Props

Sounds effects

Similarities between our actors and actors in other films

Victim (played by Emily Lipman)

My group and I decided to cast myself to play the role of the victim as I have blonde hair and can be considered as attractive which we found from our survey interviews regarding the target audience to be very effective. In addition to this, people with blonde hair are known as being 'dumb' and 'stupid', which therefore fits the stereotype for a victim. This demonstrates why my group had chosen myself to play the role of the victim due to the fact that I very much fit this stereotype. My group and I believe that I can be compared to Drew Barrymore, who plays the role of  the victim Casey Becker in the film 'Scream.' This is due to the fact that we are both young and innocent girls who also happen to have blonde hair, therefore portraying a believable and realistic character for the victim. 

Common stereotypes of female actors:

• lack of independence (always need a man)
• always need to be saved (incapable)
• objectified by men
• innocent (never does nothing wrong)
• beautiful
• young and vulnerable

What both actors have in common:

• young
• vulnerable
• innocent
• blonde 'dumb' thriller target
• protagonists

Kidnapper (played by Jonathan Rosenfeld)

We decided to cast Jonathan (who is one of our groups members father) to play the role of the kidnapper in our opening sequence. Jonathan is an ordinary man who we believe can be easily manipulated to look more mysterious and suspicious. To play the role of the kidnapper effectively, Jonathan will be dressed in all black with a large coat and a hood to add to the suspiciousness that his role partakes. Jonathan can be compared to the actor Justin Theroux, who plays the role of Tom Watson, who is the kidnapper from the Thriller film 'The Girl On The Train'. 

Common stereotypes of the role of a kidnapper:

• dark clothing
• mysterious
• secretive
• creepy

What both actors have in common:

• dark clothing
• mysterious
• suspicious
• determined

Victim's Father (played by Warren Black)

Warren Black is also one of our other groups member's fathers, and he will be playing the role of the victim's father. Warren is a stereotypical father, who is protective over his daughter and is extremely worried about her whereabouts. These traits are similar to those of Liam Neeson, who plays the role of Bryan Mills in the film trilogy 'Taken'. In Taken, Bryan's daughter is kidnapped and he is forced to take immediate action. Similar to Bryan, Warren will play the concerned father who is willing to do whatever he can to get his daughter back. Bryan wears casual clothing throughout the film, illustrating how due to the disappearance of his daughter he has more important things to worry about than his appearance. Likewise, Warren will be wearing extremely casual clothing as realistically he wouldn't be concerned about how he looks whilst he is worrying about his daughter. 

Common stereotypes of fathers:

• worried
• hard working 
• caring
• over protective

What both actors have in common:

• determination
• work ethic
• over protective 

Moodboard

In order to create this mood board, my group and I added a selection of different pictures that are representational to our opening sequence and are very relatable. We have used images from 'Scream' as we based similar features of our opening sequence on this film. Furthermore, we have a picture of a girl tied up in the boot of a car with rope, as well as a news reporter in a news report studio. The image of the man (kidnapper) in the right hand corner pointing up at pictures of the wall is vital. This is because this gives away what the main plot of our opening sequence is all about; thus foreshadowing later events that may occur.  We have numerous images of girls tied up, which highlights the danger and pain that our main victim will be going through at certain key moments. In addition to this, the trees depict where the kidnapper takes the girl (an isolated area), giving off some sort of suspicion and a mysterious feeling. The image of the blood brings the audience in as it is symbolising endangerment and vulnerability.

Films with similar lighting to ours

One example of a film that has similar lighting to ours is Scream. This is because it has scenes that are filmed in an isolated area that has outdoor dark lighting. This compares to the lighting that we will be using in our opening sequence as we will be filming outside in natural dark lighting. Scream also includes scenes that are filmed inside a house with the lights on. This is similar to how we will be lighting our opening sequence as we will also be filming inside a house with the lights on. 

Another movie that has similar lighting to ours is Cabin in the Woods as there is dark lighting used inside the cabin to create a suspenseful atmosphere. This is similar to the lighting we will be using in our opening sequence as the room in the kidnapper's house where he has the wall of his victims will have darkly lit lighting to add to the mystery of the film. 

Exploring fonts

EXPLORING FONTS by talia black

How to light our film

As we will be filming the first scene of our opening sequence outside, we will only be using natural daylight as a light source in this scene. The amount of brightness in this scene will depend on what the weather is like on the day of filming, as wet and rainy weather would make the brightness dimmer and more dull. 

In scenes that will be filmed in the kidnapper's car, we will be using the interior lights from inside the car to add brightness to the scene. Furthermore, when we film the news report we will use bright lighting from inside one of our houses to add brightness to create the affect that we are in a news room. However, in the scene where the news report is shown on the TV, we will turn all the lights in the room off so that the brightness coming from the TV is the only source of light in the room, which is the focus of this scene. 

As we will be starting our next section of outdoor filming at 4:15pm, the natural daylight outside will be darker than in the first scene. This will create the affect of time moving quickly and that something bad is about to happen, as the brightness changes from light to dark as the mood of the scene changes.

The last scene of our opening sequence will be filmed in one of our houses where the lights in the room will be off. We will then have a single spotlight shining on the kidnapper's wall of victims. This use of spotlight signifies the importance of the wall in this scene and how it is the focus of the rest of the film.