Props, Costume, Make-up and Lighting

Props, costume, make up and lighting

Props:

In our thriller opening there are a few different props but the main prop (or more like a series of props) that we are going to be using is a massive file/folder containing case notes and images made to look like an old detective case file and notes. The file will be worn and slightly burnt in places giving it a sense of age and a gritty detective feel to it. This is an extremely important prop as it gives inklings about the narrative and its where the titles for the characters and the production companies and editors and so on will be situated; The titles will roll after a detective is called by one of his colleagues and is told that the murder of his old partner 3 years ago has new information and the case is being re-opened and he is the detective on the case again once the call stops the old case file (the prop containing evidence and documents from the investigation 3 years ago) will be slammed onto the table with force yet enthusiasm, then the detective will start looking through the case and as the pages turn on each new page there will be a title for the editor of whoever is in the titles etc, the title will be surrounded by writing to simulate case notes (also the addition of finger prints and foot prints etc and that kind of stuff. Also it will be used to link the present scene to the old crime scene by using photos as a gateway for flashbacks to where the main detective was investigating 3 years ago , for example when the title for the actor playing the main detective comes up there will be a picture of him at the scene the camera will zoom in on it and a flash back will play , after that it will zoom out of the picture back to the present and the detective will continue to go through the file and the titles. This prop we decided to use really compliments the detective/film noir genre of thriller as that would be what you normally see in old time detective films used to store important documents that will help towards a case, the fact the file will be worn and a bit gritty and the detective still has it shows a strong connection between him and the victim (his old partner) this creating passion and the eagerness to help and use this mysterious “new information” to help find who killed his old partner. The whole use of the phone call and the trawling through the old case file creates tension and suspense straight from the start grabbing the audience’s attention to carry on watching seeing what unraveled 3 years ago and it being used as a segway to the investigation what is going to start again after the titles have finished. Other than the case file etc smaller props such as evidence markers will be used in the flash backs giving the whole investigation feel, shoes to make foot prints in the mud with and maybe a murder weapon all giving off the gritty detective genre perfectly creating mystery and suspense.

 

Costume:

The detective:

In flashbacks:

With the main detective the kind of costume that he will have will be quite smart yet has a little gritty look and sometimes maybe a little messy to give the detective a persona that gives of smart and intelligible yet now afraid to be all gritty and get hands on. The costume he will wear is a white shirt with a black tie, black trousers and shoes all under a longish black overcoat/jacket. This simulating the typical detective attire of smart yet gritty and hand on. Also a black trilby hat will be used to really emphasise the film noir genre as that is a generic convention of a film noir/detective period film.

In the present time:

As time has passed since the actual first investigation we wanted to show a slight change in costume to show that maybe since then the detective may have degraded a little, this will be shown with his costume being less formal but also still keeping it a little smart, the costume will be a white shirt maybe with stripes and a waistcoat with trousers and shoes but no tie and his sleeves rolled up , showing the slight untidiness and less formal showing a slight change in persona due to the events happening.

The victim/old partner

The sort of costume the victim will be wearing will be almost exactly the same as the main detective during the flashback, smart clothing but this time worn in a messy way to emphasize the fact he has been attacked on the job, some clothes may be slightly ripped and maybe a bit muddy. This all coming together to give the audience the idea that the victim may have had a struggle and was quite overwhelmed by whoever decided to kill him. This giving the victim  slight personality; the smart clothes giving him intelligence but the fact they are untidy and messed up showing he was lacking in physical strength, this giving the audience a feel for the character that has been killed.

Make-up:

In our thriller opening very little if any make-up will be used, we want to add more to our characters by giving them a powerful authoritative feel and we believe this will be achieved better if no make-up was used but if the actors themselves didn't shave giving them a edgy gritty feel as they look quite smart yet too rushed off their feet with the terrible fact a partner has been killed so haven’t been able to have time to shave. If any make-up is used small use of fake blood may be used to help give the victim a sense of deceased.

Lighting:

When filming outside at the murder scene the lighting we will be using is the natural lighting, so that none of the shots outside at the scene look too artificial with added light, also to give the opening titles a bigger sense of a detective aged thriller we will be using a lower saturation filter to give it a slight film noir style and create a mysterious atmosphere. When at the present time we will use a desk light to emphasis the case file and the detective going through it, this also will a filter giving it a slight black and white feel adding even more to the suspenseful and mysterious atmosphere.