Similarities between our actors and actors in other films

Firstly, we made sure the actor will blonde and attractive which we know from our survey interviews regarding the target audience, to be very effective especially for males to engage and watch a sequence. Blonde hair is a common stereotype amongst many thrillers, in addition to this, people with blonde hair are known as being 'dumb' and 'stupid', this is similar to Emily and Casey Becker in scream as they are both un aware and oblivious to what they're getting themselves into. Young teenagers (like Emily) tend to be viewed as innocent and pure, this is exactly Emily is like.
My group and I believe that Emily's acting is similar to Casey Becker in scream, as she is extremely dramatic and realistic; this increases the fear and terror that is similar to Scream. This is as Scream is known as an enticing and daunting thriller, her costume is also very similar as it is a stereotypical attire for a teenage girl of that particular age.
Additionally, Emily will have blood and cuts on her body/face and clothes, this is very coincidental to films such as Saw and Scream, which really highlights the similarity between our opening sequence and Scream, this is as we have replicated the makeup and props used, in order to create a dramatic appearance.

Common stereotypes that people may view of female actors are:

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

What both actors have in common:

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

Actor (Jonathan) - Kidnapper

We chose to cast Jonathan in our opening sequence as the role of the kidnapper. Jonathan is one of our group members father and is willing to play the part. The actor is a ordinary man who can very easily be manipulated to look more suspicious and mysterious. Jonathan will be dressed in all black clothing, possibly a large coat with a hood. This will make our actor looks more realistic when it comes to playing the role of a kidnapper. Jonathan can be compared with the actor Justin Theroux who is cast as Tom Watson (the murderer/kidnapper) in the thriller film 'The girl on the train'.  

Common stereotypes of kidnapper roles:

• dark clothing
• mysterious
• secretive
• creepy

What both actors have in common:

• dark clothing
• mysterious
• suspicious
• determine

Actor (Warren) - Victim's father

Our actor playing the father is going to be cast as one of our group members fathers. Warren is a classic, stereotypical father who is protective over his daughter and is extremely worried about her whereabouts. These traits are similar to Liam Neeson who acts as Bryan Mills in the film trilogy 'Taken'. Bryan Mills is an ex CIA agent who's daughter is kidnapped and he is forced to take immediate action. Similar to Bryan in Taken, Warren will play the concerned father who we see as taking some action on the matter of his daughters kidnapping. Bryan wears casual clothing in the majority of his scenes, this is because he is suffering with the news of his daughters kidnapping whilst taking immediate action in looking for her. Similarly Warren will be wearing extremely casual clothing due to the fact that he would realistically not be too worried about his appearance due to the situation he is in. This similarity between the two films further reiterates the point that the father of the victim would be in a state of stress and determination and would therefore have a lack of worry for his appearance.

Common stereotypes of fathers:

• worried
• hard working
• caring
• protective over daughters

What both actors have in common:

• attitude
• determination
• work ethic
• worry
• protective of daughter

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.

Exploring Fonts

EXPLORING FONTS by talia black

Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment

Driving and filming at the same time could cause distraction towards the drive, causing him to loose control of the car and thus cause an accident.  To prevent this we will make sure the person driving the car is aware of the camera when filming so they don't get distracted and thus cause an accident.

The person in the boot of the car needs to be cautious and careful when in the boot, as if not supervised carefully, they could actually get trapped and seriously hurt themselves. Therefore to prevent this my group and I will make sure that the actor/victim in the boot is aware.

The rope could cause serious harm if it is tightly tied and is could potentially hurt the actor and cut off their blood circulation, as well as causing rope burn. To prevent this my group and I will make sure that we don't tie the rope too tight for the victim.

We need to make sure the car isn't moving when the person is present in the boot- as it is against the law and dangerous, to prevent from  this happening, a jump cut should be used to show the person in the car when the car is stationary. To prevent this we will make sure the driver isn't driving when the victim is in the boot of the car.

We will be filming our film in January/February meaning it is winter, therefore it will be cold, so we will try our best to ensure that we keep warm for as long as possible of the duration of the filming. For example outside the house, in the road.  To prevent this we will make sure we will not be  in the cold for longer than 20 minutes.

We will make that we all take turns on each role so that it isn't unfair on particular members, as well as swapping roles so everything is consecutive and fair. We will do this when filming, taking pictures and most importantly directing. To prevent this happening, we will make sure that we all were aware that we had to take turns.

