As Media coursework evaluation.

2. THE TITLE OF THE FILM
The title ‘TERROR PLANE’ is a fairly standard name for a film of the thriller
genre. Thriller film names are often one or two words that link directly into the
story somehow (for example, “Shutter Island” is the island that Leonardo
Dicaprio visits in the film). These names often sound menacing and ominous
and help to set the mood of the film. However, our film name also sounds
quite over the top and implies that the film is not as serious as other films in
the genre. This works well with the addition of aspects of the romance genre
which should make the film seem less dark than some films.

3. SETTING AND LOCATION
There are several different settings and locations in our film. The first setting are two different hotel
rooms which the two main characters, Brian and Susan, are sharing. This involves both a
bathroom and a bedroom for each character. The quality and style of each room should reflect
the personalities of each character (with Susan’s looking more expensive and modern than
Brian’s). Hotel rooms are often used in thriller films, and are often used to show the
personalities of characters involved (similarly to what is done in out film). We will also see the
outside of the hotels when Brian and Susan get into their respective cars.
The second location is the cars themselves. This scene is not very long, and serves as a chance for
the characters to explain what they are doing and where they are going (in the form of phone
calls).
The third location is the airport. Airports are also often used in thriller films, as almost everyone will
need to use them to get to another country. In ‘TERROR PLANE’, the airport is included for the
sake of continuity in order to show where the characters are going.
The fourth and final location is the plane. Planes are, once again, used a lot in thriller films as they
help to show a characters journey from one place to another easily. They are often used as
places where characters can safely talk to each other and develop the plot of a film. The plane
we have used is a Boeing 737, an aircraft that is fairly commonplace for commercial flights. In
this scene Brian and Susan will unwittingly sit down next to each other and realise that they are
on the same plane together after not seeing each other for several years.

4. COSTUMES AND PROPS
Brian’s costume tends to go against the conventions of what a stereotypical
terrorist would wear. This is primarily due to him needing to look
inconspicuous in order to get onto the plane. In order to do this, he wears a
casual shirt , jeans, trainers and a leather jacket.
Susan’s costume, however, appears to be more conventional as her character
simply needs to be wearing normal casual clothes, just as most people would
wear if they were going on a flight back home. She is not working so she
does not need to wear anything particularly formal. In this respect, her
costume is a lot like Brian’s, although her costume is just her normal day-to-
day clothes whilst Brian is deliberately wearing his in order to not stand out
from the crowd.

5. CINEMATOGRAPHY AND EDITING
In terms of cinematography, we decided to use a wide range of shots in order to
both showcase our abilities and make the scenes look more interesting and
real. For example, several scenes that were filmed outside where shot just
behind things such as wire fences or trees in order to make the scene look
more busy and realistic. We used a wide array of different shots during filming
including extreme close-ups, tracking shots, pans and over-the-shoulder
shots.
The most interesting thing about the editing of our film is that we decided to have
it play out in split screen up until the very last shot. This allowed us to show
the two characters’ journeys to the airport at the same time and effectively
allowed us to double the amount of footage we could fit into the time
constraints. This also helped to show the differences and similarities between
the two characters.

6. STORY AND SETUP
The story of ‘TERROR PLANE’ starts with both characters in their hotel bathrooms. Susan is
brushing her teeth and Brian is shaving. The two characters then move form the
bathrooms into their bedrooms and proceed to pack their belongings into their bags.
Here we see both characters pick up their boarding passes and passports, this lets the
audience know who the characters are and where they’re going. We then see Susan
looking at her phone, which has a picture of her and her boyfriend as a background
picture, letting the audience know that she has a partner. Brian does the same, but with
his photograph showing him and Susan. This shows the audience that Brian and Susan
used to be in a relationship, but Susan has been able to move on whilst Brian is stuck in
the past. We then see both characters leave their hotels. Brian then gives a ‘shady man’
a bag containing the bomb (shown when he was packing his things) whilst Susan walks
towards her car. Brian and Susan then both get into their cars and explain where they are
going and what is happening (via phone conversations). The next scene follows the two
characters as they walk through an airport. The final scene shows Both Brian and Susan
going the their seats on the plane; Susan sits down and Brian then sits down next to her.
The two characters turn to look at each together and realise who they are sat next to.
The screen then cuts to black.

7. GENRE AND HOW THE OPENING OF THE FILM
SUGGESTS IT
The terrorist plot of the film is fairly standard for the thriller genre. However the
addition of a romance between the two main characters being a key aspect of
the story is something that is not commonly used by thrillers. This romance is
shown by the relationship between Brian and Susan; Susan has moved on
since her relationship with Brian, whilst Brian has never really gotten over
their breakup. Both the terrorism and romance aspects of the film are shown
in the opening of the film (we see Brian pack the bomb in a bag and give it to
a ‘shady man’ and we see pictures of Brian and Susan and Susan and her
new boyfriend on the respective character’s phones).

8. HOW THE CAHRACTERS ARE INTRODUCED
Both Brian and Susan are introduced at the same time (via the use of split
screen), however we do not know anything about the characters or who they
are until the next scene, where we see their names (on their boarding
passes) and their relation to each other (via their phone backgrounds). We
also realise that Brian is some kind of terrorist when we see him check his
makeshift bomb before packing it away. We gradually learn more about what
the two characters are doing as the opening progresses (through phone calls,
changes in scenery etc.) until the final scene when the characters realise that
they are sat next to each other.

9. SPECIAL EFFECTS
Our film does not rely heavily on special effects, however there is some use of a
green screen when the two characters are in their cars traveling to the airport.
This is used to show that the cars are moving and that they are, in fact, in a
middle eastern country and not the driveway of a house in Creekmoor.
The most evident piece of editing is the aforementioned split screen, which
shows the two character’s actions side by side as the story progresses. This
is something that is not often used in thriller films and will help our video to
stand out and appear more unique.