Screenplay

Ext.  Mid-day in the Inner City

Lunch Time in the Dark and dingy alleyway, black car , with engine running, sits quietly as  its driver and passenger talk about their plans


Int.  The black Car   Two young gentlemen, all in black, very informal and rough ( criminals )  Both of the same age
 


 

Jimmy: How long is this ‘gonna’ take, we’ve been here fucking ages.

Michael: (chuckles to himself)

Fuck knows!, as long as we get this little person

I’m not really bothered how long it’ll take.

You brought anything??.

JIMMY: “ put’s on girls tights while talking”

cause I have, got my gun, and you know … head gear

don’t want anyone knowing what we’re getting up to


Ext:   Black car driving through city scape, towards a car park. Same gritty criminals inside  vehicle, except with ski masks on to hide their faces.

 

Michael: “ laughs” No way am I driving… in the middle of town

with you, and them

Jimmy: shut your face

(cuts him off before he finishes)

I have a phone call

“phone rings”

(Picks up his phone and places it to his ear)

Hello?... yea yea we’re here don’t worry,

(Laughs) yea he’s here too, yea don’t worry

bye.

 He's such a prick
Jimmy:  woah woah woah !  what are you saying ? !
                  That's the boss you're talking about
                      you wanna get yourself killed ?
Michael:   So what!   he is !   he's a big fat wanker
                   i don't like how he's been here five minuets
                   and can boss us around

immy: Just calm it will you
 
Michael:   i don't like his face, i don't like his clothes and i especially don't like his ugly fucking irish voice
Jimmy: well he's second in command and our boss, soo you're gunna have to like it, Got that ? !

Michael:   yea whatever

     Child is stolen,  vilans in the car speed off out of the car park and on to the main road, the child is suspisiously quiet

Filming Schedule

Monday 3rd , wednesday 5th, friday 7th of Decemembe - shooting film

Monday 10th, wednesday 13th - editing

friday 17th - untill end of term - editing

Story Board for film

  After taking photos of specific locations i could use, i made a storyboard of the chosen scenes i will use

Influential Videos

  No Country For Old Men uses dim lighting, and the manipulation of sound to create a very tense atmosphere in the scene. As the antagonist, turns the hallway lights off, the build up to the clash feels like a very long time, and is a great use of suspence, in my film, as the atagonist watches the protagonist, i will use the same sort of suspence to manipuate my audience.




 Because most of the conversation will be inside of a car, this scene in Lock Stock shows the type of angles i could use, it is also very fast paced between crosscuts
 the point of view shots from inside Steve Mcqueens car as he is driving, i will use it  to show the gangsters driving round the town
leading up to the task of stealing the child, most of the scene will be watching for him, similar to this scene in scarface, discussing the plan while on the way to it, the use of point of view shots are what i might concider using for my own film.

Location Choices

Wyke College's campus


If all of my other area's fail, due too privacy laws or filming with out a permit. Wyke's campus could also be used as  it also has a  wide open space to film,  good lighting, and at night it is civilian free so that i can film without fail, and can also create the sense of vulnerability as well 

Location Choices

Another place i could use would be  Snuff Mill Lane

the dirt track leading towards a train track is very spooky to walk down, but yet in the morning lots of children on their way to school use it, because of in my sequence its a boy that is getting abducted i could use this route to my advantage because of being used a lot.

the downside towards using this place is that there is no lighting, so i would have to bring artificial light so that  the characters can be seen.

Location choices

The sequence i am filming is set in a groggy suburban underbelly  parking lot or  back alley street. To tie in with the crime thriller stereotype.

