Props - 8/11/11

There are a few different types of props that we need to use in order to forfill we want to create in our film. These include: the first shown letters that our main character is going to rip up in the first scene (these must clearly show the date 2001 and be relevant to the storyline) and the weapons that is going to be shown before the main character begins murdering everyone (this includes a hammer, a broom, several knives and sharp knife-like items, and a screw driver). Of course, with the weapon props we will have to take Health and Safety procautions which I will talk about when I discuss each one, to make sure none of our actors, ourselves or the public are in danger.

THE LETTERS
These are actually very important to the storyline and the main characters background, and are going to be shown in the first shot that we actually make. These letters are going to be from 2 health organisations that we have made up, and the letters are going to include information regarding Steven Turner's (our main character) health. As him turning insane and brutally killing everyone is basically what the entire film is about, his mental health was an important issue to raise and we needed to make sure that the audience was aware of how mentally ill he is, and how much of in-denial his is about it. We have done this to make the background of this character easier to understand and emotionally connect with for the audience.
Another point that is going to be on the letters, which is also important to the opening of the film, is the date which is going to be slightly bigger and bolder than the rest of the writing, and have more focus on, so that the audience understands this is in the past and know it's a back story.
Here are the letter props we are going to be filming in our first few scenes:

The basic idea of both of the letters are that they're from (made up) health organisations - St Charles Hospice and Tulip Health Group, and are letters explaining the need for Steven Turner (our main character) to attend their sessions, and for him to re-book another appointment for a health class, after missing his last one. The audience won't be able to read these letters, but the main information they'll be able to interpret from them is the title (the background of what the letter might be about) and the date (which is vital to the  whole setting in the past). We tried to make the props as realistic as we could and fit well with our plot and character.



As well as the letters, we are also going to be using some pieces of gardening and DIY equipment that we found in our sheds, and would be good as weapons for our main character.

Here are the pictures I have taken of some of them:

A screwdriver

A sharp item

A set of knives

A hammer

A broom

These are all some of the props we will be using in our scenes, and due to the fact some of them are quite heavy, sharp and dangerous (as I managed to even cut myself just taking a picture of the knives!), we will obviously have to make sure we prepare and set up the sharp items first and plan what we are going to do carefully and safely making sure no-one is hurt. As well as the knife set, we're going to be using Laura's knife sharpener set which is at her house, and is going to be key for the sound effect of it. It's important that we use sharp, dangerous types of equipment for our weapons, because we want it to reflect the real horror and gore aspects of our film, to scare the audience and to show the madness of the main character.

WHY HAVE WE DONE THIS?It was important for us to take pictures and work out what individual prop we are going to need for filming, so that we are organised and have thought about everything.