Props

Pilot Evaluation

By completing the pilot shots of our thriller in our room, we discovered some things which wouldn't work.
Firstly, because there are three beds and other furniture in our room, it would be a struggle to fit in the room with all the added equipment. Also, the room is in an old, ornate house and we want our character to be more normal and have a more modern-style room. So, we've decided create a set in the studio so that we can create the room we've envisaged and one which is appropriate for our story line.
By testing out the different shots we decided on in our storyboard, we realised the close up shot of the filament bulb of the lamp was very effective and would be ideal for the titles of the cast and crew. We had an idea where the camera zooms in on one square on the Rubik's Cube so that the whole screen becomes that colour and from here, the screen changes colour a few times, whilst the titles are showing, until it turns grey and connects with the next shot of the boy's pyjamas. After discussing this idea, we came to the conclusion that, as the colour may look effective, they have no relevance to the story or key themes and have therefore decided to cut this shot.
We found that the tracking shot across the Airfix models on the desk would be very effective, however, after attempting it a few times, we realised that it's one of the hardest shots to get right but will be worth it in the end.
A lot of our thriller will be done by editing, so on the day of filming, we might not need as much time as other groups, however we understand that the editing afterwards will be a long process so we're trying to plan and schedule that to ensure that we get everything we want to have, finished and ready, in the time limit.

Sound

At first, we're only going to have quiet, diegetic sounds to set the scene, such as a police car and light traffic. We chose these sounds to show that he lives in an urban area, communicating the idea that he's an everyday, normal boy. We debated having music coming from outside of his room, suggesting that he lives in a block of flats, but decided that this might look as if he'd been woken up by the noise, whereas actually, he just wakes up due to his Autism and we felt that this miscommunication could mean that the audience doesn't understand that the character has a condition.

We're going to bring non-diegetic music in when the camera pans along t he table with the Airfix on it, to mark the moment and therefore suggest to the audience that the planes are vital to the storyline.

It will have a moderate beat and won't be quite beaty, most likely some percussion.

When the camera suspends before going into the computer screen, we're going to pause the music to heighten the suspense, apart from having one continuous note which will increase in volume until the 'second-half' of the thriller starts (when the camera goes into the computer screen) At this point, we're going to bring in faster paced, technological non-diegetic music to reinforce the idea of the thriller.

As one member of our group studies Music Tech, we're going to create our own sound using the equipment we have available.

A non-diegetic will be the only speech in the opening of our thriller and we're going to use Bob Getty because he has an American accent- we want to change the boy's nationality to American because it's more relevent to 9/11.

Script

"US foreign policy is akin to Government-sponsored terrorism these days … It was not a mistake that there was a huge security stand down on September 11 last year … I am SOLO. I will continue to disrupt at the highest levels … "

We not going to have any diegetic speech, however this is the speech we will use for the non-diegetic voice-over; it will begin when we see the character typing to show that these are the words he's writing. This extract is the message which Gary McKinnon left, however, I feel we need to edit it slightly. Firstly, because if we were going to use Gary McKinnon's exact words, our character would have to be an accurate representation of McKinnon- a middle-aged Scottish Systems Administrator with Aspergers- and our character is not. Furthermore, because our character is a teenager, we will need to edit the speech so that it fits with his age; some of the language "akin" "these days" wouldn't be used by a Britich teenager.

"US foreign policy is prone to Government-sponsored terrorism... It was not a mistake that there was a huge security stand down on September 11 last year... I am SOLO. I will continue to disrupt at the highest levels."

This is the final edit of the non-diegetic speech we will use.

Costume

As one of the effects of Autism is having sleep issues, insomnia and waking up in the middle of night to carry out tasks, our thriller is set at 3AM, so he'll be wearing pyjamas. To corroborate with the idea of the boy being obssessed with planes, we've decided that he'll be wearing pyjamas with cartoon planes on them. This will reinforce his obssession and also make him seem more childlike.

Here is an example of similar pyjamas.

Storyboard for Thriller

Research into Set Design

Boy's bedrooms

This is our research of boys bedrooms in order to know what a teenage boys have in their room and what colours and objects may be found in order to inspire our characters room. As our character loves technology we must insure that the room displays lots of technology and gadgets.

As you can see the rooms have prominant colours schemes of blues, greens and blacks.

Layout of the Set

 This is a bird's eye view of the set we intend to build for our thriller.

The Cast (one man band)

The character of the autistic boy should be played by an actor who is:

• Able to act vulnerable yet mature
• Good Actor
• Appealing to a young audience
• Able to be tried in America for an adult

We decided on the actor, Andrew Irving.

Chosen Actor: Andrew Irving

We've chosen Andrew as our actor, firstly for me,  because he fits the image in my mind's eye, but also because he's a young actor who we think will be able to portray the symptoms of Autism effectively. As he is 17, he will appeal to our target audience and he also fits the common stereotype that teenagers are fixated on computing and therefore the scenario appears more likely to occur.

Props List

Here is a list of the props we'll need:

• A bed
• A computer desk
• A table
• A bed-side lamp
• A digital clock
• Airfix equipment
• 10 Rubik's Cubes
• A computer, mouse and keyboard
• Posters
• A chair
• A bed-side table
• Pyjamas

We want to have an Airfix model on the table to do a perspective shot, where the model plane appears to be bigger than the boy; this would connote that planes absorb his life and that they secrets, concerning the planes, which he will uncover are much bigger than him. We're going to use a Boeing 767 model as this is the type of both planes which crashed into the twin towers.



The reason for having a computer desk is, mainly, to put the computer on; however, we chose a wood desk so that it'll look homely, therefore making the location clear (his bedroom). This will also be the location for the Rubik's cubes and we chose to put them here so that they're close to t he computer, suggesting that two things he loves, code breaking and computers, are soon to come together.

The Rubik's Cubes connote that the boy likes and is very good as problem solving and as this type of puzzle is renoun for being really hard, it will show that the boy has superior knowledge to normal people. This will hint at the idea that he can crack codes which average people can't which links to the storyline.

 



The alarm clock may seem to be unnecessary, but it is actually an important hint at the boy's Autism. From research, I found out that Autistic people often find it hard to sleep through night and get up and do activities. We will set the clock to the early hours of the morning to show that he's woken up in the middle of the night to hack into the database.

Posters will be around the room to show the boy's obsession with aviation. We will have a mix of both commerial and war planes to show that, even though he's interested in 9/11 and the commercial planes involved, the idea of war and conflict is also present in his mind.

The bedside table will be there purely to put the bedside lamp on and to create a homely feel. Again, the table will be wood to show it's an seemingly normal bedroom.

When we first see the boy, he will be in bed to show that it's the middle of the night and to clearly show that he's waking up. The covers will be simple and have lines on them to show that the boy likes linear and numerical things.

His pyjamas will be very childlike to show hint at his Autism and continue the idea that he's obsessed with planes. Being obsessed with something is a very prominant characteristic of people who are Autistic.

The lamp will be the main source of light in the room and so the room will be dark. Subtly, this will suggest that something dark and secretive is going on, however is won't be too obvious and the room will still seem homely.