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My original idea: “Closing Shift”<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Before the group settled on our final concept, here’s the version I brought to the table:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Psychological Thriller Plot<\/strong>(draft 1):<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maya Vale, a trainee detective in Auckland, becomes obsessed with a decade-old unsolved disappearance case involving people who vanished without explanation after visiting the same late-night caf\u00e9.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ignored by senior detectives, Maya secretly continues investigating the case alone. Every night after work, she visits the nearly empty caf\u00e9 to study police files, CCTV footage, and witness reports connected to the missing people.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n One stormy night during closing shift, a customer walks into the caf\u00e9 and Maya recognizes him immediately from a missing-person file. He disappeared six years ago. Soon more customers arrive, each one connected to the case. Some are officially dead. Others vanished without a trace. Yet they all behave normally, drinking coffee and quietly talking as if nothing happened.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the night continues, reality around the caf\u00e9 becomes distorted: clocks stop at 2:13 AM, streets outside become empty, exits lead back inside, and Maya’s phone no longer works.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The missing people begin revealing fragmented clues about a hidden event connected to all of them. Maya slowly discovers that years earlier, a detective uncovered a human trafficking operation linked to powerful people in the city \u2014 but before he could expose it, witnesses and victims began disappearing one by one. That detective was Maya’s father.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Digging deeper, Maya uncovers security footage proving her father visited the caf\u00e9 the night before his own disappearance. Then the caf\u00e9 owner reveals the truth: the caf\u00e9 acts as a “waiting room” for people trapped between disappearance and death \u2014 people whose stories were buried and never solved.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the final moments, Maya finds one final police file hidden beneath the counter. The file contains her own photograph, taken earlier that night. She realizes she was lured there because someone powerful discovered she had reopened the investigation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The film ends with the caf\u00e9 empty again at sunrise. A new trainee detective enters the caf\u00e9 months later and notices a missing-person poster hanging near the counter: MAYA VALE \u2014 MISSING.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n What each production role covers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Storyboarding, scripting, location scouting, shot lists, costumes, casting<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cold case file itself is one of the most important props \u2014 it’s the object the whole story turns on. It contains three mock NZ Police missing-person files:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leah’s own file being the third one in the case is the twist the whole opening builds to, worth calling this out explicitly in your CCR later as a deliberate piece of enigma\/character-introduction convention, tying straight back to your Research post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A location change worth documenting<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peak Productions<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our group’s production company is\u00a0Peak Productions<\/strong>\u00a0monochrome, enigmatic, deliberately understated in the style of A24’s branding (a minimalist logo that doesn’t break the audience’s immersion).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5 days before official filming my friend’s family restaurant<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Production \u2014 “Final File” From first ideas to final cut \u2014 the full production journey behind our thriller opening. Premiere Pro Workshop Brainstorming & Concept Creation Evidence and context of discussions: My original idea: “Closing Shift” Before the group settled on our final concept, here’s the version I brought to the table: Psychological Thriller Plot(draft […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-16","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediastudies.pinehurst.school.nz\/yantong-lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediastudies.pinehurst.school.nz\/yantong-lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediastudies.pinehurst.school.nz\/yantong-lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediastudies.pinehurst.school.nz\/yantong-lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediastudies.pinehurst.school.nz\/yantong-lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mediastudies.pinehurst.school.nz\/yantong-lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":212,"href":"https:\/\/mediastudies.pinehurst.school.nz\/yantong-lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16\/revisions\/212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediastudies.pinehurst.school.nz\/yantong-lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\n\n\nMood Board<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nRoles & Responsibilities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Role<\/th> Responsibility<\/th> Who<\/th><\/tr> Casting Director<\/td> Creative control over the project or set scene<\/td> Yan Tong Lu<\/td><\/tr> Health and Safetey<\/td> Safety <\/td> Bruce<\/td><\/tr> Camera operator<\/td> Person doing the filming<\/td> Joel<\/td><\/tr> Story boarder<\/td> Paint the story to life<\/td> Joel<\/td><\/tr> Script writer<\/td> Generate idea primarily<\/td> Yan Tong<\/td><\/tr> Production assistant<\/td> Responsibility for actors being in the right place at the right time \u2014 runner between departments<\/td> Bruce<\/td><\/tr> Tech support<\/td> Takes responsibility for the gear and technology being used while out on set<\/td> Joel and Yan Tong<\/td><\/tr> Editor<\/td> Edits all cuts to form the film opening<\/td> Joel<\/td><\/tr> Scheduler (additional role)<\/td> Creates formal schedule for filming process including set times for actors and deadlines<\/td> Yan Tong <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nPlanning for Production<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nLocation Scouting & Mise-en-sc\u00e8ne<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Element<\/th> Detail<\/th><\/tr> Scene 1 location<\/td> Constellation Drive Police Station (planned, later cut from the final edit \u2014 see Filming Reflection)<\/em><\/td><\/tr> Scene 2 location<\/td> Moody caf\u00e9 \u2014 my friend’s family-owned restaurant, used as our filming location<\/td><\/tr> Leah’s clothing<\/td> Clothing suitable for long-distance hiking + round glasses<\/td><\/tr> Detective’s clothing<\/td> Beige jacket + dress shirt + dress pants<\/td><\/tr> Background extras<\/td> Pedestrian clothing<\/td><\/tr> Missing persons (cast)<\/td> Clothing matched to their case-file description<\/td><\/tr> Cold case file (prop)<\/td> Large, worn-looking folder<\/td><\/tr> Laptop (prop)<\/td> For Leah’s “work” at the table<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Prop Deep-Dive: The Case File<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
File<\/th> Key details<\/th><\/tr> Riley Yared<\/td> DOB 15\/10\/2003, disappeared 11\/04\/2024, last seen at Vineya vineyard. Described as tall, fair-skinned, light-brown hair; olive green hoodie, grey trackpants, dark blue sneakers. Kind but insensitive, hard-working.<\/td><\/tr> Jun Tang<\/td> DOB 25\/09\/2005, disappeared 11\/04\/2024, last seen at the Core-Stone construction site. White hoodie with a high collar, grey trackpants; tanned, average height. Described as stoic, not very social.<\/td><\/tr> Leah Yule<\/td> DOB 13\/03\/2005, disappeared 11\/04\/2024, last seen leaving the Constellation Drive police station ~5pm. Terrified expression, dark long pants and a white blouse. “Leah never saw it coming.”<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nThe Bus That Wasn’t<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Production Company & Logo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nFilming Reflection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Mock Shoot<\/h3>\n\n\n\n