Some of the places i could use in my area

St Stevens  underground car park and   Princess Quay car park      

the  dark and dim lit corners of the car park, could be a prime place to shoot my film in, the dark places could  create the feeling of being watched and create a sense of vulnerability in the protagonist  because of the lack of seeing what " lurks in the dark"

Props List

This is a list of Props ( items)  i will need to make my film look convincing



A Car -  Hopefully black, so it can connote a antagonist ( evil) person

Black Clothes- to follow  the  antagonist's car creating the signifier to the audience that these are the bad                         people        

  A ski mask/ balaclava - or even a pair of tights to create  a black humor approach similar to that of snatch or lock stock and two smoking barrels

Civilian clothes - just normal everyday clothes that does differentiate from the mass mainstream public, as  the person that is stolen isn't old enough to  be influenced by niche media

 Mobile Phone-  Used to initiate the use of family ties to spread more fear in to the audience

Target Audience

My film is aimed at a mainstream audience, ages 15 and  that have a limited knowledge of crime thrillers. It is more focused on a male audience, because of guns, car chases and fighting,  but can be appealing to women, due to the introduction of a female characters and children.

More experienced voyers would also find  the film appealing as it takes atmospheric quailites  of other famously directed films such as Pulp Ficton, Snatch and Fargo because of there use of black humor through the performance.

Script for my movie

    

INT. JIMMY’S CAR.  DAY

“JIMMY and MICHAEL are sat waiting for the little boy to walk out of

the shopping”

Jimmy:    How long is this ‘gonna’ take, we’ve been here fucking ages.

Michael:      (chuckles to himself)

                      Fuck knows!, as long as we get this little person

                      I’m not really bothered how long it’ll take.

                       You brought anything??.

                                                                              

JIMMY:         “ put’s on  girls tights while talking”

                        cause I have, got me gun, and  you know … head gear

                         don’t want anyone knowing what we’re getting up to.

Michael:     “ laughs”   No way am I driving… in the middle of town

with you, and them

Jimmy:       shut your face

(cuts him off before he finishes)

   I have a phone call

  “phone rings”

 (Picks up his phone and places it to his ear)

Hello?... yea yea we’re here don’t worry,

(Laughs)  yea he’s here too, yea don’t worry

bye.

 yee’    fat wanker.

Michael:   woaaahh! Easy on the boss hating

Jimmy:    What he is, fucking… sitting at home, doing nothing

                  He’s a fat prick.

Michael:  you’re a fat prick.

Jimmy:    You better be ready,
                  when this little scamp walks out, I don’t wanna be doing any of that
                   running round the car, benny hill shit.

Michael:  Look it’s simple, we follow him towards the exit, you jump out
                  grab him, and we speed off back to the house. Simple
  

Jimmy:   Right, what time is it.

Michael:      We got a couple of minutes, chill
            


Michael:  right

                                (turns on the engine )


Michael:   look there he is get him
                     
                          (  a struggle outside,before getting in to the car)
      

Jimmy:  RIGHT DON'T EVEN SPEAK OR YOU'RE DEAD  UNDERSTAND ? 


                              " Litte Boy Nods"
Michael:   Right so what was you telling me about John boy ?


Jimmy: oh well basically,  John Boy comes in, he sit down at the table , he's wearing the same clothes as  the boss,

Michael:   whoa whoa whoa   Sammy ?

Jimmy:  Yea, he sits down at the table, Sammy Comes over, gives him one look and almost kills him       there and then.

Michael:  One of these days he's probably going to get shot himself for it, but naa  not yet
Jimmy: I'm more worried about if any one saw us.... so get a move on




 

Aims and Context

Aims and Context        

I hope to use the codes and conventions of the thriller genre while adding aspects of  english crime dramas such as Snatch and Lockstock and Two Smoking Barrels.

My aim is to use the structure and elements of thriller films, cliff hangers, tense and life threatning situations, and incorporate them into my film to manipulate my audience and frighten them or to drag them out of the comfort zone   It will be aimed at audience members of any occupation, gender , class and wellbeing but primarily aimed at ages of 18 years and over.  This is due to the aspects of adult life scenarios and having and an audience that is old enough to fully understand and be shocked with what is happening on screen.

