Question 2

Question 2: Characters

The only two characters in my opening sequence are the victim and the antagonist, the victim being played by an ordinary teenage girl.  I chose the victim to be a girl as this is conventional to the thriller genre further her age will appeal to our target audience who are also of a similar age, she is dressed in normal teenage clothes for example she Is wearing a short skirt with a white blouse, this means she does not stand out. The victim is portrayed with innocence which entices the audience and creates an emotional bond between the characters and the audience. The only other character in my film is the antagonist, whose identity is hidden for the first few seconds of the opening sequence; this will make the audience fear the unknown. The teenage girl follows the typical representation of victims in thriller films this is because she is oblivious to the stalking taking place. The fact that the victim is a teenager will enable the audience to feel an attachment to the events taking place, the similarities between the eves taking place and real life creates a relatable approach. This creates emotions for the audience to think how they would handle a situation like this, the fact that her age is similar creates a bigger relationship with our target audience. As the victim is female the audience will create a relationship with the audience, the female viewers will feel empathy towards her as they connect with her vulnerability and the male audience will feel sympathy towards her as they know that she is too weak to handle herself.

Our opening sequence starts in a basement setting where we are first introduced to the antagonist. He is portrayed as the antagonist to the audience as his identity is partially hidden. The dark clothes and sketchy manorisms suggests that he could be a killer. As the camera pans the room that the antagonist is sitting in the audience notice a wall where many pictures of the same girl are hanging. The antagonist is often represented stronger of the characters which makes them easily identifiable through their superiority. This representation of the antagonist leads the audience to question his mental state creating an enigma.

The other character is the teenage girl the audience are made aware of from the photos on the basement wall. The audience are unaware of the relationship between them. When the audience is introduced to the female victim she is unaware of the strange man watching her every move. This could be seen as stereotypical as the female victims are portrayed as dumb therefor not noticing his presence and falling right into his trap. The idea that the young girl is unaware is shown by her continuing her route home until she is dragged round the corner. The representation of both my characters follow the way both of the individuals would have been presented in a typical thriller film.

The applicable teenage victim walking home from school is routine that would enable the audience to create a relationship with this character as they an relate to the situation that she has been put in. The similarities between our opening sequence and daily life will make the audience relate to the opening sequence. Our victim is the same age as our target audience which creates more of a connection and causes the audience to question what they would do in a situation where they were being stalked on the way home. The use of a female victim also relates to the audience as female viewers will have an emotional connection with the victim as they will feel just as vulnerable if they were to imagine being there themselves. Boys will fill empathy for the girl as they know she is too weak to look after herself.