untraceable for web from Tom Ryan on Vimeo.

Untraceable script

(entire conversation takes place over phone. Saqib is in the bathroom, Jacob in the detective's office) Saqib - Hello there detective Jacob - Who’s this? S - You’ve forgotten me already? J - ……. S - I’m disappointed, Detective. Two years and you’re still no closer to finding me. J - It’s a matter of time S - Good luck. Time isn’t something you have. I’ve done it again. J - Who are you? Phone cuts off.

Use of sound in Untraceable

We chose to use a soundtrack by Mark Cally called “If I have the baby” for the opening of Untraceable. It is an orchestral track with a fairly slow tempo. This was a suitable choice for our film because it helped to create a mysterious atmosphere around the murder scene, while also fitting the detective’s scene with a feeling of calmness. In terms of sound effects in the film, the first post-production edited sound in the film is the gunshot in the bathroom scene. For several reasons, such as access and the law we were unable to use a genuine firearm for the murder scene. However, we were able to recreate one with use of an imitation gun and editing the diegetic sound of gunshots in Pinnacle, meaning it would have been very difficult to get the desired effect without editing software.

Evaluation question 1

During the shooting of our Thriller Opening, we did encounter some problems; however we carried out the task with minimal difficulties and managed to get the task done. One problem which we could have potentially faced came with filming a scene in toilets, which meant we had to deal with presence of mirrors while filming. As a result of this our group had to take great care to avoid any accidental shots of the camera being used in the background of the scene. Another problem which could have occurred was the problem of access to the office we wanted to use in the detective's scene. However, we were able to secure the location for filming and the room we used proved ideal for the location of the detective’s office. In addition to this the lighting could have been a big problem. The bathroom we filmed in had very small westward-facing windows, and so we had to film specifically in the afternoon to avoid using the artificial light which we felt would have slightly ruined the feel we wished to give to the scene. On the other hand, the detective's office had very large windows and therefoer a lot of natural light shining in, which helped us make the detective's surroundings a lot brighter to make use of Todorov's binary oppositions.

Evaluation task 2

During the late 1960s and 1970s the saturation of the horror film market by competitors and the loss of American funding forced changes to the previously lucrative Hammer-formula, with varying degrees of success. The company eventually ceased production in the mid-1980s and has since then been, in effect, in hibernation. In 2000, the studio was bought by a consortium including advertising executive and art collector Charles Saatchi. The company announced plans to begin making films again after this, but none were produced. In May 2007, the company behind the movies was sold again, this time to a group headed by Big Brother backers, the Dutch consortium Cyrte Investments, who have announced plans to spend some $50m (£25m) on new horror films. The new owners have also acquired the Hammer group's film library.

Evaluation question 3

Throughout the process of our filming and editing we have gained a vast amount of skills in which we did not poses before we began our filming process. For example the fact we all had to by ourselves edit a produce and opening of a thriller this was a new experience to all of us. As well as this, this is only the second time in which we had used pinnacle studios for editing a video in which we produce (the first time was our preliminary task). One skill which we had learned was how to create numerous title pages on pinnacle which was a new editing skill we had learned for example our production company logo. Also we learned how to add and take out sound effects as we used pinnacle in which to add the gun shot noise that we wanted. The beneficial part of this was the gunshot noise on pinnacle fit the scene perfectly. We also added in a lot of fades and dissolve which we had not done much in the past so it was a good and enjoyable skill in which we had learned and it also made our final production a lot better. Lastly we learned how to add a sound track to our production which was a new experience for us all. We had to save the soundtrack and upload it on the video, but the tricky part was to verify the sound of the music in which we wanted to hear the talking between the assassin and the detective. Over all we had learned a new selection of skills which were important in completing our video. I believe we all had an important part to play in the production and we managed to pick up the new editing skills very easily. The production process was not perfect, however I feel it was a success on the whole given it was only the second time any of the group had attempted something of this nature.

Evaluation questions 4 & 5

Final production – target audience from tomryan1994

Props and costumes

Props –

 Saqib: Gun, phone

Jacob: Gun, phone, certificate showing character is a detective, detective attire (braces, smart clothes)

Costumes –

Tom’s character: Purposely dressed in clothes which don’t identify him as part of any particular group.  This means his character can remain fairly unimportant to the audience, but also shows that he is likely to be innocent

Saqib’s character: Dark clothes, purposely quite non-descript to enforce the idea of the character’s identity being a mystery, and of him being almost faceless.  Dark colours also have connotations of being villainous, or evil.

Jacob’s character: Formal trousers and shirt with braces, to give connotations of professionalism.  Heavily influenced by the character of detective Mills in the thriller Se7en.

Justifications for props and costumes –

The gun in both cases is a small black pistol.  In Saqib’s case, this is to display secrecy and to uphold the idea of the character being a “silent killer”, giving the idea of discretion.  For Jacob’s character, the gun was used to finalise the image of the detective being in law enforcement, after the detectives costume and the detective’s certificate of appreciation which is being read by the detective at the beginning of the office scene.

The phones used in the conversation between Saqib and Jacob were in both cases mobile phones.  The killer uses a mobile to call the detective, rather than a landline.  This is to show that the killer isn’t restricted, or necessarily in a certain place.  This ties in with the idea of him being “untraceable”.  At first, we intended to have the detective receive the call on his office’s landline, to show his closeness to the police department.  However, we decided that if we showed the detective to be talking on a mobile we could create the impression that the relationship between the detective and the murderer was a more personal one.  Secondly, it suggest that the detective, who is the hero in the story, is not necessarily a part of the police force all of the time when it comes to dealing with criminals.