Locations/Set for Thriller

We want to use a variety of different sets for our thriller to keep the action interesting, but we somehow need to convey that it is all happening around the same area. We are going to use a container outside our school for the gang's headquarters.

However, the environment directly around the container is not appropriate as it looks too academic. We are therefore using other parts of the school grounds which look more neutral for the scenes with the police sneaking to the container.

We investigated some of the possible areas we could use...

This is the container

I like the green leafy area around this cabin
as it neutralises the location as well as evokes
an idea of hiding.

The stairs on the side of this building could be useful to offer a more interesting
alternative for shots of the police sneaking up to the container.

The full shot of this building is not appropriate, but I look the 'run down' look because it can set the scene for the film. A shot around this area could be useful for this.

This sort of shot could be useful as there is not a lot going on in the background, giving a stronger feeling of isolation and secrecy.

Despite the building, this could make an interesting shot in terms of showing the concealment of the police.

I am looking for opportunities to find compositions for shots that are appropriate and somewhat neutral, but that will also interest the audience. The foresty look is very typical in thrillers because of the idea of secrecy and concealment evoked by forests. However, most crime-thrillers occur in urban settings, so it might be interesting for an audience to see a police raid happening in a more country setting. By using this kind of setting rather than great complex office buildings in cities, we are not only offering something different but we are also reducing the sort of epic and hyperactive feel that most crime-thrillers give from police chases in buildings. By lowering the energy of the action by setting it in a more serene kind of setting, this will hopefully heighten the action by bringing it down a level from the usual fast-pace action in most thrillers and therefore making it more naturalistic. Rather than present an unrealistic and larger than life episode of action full of explosions and energy, we want to approach creating the suspense differently by focusing more on the tension of the actors rather than the setting and the speed of the action on screen.