Thriller - Rough Storyboard

This is a rough outline of our storyboard. A rough version of the storyboard would help us understand the plot, characters, shots and editing better because the success of a film usually depends of the pacing and building of the tension which is perfected by the planning and researching for the film.




This rough sketch shows the opening of the sequence with the man approaching the house, opening the gate and walking down the alley. Then we will later change the opening shot to an insert of the switch on the kettle being flicked on, to boil the water. This is because it will demonstrate the intercutting between the two actions which are happening at the same time.




The next part of the storyboard shows that we intend to use the shot of the kettle switch as the first shot because it is the first frame. This then allows the storyboard to continue from where the previous page of the storyboard ended.

To make this sequence more like a thriller we decided we needed to build the tension because this is conventional of thrillers. This can be done by start with a medium shot of the man walking which cuts to the kettle boiling and then back to the man walking. The intercutting intensifies the scene which builds up the tension and suspense.




The final stages of the rough storyboard shows the man getting towards the doorway which is intercut with the coffee being made. When the man knocks on the door, another figure appears and asks the man if he would like a cup of coffee. The shot will then cut to black for about 3-5 seconds to build the tension.

This black screen is also symbolic of the killing of the man and shows the passage of time. Black is also conventional of thrillers because of the connotations of the colour such as death. This also does not give anything away to the audience because there is no image or sound so this also builds tension.

However, we believe that the final shot will be a bit of a challenge and fairly difficult because it is one shot which lasts a while which starts as a close up of the gun in the kitchen which then goes to the lounge to reveal the dead body on the sofa. Long shots are also conventional of thrillers because they are used in such thrillers as 'Goodfellas' (1990) and 'Reservoir Dogs' (1992) and they are often used to reveal something about the character or the plot.

Our thriller will show that whilst something normal and part of everyday life is happening in one room, something violent and horrific could be happening in another room. This is why we have decided to juxtapose the shot of a man drinking his coffee, with a dead body in the next room.