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SOCIAL GROUPS
Social Group: A group of people who interact with each other and are
aware of having something in common.
Social groups can be defined by:

Age

Gender

Sexuality

Jobs

Nationality

Hobbies

Character traits

OUR GROUPS
In our thriller opening, we represented two different social groups.
These were:

PSYCHOTIC VILLAINS

FEMALE VICTIMS

PSYCHOTIC VILLAINS
Key Character Traits of psychotic villains:

Obsessive

Violent

Selfish

Psychotic

Unstable

Secretive

Cunning

Careless

The villain of our film is a selfish and obsessive male who is still in love with his
ex-girlfriend. He is an angry character who wants to have her all to himself. After
realising he cannot have what he wants, he turns to violence and murders his exgirlfriend.

SOCIAL GROUP PSYCHOTIC VILLAINS

Our villain is presented in two different ways. He is first introduced as mysterious,
obsessive and psychotic. This is mirrored in the film Se7en. Both our film and se7en
introduce the villain through a close up shot which has been framed so that only the
villains hands can be seen. It also focuses on their obsessive side through their actions.
Both villains are creating scrapbooks by cutting and drawing on photographs which makes
them appear psychotic. Mise en scene elements of props of the photographs enhance this
as well as the lighting. Both shots here have quite dim lighting and are relatively dark
which reflect the dark character trait of the villain. The lack of detail and focus on the
character in these first shots is what gives the audience a mysterious feel and makes them
feel uncertain. We edited this section similarly to se7en too with sharp erratic cuts to reflect
the characters unstable mind. In both films this forms a montage, which shows the passing
of time to show obsession. This is key in showing the psychopathic villain type social group.
This was teamed with an eerie score which reinforced the uneasy atmosphere. This was
taken from inspiration from Se7en which also has a score which reflects the villains state of
mind. The use of black and white is a key genre feature but also shows a contrast between
the evilness of the villain and the innocence of the victim. Close up shots of Kurtis eyes are
used throughout our opening which also show his psychotic thoughts as the shots ensure
the audience focus on his wide and eccentric eye movements.

SOCIAL GROUP - PSYCHOTIC VILLAINS

The villain is then presented wearing black clothes with his hood up. The colour black has
connotations of death and mystery which are the qualities associated with this social group.
The hood adds to this effect as it provides the element of being hidden and secretive about
his actions, which is how the character of Kurtis is, like most villains. He has been plotting
this murder secretly for such a long time and so his costume needed to reflect this. The use
of costume is similarly used to portray the villain in Face Off. He also wears dark clothing
although his is a lot smarter. We chose not to make our villain to wear a suit because he is
meant to portray a younger villainous character. The story line of Face Off is also very far
fetched and ours is meant to appear a lot more realistic and played down and so this
contributed to our choice. As the two mid/long shots show below, both characters are
holding the prop of a gun. This again shows the type of person that they are and that they
are associated with violence which helps to represent the social group through
cinematography. The body positioning also reflects character as both characters dominate
the victims. Both Kurtis and Caster Troye use violence to become more powerful than other
characters. The characters show a lack of emotion towards violence and are portrayed
through their expressions which show that they are cold hearted, another important trait of
the group. Close up shots using handheld camera are used throughout to reflect that the
character is unstable through cinematography.

FEMALE VICTIMS
Key Character Traits of female victims:
Unsuspecting
Innocent
Frightened
Ordinary
Weak
Vulnerable
Powerless
Inferior
The victim of our film is an innocent character who is unsuspecting of her fate. She
used to be with the villain but 3 years after their split she has moved on. She ignores
his calls and texts at all costs and has no idea that he has been watching her and
planning her murder.

SOCIAL GROUP - VICTIMS

The victim/love interest in our film is firstly presented as confident and
unsuspecting. This is shown through a series of long, low angle shots as
which show her walking confidently. And make her appear dominant We have
presented her in this way to show that she is completely unsuspecting of the
events that lay in front of her. This is similarly shown in the film p2. When
Angela is first introduced in the film, she appears as confident also, portrayed
through her actions and speech. She is dressed in business wear which
reflects her job and also connotes her independence. We dressed our victim
similarly to this, in monotone smart clothes to show that she too is an
independent working individual. We also ensured she wore white to represent
her innocence.

SOCIAL GROUP - VICTIMS

As Alex (our victim) discovers the photo frame on the floor, the realisation sets in that
something is not right. Her character changes from confident to frightened and weak. We
portray her through a high-angle shot to make her look weak and innocent, the main traits
of a victim. These shot types are also used throughout p2. Close up shots were used during
the bedroom scene to ensure that facial expressions were clear as this shows the key trait
of being frightened. We decided to base our victim on the P2 victim but have her as a
younger female to make her appear more vulnerable, which is another quality of this
social group. The effect of the psychopath is reflected through the victims expressions and
movements. For example in the close up below from P2, Angela can be seen looking
distraught and with her hands on her head which show desperation. In a close/up mid over
the shoulder shot, Alex from our film can be seen looking frightened as she moves her
hand away from Kurtis frantically.