THE WITNESS

NARRATIVE OUTLINEThe plot focuses on 2 characters sat in a café.

Across the opening, as an audience we discover a troubled back-story which recently occurred.

We learn that the witness saw his best friend and a mob of men, murder a man.

The sequence plays out as an interesting dilemma, where the killer learns that his friend witnessed his

crime.

The opening finishes on a cliff-hanger and the inference suggests that the witness will face a bad

fate.

MISE-EN-SCENE

Characters: Killer, Victim, Witness, 4 Mob Members

Props – bats, car, clothing – jeans, dark jacket but a white top to show goodness in our witness but a dark past, mobs – dressed in dark clothing, balaclava,

Locations:

Café – dingy location, limited lighting, grimy,

Unicorn Place – run-down estate, old worn out housing and vehicles, pot holes, broken fences, used syringes, bricks on the floor from previous beatings.

DIALOGUE SCRIPTKiller: “Why did you call me here?” [7secs]

*Witnesses inner voice*: “What I’ve seen… it can’t be true”

Killer: What’s wrong? [15secs]

*FLASH BACK* Establishing shot of the mob stood on estate Killer (voice-over flashback drawing it to a close): “Come on, out with it” [22secs]

Witness: “There’s something I need to say” [26secs]

Killer: “Come on” [27secs] (cutting into the end of Witness speech)

Witness: “I just don’t know how to phrase it” (said slowly) [34secs]

*FLASH BACK* Victim pulls up in his car [37secs]

*shot of the witnesses hands from the overhead café lighting* (eerie silence) [45secs]

*FLASH BACK* Mob members barge into The Witness; distressed camera movement (jittering) and back into focus [51secs]

Witness: You know that estate? You know, the one across from the Bowling Alley, sorta…” [55secs]

Killer: *clenched jaw* “Yeah,… (insert estate name)” [58secs]

Killer: “I was down there the other night… heading up towards the forest at the back of the estate” [62secs]

Witness: “Anyway” (cutting in) [64secs]

*FLASH BACK* The Witness narrates what happens: “I was on my way back from the shops. When I decided to cut through the estate to, you know, make it quicker… When I heard this

noise” (Insert non-diegetic sound of car) [74secs]

Killer: “so” [75secs]

*FLASH BACK* The Witness narrates what happens: “I saw this guy get pulled from his car” (Looks over a car and sees this, hesitates and ducks down, before looking underneath the car). “So, I ducked down and moved in closer to get a better view”

[83secs]

*Mob surround man on the floor* “There were 5 guys and one of them kept hitting and hitting the man until he stopped moving” [88secs]

*Non-diagetic: shoe scuffling on tarmac/road surface underneath the car* Witness: “Then they must have heard me, one of the members moved closer to the car.”

[97secs]

*Shot of handprint on the window, the Witness then runs off in clear view of the mob* (including extension of the opening shot) [107secs]

Killer: So, what we gonna do about this? *shot of the mob walking through the café doors* (shot of Killer to Witness to Mob)

Thriller Film Conventions

Plot

Plot twist: we discover who the killer really is.

The plot is characterized by a mood of violence, crime and injustice.

A hero (The Witness) throws the plans of the killer and is not uncovering something that has happened (typical)

Twist on general conventions: we know the protagonist but not the antagonist (normally the other way around).

Mise-en-scene

Café: depicts British working class society. (dark and dull lighting)

Estate: See the story from the protagonist’s point of view. The audience pities the male protagonist by uncovering a dilemma.

Sound and Editing

Eerie music will build tension when appropriate.

Flashbacks.

Titles: It is common for a particular event to be shown before the title appears. We will be doing this within the opening few seconds.

Jump cuts: Cutting rate increases as the plot climaxs.

Use of Diegetic (to imitate hitting during violence) and Non-diegetic sounds during the scenes.

Fast editing during violence.

The action fades to black after a scene has finished, which signifies that something bad is going to happen.

Lighting and Camera

Tracking and panning shots.

Quick cuts and camera angle changes.

Manipulation of shadow (chiaroscuro lighting) will be something we play on.

Long shots are used to set the scene and show the audience where action will later take place.

Clear shots of body language. E.g. Use of shaky camera to represent the characters emotions.

Shot list0 secs - Title sequences – POV shot from witness

7 secs - Over the shoulder/POV from the Killers perspective

15 secs - Close – up of the witness from the Killers perspective

22 secs - Establishing shot of the flash back, very wide zooms in to wide shot (may include close up of the shoes as the character is looking down)

26 secs - Over the shoulder of the Killer

36 Secs – flash back, POV from witness of the vehicle

45 Secs – Cutaway from the light to a Cut in shot of the Killers hands

51 Secs - POV from witness perspective

55 Secs – POV of the killer

58 Secs – Extreme close up of jaw-line

Shot list62 Secs – cuts to an over the shoulder shot

64 Secs – Close up of the witness

74 Secs – Flash back, POV from the witness

75 Secs – cut in

78 Secs – Flashback witness POV

83 Secs – Mid shot

88 Secs – Low angles, close up shot zoom out to a mid shot showing the killers power

93 Secs –

97 Secs – Eye line close to the floor to a Low angle (highlighting the shoes)

1.47 Secs – Eye line/mid shot. The angle may tilt up to look at character.

?? Secs- Initial running scene, POV from witness. Mid shot to wide angle shot, as he looks around.

?? Secs – Mid shot (possibly POV from witness) of the Killers face.

?? Secs - Mid shot of the front of café, enter mob. (Transition pivot from the table)

Ideas, Messages

We’re going to highlight the dark side of British youth culture and it’s thuggish perception by society. Although we do not feel this to be the case with all youth culture. It’s still believed by the public an therefor a popular topic for a film.

The film deals with the inner conflict of the witness, as he has to decide where he’s morals lie. The conflict is only made worse when he confronts his friend.