 

The sequence I am filming is the disruption of the narrative; this entails a conversation between two thugs ( antagonist )on what they are supposed to be doing and  then follows that up with the kidnapping of the protagonist of the sequence . It uses codes and conventions associated with the thriller genre and also dips in to crime drama genre as well because of the situations that happen in the film are stereotypical of a crime thriller.
The sequence is influenced by the audience manipulating aspects of thriller films such as; fast paced shot reverse shot editing, heightened sound or dramatic music, very dark conative settings and the use of verisimilitude and realism to fully engage with the audience.  These aspects are influenced by  such films as Coen brothers Fargo and No Country For Old Men, The Game and Taxi Driver.

My intentions are to direct,edit and and write a  gripping thriller that creates the same feeling you get when being in the audience and create dramatic irony, the audience knowing something the characters doesn’t, as well as  attacking the family connections in family members of the crowd by using children in the sequence.  To make these intentions  to the fullest I could possibly achieve ; I am taking pictures of locations, clothing and people (with their permission) to simulate the same mise en scene in stereotypical thriller films. Places such as dark under passes, car parks, very empty streets and vaguely lit places will be ideal to create a sense of uncertainty, or being afraid of what lurks in the dark.   The clothes of the antagonists will be primarily black and stereotypical of gangster genre films. The types of camera angles I will be using are; Reverse shots of the antagonists, while their talking in the car, putting the camera in the back seat so you can’t see their faces, to connote that they’re criminals that don’t want people seeing what they’re up to .

Maybe having long shots of the sounding areas to set the diegesis and low angle shots of the car screeching to a halt when the protagonist steal the child.
 I will also have high angle and obscure angled shots, creating the impression that the protagonist is being watched (the little boy). Also having close ups of his face and very long shots creating the connotation of abandonment. When the boy is in mid kidnapping, having close ups of the wheels of the car creating an element of speed and hand held shots creating verisimilitude.
 

Like many thriller movies, I will be using very fast editing, especially when the kidnapping is taking place there will be lots of cuts to and from the protagonist and antagonist  ( cross cutting) and having lots of close ups of facial features and  key points, such as doors  opening and screaming.  All of the shots will be done through continuity editing, to create verisimilitude so that it feels like this kidnapping has actually taken place in real life.

I will be in charge of the filming aspects of the sequence, setting the cameras up, changing the light and directing  the characters to where they need to be and what they need to say.  I am also in charge of the props and setting as well.  From previous planning, in AS Film Studies, I have found that time management is key to success, as well as having test shots before finally taking the shot you need.  Also having the equipment ready before you it is time to start filming. 

Group project: Maltese Falcon

Me and  3 of my other class mates :
Callum Ahmed
Josh Wright
 Matt --
 To  give  us some knowledge oft making films have been assigned the task of recreating  The opening to Maltese Falcon, with full costume,setting and camerawork.


I am   going to be starring in the film, in charge of story board, and  helper of editing of the film
 Callum will be  Starring in the film, and editor, this applies to Josh as well
 and Mat will be in charge of script making, cinematography, editing and props
as well as equipment manager and stylist

Genre Essay

Thrillers:                         

 

For my A2 coursework task I have chosen to do a sequence from a film, the film genre I have chosen is thriller this is because thrillers depend on the audience’s attention to what is happening on the screen as in, thrillers use specific elements to manipulate the audience to feel something or act in a way. For example, in the movie ‘Goodfellas’  by Martin Scorsese  ,  actor Joey Pesci plays a very violent gangster called Tommy DeVito, in this seen, the low lighting and  happy music lulls the audience into a false sense of security. As their laughing and joking about reminisces, Tommy changes the mood by asking Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) why he is funny the music becomes quieter and the aggressive tone of Tommy’s voice creates angst or a nervous feeling in the audience because of what we have been told about Tommy already.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thriller films can be broken down into many sub-genres such as,   crime thrillers, spy thrillers and physiological thrillers. Physiological thrillers such as ‘The Game’ by David Fincher use techniques such as mind games stalking, confinement/death-traps, horror-of-personality, and obsession. A prime example of this is in the scene where  the protagonist Nicholas Van Orton   comes home to find a clown laid in the same clothes as his farther was wearing when he committed suicide, these mind games  make the audience have to  question “ how” and “ why “ this is happening. These audience moving techniques provides the sudden rush of emotions, excitement, sense of suspense that drive the narrative sometimes subtly with peaks and drops and sometimes at a fast pace that makes the audience “grip to the edge of their seat”. 

