Cafe Location

The group and I decided to look for possible locations for the setting of our cafe scene, we decided to look at the cafes our local town, Bury St Edmunds, offers. Before looking the group and I set out a criteria of what we wanted for the cafe, it would have to resemble the grimy events happening. Yet we also decided to keep a relatively open mind for other cafes. 

With this in mind we looked at a range of cafes, from the high end shops such as The SO Bar, The Wilcroft and even the well know Starbucks. The reason we looked at these coffee shops was that even though they didn't fall into the criteria of being a grimy, lower-class environment. They would contradict this, a confront the stereotype. This would create mystery as if characters would not fit into the their surroundings, this could refer to the fact that the characters are in an uncomfortable place, a situation they are not use to. Yet it was thought this idea was too complex for the opening of the thriller so it was decided to not use a high quality coffee shop. 

This meant that we were going for a cafe, not coffee shop. And one that looked run-down, and cheap. It is important that the location incorporates these features as it will be the location our characters have their conversation. Therefore the location will be linked to the uncomfortable confrontational nature of the conversation and the type of people our characters are - low classed, one a vandal and thug, the other caught up in the wrong game because of his social class. 

From this we found two possible cafes, that could be used for our thriller opening. The first is 'North End Cafe', this cafe was a great example of what we were looking for. From the outside the building was starting to look very run down with an unkept outside eating area, chipped and dirty wall and the sign was broken around the edges. Even if the sign was in perfect condition the front and colour used on it have a cheap characteristic. Which links to the fact that the characters either have a dirty past or are breaking under the pressure/confusion. 

Inside the cafe, the furniture is dated and the general decor looks to be from another decade as the cafe has not undergone any developments or improvements. The lighting inside is also naturally dim, creating a natural shadowing effect. This is shown with both images inside, but in particular the one with Lew as he has been silhouetted by the restricted lighting. This will work we with the concept of hiding the killers face throughout the opening scene until the very end. 

Another cafe that has similar features to 'North Gate Cafe' was 'St. Andrews Cafe & Take Away'. This cafe also has features of cheapness, such as the cheap aluminum table and chairs and run-down building. 

Both of these cafes are on the same street, which in itself is poorly kept. This will mean that we will be able to use the surrounding area if we wanted outside shots.