The Props

Props are an incredibly important part of the mise-en-scene of a film and I need to decide on what props I am going to use within my film to create the right atmosphere.

Throughout the entire first sequence there will be no need for props as it is solely a character running for their lives. By not seeing any props, like the gun that is used to kill Lynette, the audience will have an ultra-heightened sense of expectation as to what the murder weapon is and what is truly happening.

In the scene with protagonist Zoe Moon I believe I am going to need quite a few props to be able to hint at elements of the plot.

Car

While this is technically a setting I will still need a car in which to shoot in the scene. As such, I will be using my dad's car as that will be available on the planned day of the shoot. As can be seen, it is quite large and green which could be used to suggest power and jealousy. While there are potentially better car choices for the character, like my mum's small black car, it is not feasible for us to drive that car down to Cardiff where the scene will take place. Ergo, I have to make do with this car. I can turn this to my advantage by using it to suggest some success on the character's part in her ability to aquire such a car.

Files

As the plot follows the murders of a number of people it is only right that Zoe Moon would have files that would contain information on the murders that had taken place up to that point in the plot. I am still toying with the idea of when this will be, so the number of files or images could range from three to twelve. I will probably keep this number to a minimum, but the total will be decided from the results of the questionnaire that I have set up. These will not explicity detail the plot as I am assuming that the audience would not want to have too much revealed to them initially. As such, they may just include a couple of photographs of characters and a location.

Mobile Phone

While the initial storyboard shows a secretary or fellow detective entering an office to state the murder of a fourth person, I have come to the decision that that character is pointless in the opening sequence and the revelation of another murder can be done by phone. This will make the protagonist appear to be well connected but still give her a sense of isolation as there is nothing that can be done to protect her over the phone. It also makes sense for her character as she is a journalist and as such would have links with numerous people who she would contact with her phone.

Notepad and Pen

As Zoe is a journalist, or at least an aspiring journalist, it is very easy to imagine her scribbling down ideas in a notepad so that she can link plans and ideas together with ease but also to remember key points. This would most likely serve as the motif throughout the film, like the spinning top in 'Inception' and the Polaroids in 'Memento'. In Zoe's scene, the notepad will be covered with a couple of names, locations, lines and scribbles and the character tries to figure out a link between the murders. This will probably work better than the overly explicit dialogue that I had initially planned to use to reveal that she is trying to find a link between the murders.

All of these props are easy to aquire, although the files and the notepad will need a little more work to make appear authentic. However, it will still not take too much work as none of my plans for the props themselves are too complicated.