 

 

 

 

 

The characters of a thriller genre movies are normally, criminals, stalkers, assassins, innocent people menaced women, with the protagonist being an everyday citizen or honourable police officer the protagonist could; face either his death or the death of someone else, for example in the film ‘True Romance’ by Quentin Tarantino , the protagonist is constantly on the run from Christopher Walken  and his Goons.

 

 

 

 

Another  character  element is that the  antagonist is cleverer/stronger that the protagonist e.g. the movie Seven, where the protagonist  Brad Pitt is outwitted by the  antagonist as he  leads him on a  quest for nothing resulting in the death of his wife.

 

 

 

 

 

Thrillers also manipulate the audience by using back stories or  go on a journey with they the protagonist,  making the audience route for that person during violent scenes or be upset if that person were to die, an example of this is ‘Taxi Driver’ by Martin Scorsese, we follow the protagonist as he starts work as a taxi driver, watch how lonely and upset he gets, until he takes matters into his own hands when he wants to " clean" the streets up,  the scene is very violent, in one part Robert De Nero  blows a man’s hands to pieces and shoots him the face, but instead of be  disgusted and wanting to turn the  whole movie off, we  are  gripped and want to see what happens to him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The movie I’m doing is a Crime Thriller movie, where a woman and child are abducted by a venomous villain, in which the protagonist has to rescue them. Using elements from ‘No Country For Old Men’ by the Coen Brothers, the antagonist creates tension for the audience by being so quiet. Having silent scenes, where only a few sounds can be heard, but very loud, e.g. gun shots, punches or people screaming, makes the  scene more scary the longer the pause is before the action happens. No Country For Old Men uses this technique very well in one scene where the protagonist is trying to be quiet as possible so the antagonist doesn’t find him. The antagonist is checking doors and is slowly creeping up on the protagonist. The  cuts between the two, as well as the  film being silent at this part creates the impression that the antagonist has cornered the protagonist, until he opens the door to find there are only other residents.  Using the gripping “edge of seat "  emotion you get from quiet scenes like that and  dramatic irony, knowing what is going to happen before the  character does will make my movie have those stereotypical   thriller elements that work so well in drawing the audience into the diegesis. 

 

 

 

 

  I am also going to attack the emotional value of family in the audience,    as when I’ve seen films where son and daughters have died, it hasn't affected me when i watch it but when my father watches, he is emotionally upset as he puts his own son where the protagonist is. In film such as ‘Taken’ by Pierre Morel, the father is trying to get her daughter back, families and parents can relate to this making it more horrific than it is as the child has been abducted in a foreign country and is nowhere to be found. I am using this element in my film, using low angle shots and   fast passed cuts, when the gangsters in my film steal a child, it will use that family connection to bring parents out of their own comfort zones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is some aspects I am not going to use, in many thriller movies I have seen, there is a resolution; a sense of justice or vengeance  that happens in the end, in many films  such as the ones I have talked about in the end everything is  resolved and  people go back to the lives. In my film  the  killing of the antagonist is purely by accident, and as the protagonist takes the girl home, it leaves it on a subtle cliff hanger and creates the question “  well what is he going to do now” as the mafia are going to be after him for what he has done. This breaks the conventions of both thriller and gangster films as the good guy’s e.g. the police or the protagonist doesn’t win.

Characters

                                                  Overall Characters of the film
Protagonist :   Charley "Chuck"  Hooper, a  man involved with low level crime, scouted for being able to get the job done. Gains respect by doing jobs for bigger people in organised mafia groups and becomes a member of the one  in his area, lead by resturant owner Fat Michael.