When the kidnapper chases the victim down the road it will cold and therefore possibly slippery or icy, therefore we will need to take extra measures in order to be careful as we don't want any injuries. To prevent this, we will all make sure that we are careful when handling the cameras when walking on the roads.

As we will be filming on a public road, someone may want to steal the equipment off of us whilst we are not looking- therefore we need to be with the equipment at all times and not leave it un-occupied. Additionally a public road may cause background noise from the public which may affect the filming quality- we need to make sure it is silent when we film.

We need to make sure that no one looses/breaks the camera equipment as it is expensive and belongs to the school,  we need to make sure we don't drop any of it incase it breaks or gets marks. To prevent this we will make sure we are nearby at all times.

Schedule for our filming day

1:30pm - Meet with the rest of the group at the first location with props and costumes ready for filming.

1:45pm - Set up equipment and make sure that the camera is in the correct position to start filming the first scene.

2:00pm - Filming begins, starting with filming the victim getting on with her daily life while the kidnapper watches from his car.

2:30pm - Kidnappers gets out of his car for a clearer view of his victim.

2:40pm - Kidnapper gets back into his car.

2:55pm - Film the dad picking up his phone regarding his missing daughter.

3:00pm - Film news report about another missing person.

3:30pm - News report is seen on TV.

3:40pm - Take a short break from filming as next scenes need to be filmed in dark lighting.

4:15pm - Filming resumes, starting with filming the car driving slowly on the other side of the road to the victim.

4:25pm - Innocent girl walks home.

4:35pm - Kidnapper approaches the girl.

4:45pm - Kidnappers puts the victim in the boot of his car.

5:00pm - Victim is tied up so she can't escape.

5:10pm - Girl tries to break free, kicking and screaming.

5:20pm - Eye line match of kidnapper looking in his wing mirror as he is driving the car.

5:35pm - Kidnapper is in a dark room with a spotlight on a wall of his victims.

5:45pm - Kidnapper pins his most recent victim's picture on the wall.

5:50pm - Camera focuses on picture of missing girl.

5:55pm - Equipment is packed away and filming is over.

Shot by shot guide

Shot 1 - Wide shot of victim in the street.

Shot 2 - Cross cut to a mid shot of the kidnapper in his car.

Shot 3 - Wide shot of the kidnapper getting out his car.

Shot 4 - Over the shoulder shot of kidnapper watching his victim.

Shot 5 - Wide shot of the kidnapper getting back into his car.

Shot 6 - Point of view shot of the dad picking up the phone.

Shot 7 - Close up of the dad on the phone.

Shot 8 - Medium close up of news report.

Shot 9 - Point of view shot zooming in on the TV.

Shot 10 - Tracking shot of the kidnappers car driving down the road.

Shot 11 - Wide shot of the girl walking home.

Shot 12 - Panning shot showing the surroundings of the street where the kidnapper is waiting by his car.

Shot 13 - Wide shot of kidnapper approaching the girl.

Shot 14 - Wide shot of victim being put in to the boot of the kidnappers car.

Shot 15 - Close up shot of the victim's hands as she is tied up with rope.

Shot 16 - Close up shot of girl in the boot, kicking and screaming.

Shot 17 -  Point of view shot of an eye line match of the kidnapper looking in his wing mirror as he is driving the car.

Shot 18 - Wide shot of the kidnapper in a dark room.

Shot 19 - Mid shot showing the kidnapper's wall of victims.

Shot 20 - Close up shot of the kidnapper pinning his most recent victims picture on the wall.

Shot 21 - Close up shot zooming in on the picture of the missing girl.

Analysis of our actors

Analyse how your actor fits into the thriller sub-genre and give examples of how they will appeal to your target audience, Explain how they are similar to other actors/actresses in other thriller films.

