Production: Props and Equipment

In my Cambridge project portfolio,
Stay Inside, reaching the production phase translated into creation of our vision of lived-in thriller environment. Many of the job prerequisites included picking and positioning props to give the set the appearance of reality. The base of the set was intentionally created by making the room messy. It was not an accident that mess, it was a deliberate act in order to demonstrate the careless attitude between Jay and Marcus. The messiness of this assists in selling the fact that these two have been ignoring the world and are completely out of touch with it. 

We used food and chill props to feel that the lazy weekend life is justifiable. Our background was pre-prepared with open pizza boxes, actual pieces of pizza, and bags of chips, sweets, and half-full cups. These objects are important as they put the scene into reality and emphasize the complete helplessness of the characters. The audience misses noticing them being engulfed in junk food and having a TV remote in their hands as a gesture to signify that Jay and Marcus are very relaxed and Alabama are highly distracted. The excessive number of snacks also contributes to a comfortable image making the unexpected emergency broadcast look like a huge intruder to their cozy world. 

Our set was anchored to the couch and the TV. The couch is the last haven where most of the characters spend the first half of the opening sequence. It has them sitting and waiting once the threat sets in. They center their attention on the TV until it all goes wrong and turns into their source of terror. Marcus unintentionally draws external threat into their safe space by turning the device utilized to increase the volume of the distorted broadcast with his remote. This is the element of the thriller that makes it feel good with the contrast of these everyday objects and the increased tension. 

Behind the scenes, our production equipment was equally significant in bringing the correct mood. Our establishing shots of the living room were made as still as possible using a tripod. The fact that the camera was so steady initially is what makes the moments that come after so much more intense and creepy. We also took a lighting circle stick and had to adjust the shadows and highlights in the squat room. This assisted us in imitating the pale TV light on their features and the dark ambience they produced prior to the severe emergency lights assuming power. Each prop and equipment played a certain role in the creation of the suspense on film day.