Antagonist :  Sammy Cuzco, being born into the cities gangster family ( the Luiz)  shaped his future with violence and crime, after being ratted out to the police and put  in prison for trafficing, he became a very violent and changed man.  "Chuck"Hooper becomes his partner in crime until a lady that moves in next door to "chuck", Rebbeca or " Becky" as Charley calls her gets involved in the family buisness, he falls madily inlove with her
and kidnaps her away for himself.

Rebbeca " Becky" Stevens:    A young girl that moved from a village to start again with her kid after bad past relationships moves in  next door to Charley Hooper's apartment and  ends up coming in to the underground industry  by falling in love with Charley. Through meeting each other in the hall ways of their apartment,  she meets Sammy the phyco second in command, and gets abducted by him as he gets jealouse of what her and Charley have.

Billy Stevens:   Son of Rebbeca Stevens, very prone to wandering off and going off in his own little world, gets abducted by Sammy Cuzco's goons to get  Rebbeca to go with him.

Michael Luiz   "Fat Michael"  :   Owner of  'Mikes  Pizzeria'  brother to Tommy and  Harry Luiz both highly respected members of the gangster family of their area. Michael sorts out oporations in the small niche gangster family and helps  Charley  meet new people as well as  antagonist Sammy Cuzco, Fat Michaels  half brother.  As  more works comes up, him, Charley and Sammy both get a little richer and fatter.  As sammy
Kidnaps Rebbeca, Michael is stuck between who  he should have "layed off" and ends up leaving the family 
due too stress.

Goons  1 and 2:  two  criminals, already known for getting into trouble, and no chance of having a respectable
job,  Michael gives them small jobs to do for petty cash, enough to support them. 
                                     
                                                  The characters i am using in my sequence are  Goons 1 and 2 and Billy Stevens  

Story Type

The story type i have chosen is  

Story Type – Testing Plot (willpower versus the temptation to surrender)
 This is because the protgonist, instead of giving up and leaving the girl with the antagonist, he goes on a hunt to find her and the boy.

 

Synopsis of my film

Chris Hooper, a handy man for a small group of mafia, in the city he lives in, gains reputation for getting a job done. After doing little jobs for higher in command people of the mafia he is finally granted a meeting with the boss of operations, Fat Michael, which offer him a place in their family, he accepts the offer and is paired up with the second in command man and very unstable, Sammy Cuzco. As Chris and Sammy do jobs creating more income for the family Chris meets a woman and her son that move in next door called Rebecca and Billy Stevens. As him and her become close Sammy Cuzco gets jealous of what they have and forms a plan on how to get the girl for himself. Sammy orders two thugs too steal Rebecca child so that no matter what he could have her. Oblivious to this Chris thinks that Rebecca moved to way and once he finds out plans to kill Sammy. After he is cast out of the mafia for wanting to kill another member, Chris gets a call from one of thugs telling him where Sammy  is hiding her, Chris and Sammy end up brawling in the house which ends up in Chris killing Sammy and taking Rebecca and Billy back to her home.  

The genre i have chosen

I  genre have chosen is thriller.  

 Thrillers use suspense, tension, and excitement as the main elements. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods such as a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, anxiety, suspense, excitement, tension, and terror. Literary devices such as red herrings and cliff-hangers are used largely. The cover-up of important information from the viewer in fight and chase scenes are common method in all of the thrillers.

Common narratives  in thrillers are mainly ransoms, captivities, heists, revenge, and kidnappings.  with car chases and gun fights Strong thriller stylistics ; using quick cuts and hand-held cams are used in traditional chase scenes as well as intense/fast music that adds tension to put the audience more on edge. Dark lighting can also be used in climax situations adding the horror-esque element of being scared of what you can’t see.

My film uses the intense sequence with fast cuts and suspense dilemmas   that keeps the audience at the "edge of their seats". As well as fast pace music to involve the audience even more.  As the plot builds towards a climax, where the protaganist and antagonist have a fight to the death

Examples of  thriller films,  The phone booth,  Seven, Fargo, No Country for Old Men

Brief- outline of what coursework is

Develop an extended sequence from an imagined feature  ( or) Develop a complete short story of between 2 and 5 minutes