings and the ability to relate to the main charcter/s is also essential.