Construction - Location (Elliot)

Whilst discussing and developing our initial idea, Evan and I were both set on placing our protagonist on a busy highstreet where we could film a walk scene, consisting of the protagonist walking from the coffee shop to work. As a result, we concluded three possible settings; Hounslow highstreet, Twickenham highstreet and Kingston highstreet as these met our standards for this scene.

Hounslow highstreet

Twickenham highstreet

Kingston highstreet

We eventually decided as a group that Twickenham highstreet would not be as great a location as the others due to its confinement. Moreover, we knew that the opening would also consist of a coffee shop scene where we would have the protagonist sitting by a window and looking outside and so we needed to consider this and could only find such suitable locations in Hounslow and Kingston. Having narrowed it down to just two locations, we finally decided that we would look for coffee shops that would be willing to let us film. After sending letters and speaking to numerous managers some coffee shops rejected our proposal however we found one coffee shop in Kingston that was happy for us to film, granted we were discrete and filmed no other customers.

Evan and I were more than happy as this location had a great space that allowed for us to film from different angles without being too confining. Furthermore, the inside of the coffee shop had great access to more natural light and a large window to film at. This was suitable as this allowed us to film the "present day" shots in natural light and all the flashbacks in darker artificial light to establish the enigma of the thriller. Additionally, the shop was situated in a place that would not be too busy to film and had great space for a variety of different and interesting shots. Not only this, but as Kingston is constantly overshadowed by tall buildings this would be useful in creating a sense of confinement and an eerie tone which would help develop our plot and its themes. Alternatively, there are also spaces that are very open and exposed but are central to the bustling streets - this would also be beneficial as this would help to establish a sense of isolation, loneliness and chaos.

Kingston highstreet - final location

For our flashbacks, Evan and I decided that we would use a dark room available at our school. This location was ideal for the flashbacks as it allowed us to film in total darkness and focus on three-point lighting. We used one single LED light attached to the top of the DSLR camera which we used as key light. This was perfect for the scenes we shot as it created strong shadows behind our actors whilst maintaining the focus on them. This was highly effective as it established and eerie atmosphere - conventional of thrillers - and created a sense of mystery.