Prop Research

Prop research

We have decided to feature a newspaper in our opening scene, and we are aiming to include a picture of our protagonist is we can successfully make it look realistic. We are doing this in order to follow the stereotypes of our chosen genres and make the crime look premeditated. We want to do this as we hope it will add to the tension of the film, and make it more exciting for the audience to watch as it will suggest that the antagonist is experiences and so creates enigmas and builds tension within the audience. We plan to feature the newspaper before the abduction takes place, to give a bit of background knowledge and help to unravel the plot to aid the audience with their understanding.

We have also chosen to feature a black brief case as part of the costume for our main investigator. We chose this because we want to make the investigator look sophisticated and make it clear to the audience that he is an authoritative figure that is respected and in control of the situation. It conforms to the stereotypes of the types of genres we are focusing on, especially crime as it sets the investigators apart from the general public/rest of the public, almost making the investigating team look a different class or above the rest, making them look superior. From our research, we have found this helps the audience trust the investigators, which makes the film more interesting as it evokes emotion from the audience. 

 To add to the premeditated, planned theme we are hoping to present in the opening scene, we are going to feature a read pen in which the antagonist will circle around a girl's face in a newspaper. We wanted to include this as it will catch the audience's attention, and produce enigmas as the plot unravels. It will add to the negative theme that surrounds the antagonist as it will make the audience feel slightly unnerved and uncomfortable, suggesting he is up to something suspicious. We think this follows the conventions of abduction films as it implies the antagonist is well practised and has taken part in unlawful activities before, causing the audience to form a disliking to him. 

Our protagonist will be listening to an iPod through classic white apple headphones. We have chosen to feature these as it introduces the audience to the characters background, suggesting she is of the middle/upper class. It is also a common appliance making it easier for the audience to relate to the character, which would then contribute to making the film more interesting and helping to gage the audience's attention. We also aim to make the protagonist look like a stereotypical teenager, and so we think featuring the music and headphones will aid this as it is very typical for teenagers to be engaged in their own world and oblivious to their surroundings. We think this will help to make the film more dramatic and build tension as the protagonist will appear more vulnerable and at risk.

We hope to feature a car parked on gravel in our opening scene. We will portray the car through a low angle shot, meaning only the bottom and wheels will be seen. We have chosen to feature the car in this way as it adds to the tension and themes of our opening scene, keeping identities hidden. We also want to focus the audience's attention more on the sound of the antagonist walking over the gravel and his footsteps. Again, the antagonist will be featured through a low angle shot in order to create enigmas and keep his identity hidden, with the car being secondary in the shot. 

We have chosen to use a pin board in our opening scene, which we aim to feature in the detective scenes. We have chosen to use this type of board as it conforms to the stereotypes of crime/detective genres and so we hope it will make our film seen more realistic and professional. Using this board will introduce the detective characters and their surroundings to the audience, and we hope it will emphasise the importance of the case. On this board will be pictures of other teenage girls which will have also been involved in cases of abductions, adding to the tension and suspense of the film as it will highlight the seriousness of the situation.