In our opening sequence, we will have 3 actors/actresses:

• Our first actress will be playing the victim who is kidnapped by the abductor. She has blonde/ light brown hair and this is the stereotypical hair colour of the victim as a thriller, this is because it echoes the message that this actress is a ditsy blonde who is vulnerable. Also, because of the light colour of her hair is represents innocence, this foreshadows something bad happening later on in the film. Our actress will be wearing the typical clothing that a 17 year old teenage girl would wear, this would include popular brands such as Topshop, River Island etc. So our actress would most likely be wearing regular jeans and a plain sweatshirt/jumper (no branding). Because our actress is young, she will relate to our young target audience as it is someone that they can associate with.
• Our second actor will be playing the part of the abductor. In our opening sequence this character won’t be on show that much and we will focus more on the silhouette; This is because we want the audiences main focus to be on the victim. Our actor will be a male, who is considerably taller than our actress. This actor will be dressed in all black because it is the stereotypical colour and style that criminal would wear. Our actor and actresses costume represent a binary position due to the light and darkness or innocence and evil. This will appeal to our target audience as looking back at the people we surveyed, they all explained how they like the unknown and this creates excitement; using this actor, dressed in this way will fulfil their hopes of this thriller film.
• Our third actor will be playing a significantly shorter and less important role. This will be the news reporter thats played on the TV screen whilst reading out the news report on the missing girl. This actor will make an appearance nearer the end of the scene, in hope of leaving the audience of a cliffhanger of what happens next to the victim.

Props for our thriller

Films similar to my idea

Films that are similar to my idea

Silence of the Lambs:
Silence of the Lambs is about the daughter of Tennessee Senator Ruth Martin, is kidnapped by a serial killer psychopath known only as Buffalo Bill, this man is kidnapping and murdering young woman from all across the Midwest- likewise to my idea.  F.B.I. agent-in-training Clarice Starling is called upon to interact with psychopathic, cannibalistic killer psychiatrist Doctor Hannibal Lecter who may have insights into the identity of Buffalo Bill, she does this by interviewing a demented prisoner who may provide psychological insight and clues to the killer's actions.

The Kidnapping:

I feel the film 'Silence of the Lambs' is similar to my idea, firstly by the use of the kidnappers car, this is as it shows she is being kidnapped, as well as showing her being dragged into the car- this is just like my idea. Additionally, we see her being taken by an older man who has been previously spying on her from the outside watching her. Another similarity is the non- diegetic music that starts to build up and create tension as the scene progress, this tells us it is sinister and creepy, this is similar to my opening sequence as that is similar as to what my group and I have planed to partake throughout our opening sequence. It is also alarming, as it warns the audience that something not so good is about to happen, this is the same reaction we want to have on our audience. 


Shown below is a clip taken from the film to show how it is similar to my opening sequence:

Kiss the girls:

Kiss the Girls consists of a main plot which involves the parallel trails of action of two kidnappers, one in North Carolina and one in California. Both are collectors, responsible for the disappearances of numerous women- this is similar to our opening sequence due to the fact that ours also consists of numerous woman being taken. A few are actually killed. The rest are held in long-term captivity for the kidnappers pleasure. This is comparable to my opening sequence, as the kidnapper likewise gets pleasure out of kidnapping these teenage girls. Furthermore,  the kidnapper tracks his targets for months before kidnapping them, this is alike to my opening sequence; as part of the back round story to my sequence, he has also been watching the teenagers he kidnaps for weeks before doing so. He leaves no trace except the bodies when they dare to escape, this is relatable to mine. 

Along came a spider:

Along came a spider consists of a girl who is kidnapped from a school by one of the teachers. She turns out to be the daughter of a senator, and the kidnapper soon makes a call to a police officer whose partner died eight months ago, involving him in the kidnapping. One of the secret service people that failed to protect the girl at the school decides to help him. But not everything is what is seems, and many surprising twists follows as the two attempt to catch the' spider. As the scene commences, we see the teacher hiding the teenage school girl and putting her into his car. This is similar to my opening sequence as mine likewise consists of a girl being placed into a car and taken away.  It additionally makes the audience feel more intrigued as to what will happen next. This is the same type of captivating and stimulating feel that we want our opening sequence to have on our audience.

Analysis of our location

The Location

As a group, we decided to pick a suburban area to fit in with our opening sequence and sub-genre. This was a good choice for us, as it meant that the area wasn't too busy, therefore meaning that we didn't have too many cars interrupting our opening sequence. The road is perfect for our opening sequence as it is very realistic, and fits well. It suits our opening sequence as when it is dark, it can look quite eerie. Adding on to this, the setting will add to the atmosphere; additionally making it link to our thriller genre.

