Particular social group’s representation.

Locations and Character Development / Mise en Scene

The first decision i had to make was who would play the two main characters in my opening sequence, I had to take into consideration their age, gender and motives. I had the option of shooting with actors 3-4 years older than the actors I decided to choose in the end, this meant some elements of this film were changed, including elements like touching adulthood. I also chose to have male actors to follow the usual ideology of men as a threat and have been criminalized through media products, so maybe this I am following the ideological idea here. Furthermore, I chose the younger actors due to a full younger cast becoming less common in modern thrillers. Although many psychological thrillers include child actors, my aim was to tackle an area discussing social conflict and gradually dividing society between older and younger generations. 
The opening sequence is shot in two different locations; a school and an empty country area, I choose the school due to the irony it would play in the sequence. For example, a school is a social hub were people interact and share experiences with one another, this completely contrasts the isolated and lifeless character which is presented to us.

This is shown best in the sequence by the scene in the dining hall, a usual location full of social interactions which is absent in his position, this is shown through the isolated locations and single shots showing just him in frame. This reason of location and lack of social interaction is also why the cast played in the sequence is minimal, hence the use of only 2 actors and one extra (used for car getaway). 
 

Originally, I had intended to use a different location for the rural settings, however due to actor commitment and weather on the day we had to change location, however I feel this was better than I originally intended. The emptiness of vast open fields further added to the isolation that our character is experiencing with his past, emphasising the loneliness we feel for him. I used the open fields and countryside due to its openness and stillness, much like the character himself. Furthermore this plays on the stereotypical settings of a similar storyline e.g. cityscapes or urban environments, due to this, this makes the threat become more extraordinary as the threat is more uncommon. The uncommon threat is strengthened by the lack of conventional weapons found in the ideological psychological/action thrillers, for example the only weapons used in the film were only fists, representing the rawness and realism to his situation to the audience.
 

Due to the characters isolation with social interactions, I told the character to wear a large black coat, in order to represent the illusion that he is hiding something or concealing something from the audience. Here I have tried to represent a young man’s social isolation through the locations used in the shooting of the sequence to represent this form of concealment. However when we capture a brief glimpse of the other side to his character, the costume he wears is much more casual inferring his opposition to the other side he possesses as much more open and accepting. The audience for the film would be marginally different to that of conventional psychological thriller, this is because psychological thriller have elements of horror and include sequences designed to scare and manipulate the audience e.g. The Sixth Sense. 
 

Sound and Music.

The music and dialogue go hand in hand when representing the volatility and loneliness of our character. The use of no dialogue still gives the audience a sense of unpredictability towards the motives of the character portrayed. This is when I decided to add the suspenseful music to further emphasise the mystery of the character and his personality. To the target audience that I chose as an appropriate audience it would show the side of young people that many older people may not see or relate to in a new generation due to the silence in the first sequences. However, in this context the reason behind his isolation due to his mental illness leading to murder previously. 

Many sound included in he sequence are there to present his soundscape to the audience. For example, the sound of the metal crashing down as he is attacked is meant to show the instability are frustration of his actions come to a violent end. As he is finally receiving the consequences for his brutal actions. Another example of his soundscape is during the flashback sequence, the sounds of him going back and diving back into his memories show the audience the exaggeration to his actions.