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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.