Mise-en-scene: Props

Props used within our Thriller.


The Scarves

There were two scarves used in our thriller, one we used in the flashback scene whilst the other we used in the sketchbook scene as it was decided that the sketchbook should be often reviewed by the Protagonist as he tried to come to terms with the act of murder which he committed and therefore the scarf with constant handling should have become worn over the years. Therefore the second scarf which we used was frayed and the colours were faded in comparison. Whilst we used the second scarf to give an impression of it being worn the two items were not identical, a fact which we have tried to hide through camera angles and lighting whilst we were filming and later the editing process.

Originally the victim's scarf was to be used as the murder weapon as it was first decided that the boy would strangle her. However the cause of death was almost constantly under debate and as such in flux until we settled on the girl being thrown against a tree which meant that the scarf was no longer needed as such in the murder. Despite this we wanted the killer to have something other than the sketchbook to remind him of his victim and as such it was decided that it should come into his possession somewhere within the fight scene, thereby allowing him to keep it in his possession for the rest of his life.


The Sketchbook

We decided on the sketchbook as a way to show the audience what our killer was thinking as well as to present him as the threat. The book itself was plain and cream in colour so as not to show anything unnerving until the pages were opened, revealing his drawings to the audience. It was decided that the drawings should be made using black biro and graphite to provide a sketchy feel to the drawings as well as a feeling of depression as we felt that someone in his shoes would most likely draw in black without a hint of colour.

 (Katherine Smith preparing the sketchbook for filming)

The Gloves

We ended up using a pair of gloves in our thriller because it was deiced that having committed the murder the killer should use gloves in handling the body. Whilst this in itself would be useless in reality especially as his fingerprints would already cover the corpse after the fight scene we believed that the action might provide some false sense of security which we thought would be welcome after murder. This action was supposed to be done without thinking, as was picking up the scarf at the end and moving the body in an effort to cover the killer's tracks rather than a considered action.