Location, Costume, Props and Lighting

Location is a key part in any thriller film, and is all about making the sequence a believable as possible. As we were limited to only being able to film in and around the college site, we have decided to use the Media and Film Studies corridor, along with two of its classrooms. We thought that these would be the best locations to use, as it would enhance our story line of 'two students staying late to finish coursework'. It was hard to guarantee that there wouldn't be other students around, but we did make sure to inform those that did walk past that they were in our shot, and we either filmed it again or asked if they minded us using it with them in it.

In order for the audience to believe our characters, we had to make sure they were dress appropriately for their role. Because our characters were simply college students, we thought it best if Becky and Megan were dressed casually as they usually would when attending college. We thought this also made it easier for the audience to relate to them. For our villain, we thought it would make them appear far more sinister if their face was never actually revealed, and since their full body is never seen, we thought a dark coloured hoodie would be best.

Various props were used throughout our film, including two work folders, chairs and computers. Props make it easier for the audience to understand what it is exactly that the characters are doing, so we made sure we used props that would normally be used within our location. For the computers and chairs, we simply used a room that already had them available, and so it was just a case of getting hold of two folders, which Becky and Megan already possessed.

When filming within the Media corridors we simply used natural lighting. The characters can be seen laughing when walking, so we wanted the lighting to reflect the easy and relaxed atmosphere. However, when the characters were in the media studies room, we thought it best if the lighting were quite dark, again reflecting the dangerous atmosphere, and portraying to the audience that this was the location where the action takes place.

Because we split our filming up over a couple of days, we had to make sure that nothing had changed within our location, and if so that it wouldn't be too difficult for us to change so that it didn't disrupt our continuity. We also had to make sure that Becky and Megan were wearing the same clothes on the days that we filmed, again to make sure nothing effected our continuity.

Beth