Within our opening of our film we only managed to represent a small group of people as the two main characters shown are both male and of a middle age which does not give a wide representation of different social groups, however the way we used costumes, framing, lighting and setting we were capable of representing the same type of people (middle aged males) in different ways.
Our first main character shown is Rick Weaving who is our antagonist and is a psychopath who has recently escaped from a long stretch in jail and is adamant in finding the police officers responsible of locking him away. We managed to portray Rick as a sick, twisted character due to the lighting, costume/make up and setting. This character was preferred by our audience, during the audience research stage, to be the antagonist as they believed that an escaped convict was the most suitable for a crime thriller. Therefore we used an abandoned room as the setting for this character as it makes it believable that he is squatting in a derelict house rather than having a home where he may be caught. We also used some black face paint to give the impression that he is dirty as well as giving an extra sinister look about him which is parallel to his personality. The low key lighting from below Rick adds shadows across his face which illustrate his darkness and evilness and adds more suspense and mystery about the rest of him. We chose to use a low angle shot to depict the power that Rick holds at the moment as he has successfully murdered 4 police officers and he is close to finishing his list of targets. This shot also holds Rick in the centre of the frame with a close up which emphasizes his facial expressions which again gives more information about this type of character. Typically within most films, people at this age have accomplished something in life whether it is a strong family, or an esteemed job, which Robert has, however Rick is the binary opposite as he has never accomplished anything successful in life.
Our next character is also a middle aged male named Robert Shore who is our protagonist and is a well esteemed police officer who was part of the team responsible for putting away Rick Weaving many years ago. We chose to have this character as the protagonist because it was not only the most popular within our audience research, but it is also the binary opposite (Strauss) of our antagonist as they are both at different ends of the law so they are naturally enemies. As both Robert and Rick are slightly part of the same social group (middle aged male) we had to change the way that we depicted them to show their different personalities and characteristics. Our first shot of Robert was a high angle shot which shows that to start with he does not have much power as we have just moved from the scene of Rick so this connotes that compared to Rick he may be weak. However, further on we use some low angle shots and close ups of him which show that he does actually have power. Each shot has Robert in the centre which connotes that he is our main character as he is the main object on the screen and we know from his dialogue that it will be his life that will drive the narrative on (Hero/Propp). The setting for the character shows him standing in the middle of a large garden area surrounded by trees and one building which shows that he may be in the middle of nowhere as the trees show a sense of mystery as anything could appear from them, yet the building shows that he is safe for now as it has a safe homely feel to it. The costume chosen for Robert shows his profession as he is dressed smartly with the iconic epaulettes on his shoulders which are commonly linked with a police officer. By choosing these different aspects we were able to show that both characters were going to be main characters throughout the film and that they are binary opposites so they will find it hard to defeat each other. This idea of having two male characters as the protagonists and antagonists are very similar to the majority of thriller films as males are chosen most rather than females as they normally lead a secondary role as either the princess or helper (Propp) which is why we believe the choice of characters will be successful within the audience as it is what they prefer and also follows some generic conventions
We also show a few characters within the opening who do not do anything, however the way that we have used and presented them helps signify other social groups. The other main social group that we tried to represent were women and how in comparison to men they are inferior within the film industry. The first scene shows both a male and female dead on the floor in black and white which shows the lack of life and different time frame. Yet even though both characters are deceased the male still has more power as there is a gun in his hand which shows before he died he had superiority over his partner. The other female that is portrayed is Robert's wife who is shown in a picture he is holding and is on the phone to him. The fact that Robert is holding a picture of her and their son shows that he is away and she does not have him to protect her from any dangers so again this connotes her vulnerability. The dialogue that is also exchanged shows her vulnerability as she has her son to look after her who has only just joined secondary school which shows that he is young and is not physically capable of protecting her which again shows she is weak as she is putting her well being in the hands of a young boy.
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