Furthermore, we are going to be using a modern car. The customary look and feel of the car distinctly match our genre as it doesn't give out too much information about our victim and what she may be into/enjoy on a daily basis. It also further links to our victim as it is their fathers car, this  

makes the sequence more relatable and genuine. This is exactly what we wanted, as we didn't want our audience to be engaged into the surroundings of the sequence, but more so of what the sequence is actually about.

Adding on to this, we are then going to use one our houses to further contribute to the typical teenage look we are going for, this is perfect as our target audience is teenagers, so by creating a look that more teenagers will relate to will engage them even more. The lounge room is appropriate for our opening sequence as it is a modern and attractive lounge, nothing old fashioned or outdated; this will hopefully make our audience more intrigued. 

An example of a film that has a similar location to my group and is Scream, Scream is a film located in a deserted location- similar to ours. It consists of a teenage girl who becomes a target of a killer, who gets stalked.  We don't get any clues as to whom the kidnapper may be.  This is similar to ours as our opening sequence, likewise, consists of a mysterious kidnapping of a teenage girl within a unoccupied location

Things we considered when doing finding our potential location

Is it legal to film where we have planned?

Yes, as it is a public road. The car also belongs to one of the group members father, so it won't be legal for one of us to film one of my group members driving as we are underaged.  

Are there any other access restrictions? (Dates, times, permissions etc.)

No, we can film whenever as it is a public road and our house, however, with the car it may be a tad difficult as we will have to ensure that our group members parents are available to drive and available with the car. My group members and I also don't drive so it would be illegal and therefore don't own our own car.

Is it safe to film here?

It is safe if done in an adult manner,  it can be dangerous with the road as there will be cars present, it is safe inside as it belongs to one of my group members.  

Is it physically possible to achieve what you want to achieve at this location?

It is possible to achieve what we want here, it is the perfect layout of a road as it can create some amazing shots and videos. The car is perfect as it is similar as to what you would expect in a real life thriller film. Additionally the same for the house.

Does it suit the genre of the film?

Yes as it is about kidnapping, which consists of lots of action and running, as well as danger!

The car suits it very well as thats what you would expect in a thriller.

Is it interesting enough?

Yes, the car scene in particular is very thrilling and exhilarating. The actor is experienced as she did drama GCSE and obtained a good grade, additionally she has done acting before. Therefore she isn't boring to watch as she is aware of what she is doing.

Will lighting be an issue?

No, we will be using natural lighting on the road for when we are outside, when we are inside we will use the lights from inside.

Will the weather on the day make a dramatic difference to the sequence?

It could be quite difficult as if it has rained or snowed the day before it could be dangerous for the actors, making them slip and injure themselves. Additionally, it could ruin the quality of the shots, it could also distract the actors- especially the person whom is driving the car.

Is there a lot of road traffic nearby?

As we are filming from 4-7 there may be rush hour traffic as parents are returning from work and children returning from school.  However, there aren't many schools nearby so this shouldn't be a major issue.

Will noise be an issue?

Noise won't be an issue as the diegetic sound of cars going past can set the atmosphere and may be seen as adding some sort of suspense. When editing, my group and I will decide whether to add sound effects or mute the sound. 

Our Storybaord

Our Prezi new idea- Final

Feedback on our idea

Changing our idea

Changing our Idea

From getting feedback from my initial idea, my group and I have come to a steady conclusion that we want to abandon our original decision. This is due to the fact that we have found a more interesting yet better idea! It is more thrilling and stimulating; especially to our target audience. We didn't like the part of involving texting with friends, this is mainly because it is mainstream and not very original. It has been done before which we didn't like, and we wanted to change it to something that hadn't been done ever before. 

Therefore, our new idea starts off with a girl walking along the road, we see several eye line matches of a car driving past. Its dark. Its deserted, maybe near something such as a canal. She's taken, she's put in the boot of the car, we hear screaming from her, we hear her punching then bonnet. We see the drivers eye line match  in the mirror, he gets a shovel out and parks under a tree in a large field.

It then cuts to a news anchor on a news report, giving another example of a dead body found in that area. The next clip we see is him pinning her picture up in a board with other victims 

My group and I have decided to change this to a montage of the victim lying down and covered in blood. A girl will be isolated in the vulnerable and deserted location, making the audience ponder as to what will happen next. Therefore, this will make it less mainstream and a lot more original! 

The first bit of feedback we received was that the texting clip of the opening sequence was a bit too predictable, and maybe a bit too obvious. Therefore we decided to exclude that, so it wasn't in the 2 minute sequence. We decided as a result of this, to then add a montage of different pictures, showing our victim lying in blood instead, rather than focusing on her being captured, it focuses on her murder, creating more tension and making the audience feel slightly more intrigued as to what the rest of the sequence holds.

We also decided to focus on pictures of the previous victims, so that we could demonstrate the fact that the unknown kidnapped is in fact a  is a serial offender. The idea being that the rest of the film will be about a cat and mouse game before any one tries finds him. Additionally, giving the audience more of a background to our opening sequence so they're more aware of what the sequence it is really about.

Having received feedback, we've re-worked some of the shots and the opening sequence, and are looking at trying to show the event itself and make the victim superfluous to requirements. We are going to use her as the way into the narrative, which will be about the police trying to capture the serial killer. Whereas before, the narrative was more about the father trying to get the girl before she gets killed. We feel that this change in narrative will make it more suitable to an opening sequence of the film.

Storyboard- First draft

Analyze the effectiveness of the storyboard

What is a storyboard?

A sequence of drawings typically with some directions and dialogue, representing the shots planned for a film or television production.

Why do you need a storyboard?

-A storyboard is the best way to share your vision with others.

-It makes production much easier as it is a starting point or suggested area around which you can plan your filming.

-It saves you time as it will make the creation process go more smoothly.

How to make a storyboard?

1) Create blank slides

2) Add your script

3) Sketch your scenes 

A storyboard is a visual way of presenting what happens step by step in a story. This was useful when showing our opening sequence as it visually displays our idea with the use of pictures and small descriptions. To create our storyboard we started off by listing the characters we needed to show for each scene. This was a useful decision to be made before creating our storyboard because it then allowed us to roughly create the characters appearances according to the appropriate scenes. After this we had to list the scenes that we need to include so we could start to design the pictures. Once we had finished creating the scenes we added small descriptions below the pictures to summarise the scenes. The storyboard is one of the most effective ways of presenting our opening sequence before actually creating it. This is because the storyboard is the first detailed presentation that brings the whole story together. Overall our storyboard is a clear representation of our opening sequence, which roughly gets the general idea of our opening sequence across.

  

Our Prezi- First draft

Survey about thriller films

My group and I decided to create a survey specific to the genre of thriller themes; to do this we asked 20 people in order to allow us to come up with a rough idea for our opening sequence, so we can get a genuine feel of what our target audience will like best; this appeared  to be a film based on kidnapping as it builds suspense and contains drama, so therefore this is what we will make our opening sequence about.

Interviews of our target audience

The video above is the feedback we gathered for our research into thriller films. We interviewed several people within the age group of 16-17 and asked them several questions about their personal views on thriller films. This was useful because we needed to know what people want to see within a thriller film so that we could review our ideas and add to them in order to produce the best possible film that appeals to the majority.

Prezi of news articles that could inspire my film

'Skyfall'

How is gender represented positively and stereotypically in the sequence of Skyfall?

Gender is represented both positively and negatively in the opening sequence of Skyfall. Mise-en-scene is used in the film to represent this. In this film, costume is used to show gender stereotypes through the way James Bond is dressed. Bond is dressed very smart, wearing a suit and tie, this establishes his class as people in higher classes are profoundly known to dress smart. This gender-stereotypes men in suits. ‘M’ is also dressed up very smart, but as a counter-stereotype, this is because ‘M’ is dressed very smartly in dark colours. ‘M’ has to dress this way as she is working in a predominantly male environment, and in order to be in charge she has to dress very masculine. Gender stereotypes are also shown in the scene where money penny is driving a big jeep and picks up Bond from a building entrance. For starters, we see that money penny is the one who is picking up Bond, and driving him; this is immediately telling us that Bond is in control. We later see how money penny smashes both of her wing mirrors due to reckless driving , this action reinforces gender stereotypes that women are bad drivers. After this we see a chase where money penny, even though she is driving, is still being told what to do and being given instructions by Bond. However, the role of gender stereotyping is disregarded with ‘M’ as she is presented to be in power; For example, the wide shot of the office shows the room, showing she has the power and thats she’s the most important in the room. These are some ways that mise-en-scene represents gender stereotypes.

In the film, we see how sound makes Bond to be the hero. For example, the non-diegetic music in the background, that Bond’t is unaware of, is sped up when he starts the chase along the busy streets. These non-diegetic sounds speed up with the synchronous of the motor bike engine, this establishes that Bond has the role of the male hero. Another point that should be made is that the non-diegetic music that is used highlights and indicates to us that this scene is set in a foreign, exotic location as the music becomes more ethnic. There is also an indicator that something may happen as when the sound and editing work alongside each other and get faster, we know something is about to happen.

In the film, the camera helps present gender stereotypes. This is because the camera follows behind Bond, this gives a sense that he is where we should be focusing on, and we as the audience, are following the male dominate lead. The use of the tracking shots and close up shots show that Bond is the hero of the film and show he is the alpha male character. When ‘M’is in her office, the camera uses a wide-shot showing her power as she is behind the desk looking out into her office, of where she in charge. In once particular scene ‘M’ tells Bond to find a certain list which the plot of the film and the previous two are based around. The camera is giving ‘M’ the medium close-up, as this demonstrates her power in the film as she can’t afford to loose this list.

Throughout this film, the use of editing creates a sense of gender types, For example the technique of cross cutting shows the different perspective of two things happening in the same location. Through this we can see how Bond, the leading male, is representing a typical male character of bing in the field and fighting, whereas ‘M’ being a women is dressed smartly and not doing any of the dirty work. Also, the use of eye-line match shows how Bond takes control over money penny and the scene as he takes the wheel insinuating women don't know how to drive. The use of quick cuts enforces the principal that Bond is a hero as he is overcoming the danger.

To conclude, we can see a variety of ways that mise-en-scene, and the use of camera, editing and sound can represent gender in a positive or negative way in ‘Skyfall'. Gender stereotypes are reinforced by each character subtly for example, the principal of men always being the dominant character, portrayed by Bond.

Textual Analysis of Scream

How can you spot/tell that this is a horror film? (Mise-en-Scene)

• Isolated location, remote house. Nobody is near her to help. Adds to suspense.
• Dark lighting, Night time, horror films normally start at night. Lighting changes deliberately as the events take a turn for the worse seeing her husband being killed.
• Alone in a big house, lots of windows shows she’s more vulnerable as she’s being watched.
• make-up: she is covered in blood
• There are knives in the kitchen, and the phone used to call the killer. Popcorn put on the stove at the beginning of the film foreshadows something bad will happen, as the popcorn bubbles and starts to burn she dies. The popcorn represents her life.
• Beginning of the film, women is on her own wearing innocent colours (white), juxtaposition to the killer in the dark black cloak with the mask, sinister. She has blonde hair and women with blonde hair are stereotypical to be vulnerable making her the victim.

The first thing that we see in the opening sequence of Scream is the Victim, and we can instantly gather that she is portraying the character of the ‘dumb blonde’ who is innocent and clumsy. We can also see mise-en-scene being used in the first scene as we notice that the girl is in a bright house, this contrasts to the outside which is very dark and is set at night time, the juxtaposition in light and dark represents the two characters of the villain and victim to be good and evil and to show the danger that the girl is getting herself into. The outside is presented through mise-en-scene. For example, the tree which is focused on is used to foreshadow her death.

Through the use of editing, we are shown that there is a match of action of her picking up her phone, this could emphasise her naivety and vulnerability and therefore enhancing the idea of her being a stereotypical character of being innocent and clumsy. Also, the slow pace music alongside the tracking shot gives us the effect that she is being followed, and also signifies that somebody is watching her, again adding tension to the scene.

With the tracking shot, the camera slowly tilts down, and by doing this we are aware that there is a villain present. The camera also uses a zoom into a medium close up to highlight the characters innocence as it presents to the audience to focus on her blonde hair and clean, pale coloured clothes, which also emphasise how stereotyped the character is.

          

Sound is also used throughout the opening sequence of scream, and this is done to add effect to the scene. Immediately in the opening sequence we hear both diegetic and non diegetic sound from her heartbeat  which is created from a slow paced drum beat and from the phone ringing, helping to create suspense which is typical for a horror film. Furthermore, A diegetic sound of crickets are used to signify that they are in an isolated location, and the sound of a dog barking connotes that there is danger lurking.