Concept
Title:
“Dead End”
We have chosen the title “Dead End” as it incorporates the idea that our protagonist is stuck in a loop and there is no way to exit it. It can also be seen metaphorically, as in this may be the end of her road in life.
Targeted Audience:
This would be most suitable for young adults as there may be scenes that are not advisable for younger viewers and the concept of the plot may be hard for them to grasp/understand.
Institutional / genre conventions to be included:
Lighting:
natural lighting will mostly be used as we will be filming outside. We will start filming in the late afternoon before sunset and will continue till dark to show how time passes whilst she is in the loop.
Symbolism / iconography:
-isolation and entrapment: our film consists of a sense of claustrophobia as our main character is trapped in her car by herself in a continuous loop in a suburb that has identical houses
- psychological deterioration: as time goes on the main characters’ mentality starts to deteriorate and she questions reality and what's real due to being in a constant loop.
- concealment of face: our antagonist is unrecognisable due to wearing a mask. This creates a tone of unease and danger adding to the thriller concept that we are trying to achieve.
- ambiguous ending: like many thriller films, “Dead end” does not have a clear conclusion and allows the audience to interpret their own idea of what happened. This draws them further into the illusion and plot.
Props / Costumes:
Costumes:
- the protagonist will be wearing light colours such as white, cream or beige. This allows them to stand out and seem innocent as well as vulnerable.
-the antagonist will be wearing dark colours such as black. It allows them to appear threatening, emphasising danger and mystery.
-our side character, the ‘uncanny’ man named Jeff, will be wearing smart clothing such as dress pants, a white button up shirt and a tie. This allows him to seem totally normal. However, due to being in a constant loop something seems off about him.
Props:
- the car our main character is driving will be the main prop.
- our antagonist will be wearing a mask indicating a sense of concealment towards the character allowing them to seem mysterious.
- in the car, a phone will be set up as it is giving her directions towards the location of the event she is heading to. It is the reason she drives into this suburb and gets trapped in the loop
- there will be an invitation for the event placed on the passenger seat. This will set the scene for the audience, indicating the reason as to why she is driving.
Filming / Editing:
Our project will include very tight, quick shots to give the feeling of being trapped and confined. There will also be some wide shots of the car as well as the houses to establish the setting. We will also mostly be using handheld camera work.
Location:
Our project will be filmed in Long Bay as it has very similar looking houses that give off a simulation vibe. It is intended to look like an endless, consistent suburban development.
Plot Synopsis:
Margot Brown is a young adult on her way to an event. While driving, her GPS takes her through an unfamiliar neighbourhood. However, it then starts to glitch. The scene will begin with the camera panning into the shot of the side mirror with a slow zoom in of her fixing her makeup whilst talking on the phone with her friend. As she's driving, she is taken into a neighbourhood with extremely similar looking houses. Here this will be an establishing shot of just the houses and then the car drives in After turning a corner, she ends up on the same road however this time there is a man standing at the edge of his lawn waving. She then proceeds to smile and drive on. After a while of turning the corner and ending up on the same spot she realises that something is not right and she may be stuck in some sort of loop. After some time of her trying to exit this area, a masked man shows up out of nowhere and she sees him behind her car. This gives the audience a sort of jumpscare. He then disappears and ends up in front of the car. She tries to brake however, her car does not slow down and so she ends up swerving. The screen then turns to black. There will be scenes of both inside the car as well as outside.
Characters:
Protagonist:
Our protagonist is a young woman in her early twenties named Margot Brown. She is a stereotypical, vulnerable victim that is usually casted in thrillers.
Antagonist:
Our antagonist is an unknown, masked person that pops out from nowhere, producing a jumpscare-like situation.
Side character (‘uncanny’ man):
This character doesn't really play a big role. He is there to just add to the unsettling tone of the film, emphasising the discomfort and disturbing feel as well as the disconnection from reality.
Practicalities of filming / content:
Equipment:
- sony xd camera
- SD card
- tripod
- camera light
- flecci
- lighting equipment
- microphone
- boom pole
Weather:
The weather is said to be fine with no rain. If there is to be any changes there is no backup plan on a location as it needs to be filmed outside and so we will have to film on another day.
Location permissions:
We will be shooting in public meaning no permission is needed. However, there may be some complications as this is a suburb where people live, so there may be people driving around.
Times:
We will film on a Monday afternoon afterschool. School ends at 3:40 pm and so we will get to our location at around 4:00 pm. We will set up and start filming our day shots. The sun sets at 7:27pm meaning we will continue our shooting at around 7:15 pm in order to include the sunset in our scenes and continue shooting until it becomes dark in order to gain the time passing.
Realism:
Our project is not very realistic as there is no such thing as being stuck in a loop of driving. However, there are some aspects that allow it to feel real such as being in an unfamiliar area with ‘disturbing’ features creating an uneasy mood.
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