2) How does your media product represent particular character types?

2) How does your media product represent particular character types?

• 1.
  2) How doesyour media product represent particular character types?
• 2.
  Who is ourcharacter? Our character in our film is an investigator played by me (Jess Hide). We haven’t followed conventions in our film by only including one character. The investigator is the only character in our film which isn’t usual for most films in general. We thought that one character would challenge conventions as she is a female protagonist who is the victim and the hero all at once. Usually in films, like in The Conjuring, the investigators and the heroes are different from the victims. Our character is seen exploring the church and the basement of the church until she is taken and possessed.
• 3.
  Why we choseher outfit Our character’s outfit for the opening sequence was a work skirt, a blazer, a shirt and a blouse with tights and some patent loafers. We chose this outfit because we thought that a stereotypical investigator would wear a large beige coat and suit trousers. The fact that we chose to use a blazer and a skirt suggests that this investigation was performed in the character’s free time and without the consent of the investigation company.
• 4.
  How the soundsaffect the character Sounds don’t directly manipulate the way we look at the character and how she is represented. The music in the background is very eerie and uncomfortable so in this sense we almost sympathise with how the investigator feels as she is walking around the church and the church basement. The anxiety that sort of comes with hearing the suspense from the music is almost a necessity when you are watching this opening sequence as you are really putting yourselves in the point of view of the investigator by feeling her nerves.
• 5.
  How mise-en-scene affectsthe representation of the character Our character is seen exploring which indicates to the audience how she is some sort of investigator. We do not know, however, if she is good or bad because we never see her face until she is being possessed. Her interest in the church is seen through the close ups of her touching the crucifix and the pretty box. This could also make her seem slightly disrespectful as she is touching holy items and walking behind the alter.
• 6.
  How the camerahelps represent the character We kept our camera angles quite neutral, so we kept the angle very mid-shot and not tilting up or down. However, as the first jump-cuts play out, the character gets further away so this could represent her isolation and how she is independent in her explorations. Furthermore, we always angles the camera in a way in which we can’t see my face until the possession occurs. We did this so there would be an element of mystery to who this woman is. We don’t know if she is good or bad or if she is already possessed or if she is just curious. The fact that we see my face in a close up shot for the first time when I am taken by the evil spirit, means that we can see all of my emotions and also it is like a large reveal in the opening so it keeps up the suspense of the viewers.
• 7.
  Our character vsDana from Cabin in the Woods This is the first shot we see of our character. It makes our character look quite isolated, however the fact that she is a silhouette creates a sense of mystery and suggests that she is strong willed. However, there is this sense of mystery which increases throughout until the end when we can only assume that she is possessed. Here is a still of Dana from Cabin in the Woods. She is probably the most similar character to our own that we could find from other horror films. Whilst being a strong female protagonist she shows her bravery through her involvement in the fighting against whatever is in the Cabin. She seems to be a lot more vulnerable, however, and rather than being a qualified investigator she is just a regular 20-something year old.
• 8.
  Our character vsThe Exorcist Clips much like this feature frequently throughout our opening sequence. It is quite a shocking clip that keeps on coming up but it also quite personal; my eyes are looking straight into the camera so the audience is drawn into catching my eye during the possession. In this shot the character looks very vulnerable and scared and it also portrays a sense of silently crying for help through the eyes. We took a lot of inspiration from this image when we thought about including the close up shots of my face in our opening sequence. This shot is a classic symbol of horror films nowadays as it is such an unpleasant image. The character is the victim of possession and it obviously injured with all of the scars on her face, however she still looks evil and really disturbing. This character looks a lot more evil than ours does in the above image, and this is a good thing as we didn’t want our character to have the connotations of being either evil or being good because we wanted to keep it as a mystery.