Thriller Brainstorm, Rationale and Storyboard

Grace Watson
18 February 2020
Media Studies
Thriller Brainstorm, Rationale and Storyboard

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Brainstorm:

Rationale:

The opening shot of the scene will be an establishing shot of the fun fair, at a wide angle to reveal more of the location (fun-fair). What can be seen within the camera shot (miss-en-scène), at this point, is a large bright red and white Ferris wheel and a colourful teacup ride on the left and a sweet/lolly shop toward the right. Amidst and in between these rides and the shop are clumps/groups of joyful people laughing, chatting, eating candy floss and popcorn etc. This is conveyed through smiling faces and the clear body language of clapping and jumping in joy etc., all symbols of gladness, often associated with the fun-fair, and all included within the establishing shot. The sky is bright blue - not a single cloud. This symbolises how it seems to be a perfect day, so there shouldn’t be any trouble. This is ironic as this feeling soon changes.

Whilst still depicting all of the above, the second shot will be a mid-shot, more closely zoomed in than before. It will reveal lots of people walking in numerous directions, emphasising business. When filming, people will walk straight/directly past and in front of the camera (almost like a close-up of their bodies as they pass or perhaps even an obstructed view shot of some sort). This creates a sense of the viewer being right there, standing at the fun-fair, people watching and experiencing the vibrant atmosphere which makes the scene feel more relatable.

At this point, the transitions between takes (editing) will be fades as they are more peaceful and relaxed transitions, mimicking how relaxed and joyful everyone at the fun-fair appears. The sound, initially, at this point, is light and fun, fitting for a fun-fair. The background music is delightful and the fun-fair is pictured as being noisy, rowdy and the sounds of people laughing, chatting, walking on the gravel between rides, screaming in pure exhilaration on the rides etc. can all be heard as the diegetic sound. The colours are bright and joyful. It’s day time and the afternoon sun is shining brightly overhead. The camera will alternate between shots of the people at the fun-fair, and will reveal their bright clothing - pinks, blues, yellows, greens - all bright colours resembling joy and lightness! The fun-fair, the location, is typically a place of pure delight and vibrant colour.

After another fade transition, there will then be a mid-shot of two children right next to each other eating candy floss (with clumps of people behind). This shot will then transition, quickly, to a close-up of one of them putting candy floss in their mouth and smiling. There’ll then be an extreme close-up (first main convention) of another child’s smiling eyes. These numerous shots of smiling eyes, happy hearts, eating candy floss all reveal and symbolise the joy being experienced and create an atmosphere of freedom and child-like happiness within the scene. The faster transitions, quick cuts, will be effective in creating a list-like feel of jam-packing the scene with cuts/shots of joyful people, carefree and life-loving.

At this point, the atmosphere seems light and carefree.... until, the camera fades from black to reveal a young man, aged thirty or so, standing rigidly in-between clumps of busy people (mid-shot). The sounds of laughter and joy die out and the background music, now non-diegetic, becomes eerie (second main convention). This ironic music choice (third main convention) will spark irony and question within the viewer and instantly cause a change in the atmosphere being detected. There will be a stark contrast between what the previous shots revealed, with the laughing, joyous, carefree, bubbly children and adults and the vibrant atmosphere with the light sounds and happy music, and the now eerie, strange music backing up a rigid, unfamiliar character who appears scary. A fun-fair should have background music like earlier; light and happy. The lighting will now also have a dark green tinge/hue to it, similar to the colour of the clown’s outfit (discussed later). This dark green is a symbol of trying to hide something I.e. blood. It enables the clown to his his true identity and agenda of being an abductor, as does it ‘hide’ the light and bright lighting of earlier shots. The change in music and lighting when depicting the man instantly sparks a sense of doubting his character.

The man (soon-to-be-abductor) has bright red hair, perfectly combed and gelled to the side, and sharp brown eyes. The colour red is associated with blood, and the sharp, rigidness of his character symbolises his harshness and unkind selfishness - sort of scary look. An extreme close-up (convention) of his eyes will highlight one eye having a shadow on it. Shadows (the fourth main convention) resemble hiding something. Something being hidden, uncertain, causes a sense of uncomfortableness in the viewer, further stirring up unpredictability. The transition will also be sharp.

The camera takes which depict the man/clown will be short takes with quick cuts, mimicking his rigidness, and stirring up an uneasiness. Where before the fades between shots allowed the viewer to really soak in each shot, the quick cuts now don’t... uncomfortable.

The camera will then zoom out (fifth main convention) to form a mid-shot, also handheld, as he places a clown mask on his face, once again something is hidden, causing fear in the viewer. The series of hiding something will cause a build up of fear. The camera will instantly cut to a zoomed out shot revealing his whole outfit - a clown outfit. The colour of his outfit will be a dark, deep green, similar to the colour worn by emergency doctors, a colour that tries to cover/hide the colour of blood. This is once again ironic as clowns are supposed to wear bright colours, and should generally, especially at a fun-fair, resemble glee and friendliness as they reach out to provide the children with an enjoyable experience, instead here the clown is accompanied by eerie music and is depicted as being strange and unsafe.

A point-of-view shot (sixth main convention) from the clown looking toward the people of the fun-fair will reveal a 180 degree scanning of the location, depicted by the panning of the camera to reveal the setting further. The camera angle will be canted (seventh main convention) which will, firstly, encourage the viewer to believe that something is very questionable and, secondly, symbolise how his character is unstable, unhealthy. The camera will also be handheld, further emphasising his instability.
The atmosphere will now be intense and bizarre.

After panning, the camera will focus on one little boy who is young and small. His hair will be white blond, resembling the purity of his youth, and he will appear scruffy, chocolate smudged across his face. This will all symbolise his carefreeness, and the fact that he is a child who has no worries. The high-angle shot of him will make him seem inferior and weak compared to the clown. His being without his mother who can be seen about ten metres behind him in the sweet/lolly shop queue unveils his being vulnerable and isolated (eight and ninth main conventions). The suspense will really begin to soar here as the viewer will begin to feel emotionally heartbroken for, and will want to save the child, having an idea of what is about to happen.

A wide-shot of the clown walking towards the young boy will convey a contrast in both height and safety between the two. The clown will begin slowly walking toward the young boy, speeding up with each step. The suspense will heighten with each tread made, and then suddenly the clown will put his hand out and pull the child as the camera blacks out dramatically. This will be accompanied by a loud and dramatic non-diegetic sound of a piano as well as the clashing of symbols. The scene will then end on a cliff hanger and the viewer will be left questioning what on earth has just happened.

Throughout the whole scene, the absence of actual conversation and dialogue causes the viewer to really pay attention to the changes in lighting, sound and mood which all three communicate quite clearly the irony and uneasiness of having the dark, strange and eerie character of the clown infringing on the bright and fun atmosphere of the fun-fair.

Storyboard: