Representation

I have four characters in my opening sequence. To a certain

extent I wanted to include some codes and conventions so that
it would be obvious to my audience that it is the opening
sequence of a horror film. However, I didnt want to make the
characters too stereotypical as they would have no depth and
the audience wouldnt connect to them, as they are too
stereotypical.
Character 1: The drug taker (Ewan)
Gender: The drug taker is male. I decided to keep this aspect
stereotypical as a woman heroin addict might put off viewers
as they are so used to seeing men drive themselves into
insanity (with the exception of Requiem for a Dream).
Throughout the sequence he is portrayed as a complex,
disturbed addict, who has visions which haunt him and taunt
him. Some of films best anti-heroes who are complex and
disturbed have been male and this is the main reason I decided
to cast a man in this part, to keep up with this film
tradition.
Race: The race of the heroin addict is a white male, mainly
because my main actor was perfect for the part due to his
strong acting. I could have used any person of any race in my
sequence as I am not really using low key lighting, which in
some cases can make it hard to see the actor, if he/she is
dark skinned, because it is set in the open where light can
reach the actors.
Age: The heroin addict in my sequence is as expected, a young
man aged 16, because it adds realism to the opening sequence
as it wouldnt look or feel realistic if it was a younger
person. I have chosen myself as the character as I do look a
relatively realistic age, plus the fact that I couldnt find
any adults available when I was casting it.
Disability: The victim has no visible disability in my opening
sequence. I decided to do this as I thought it may shock the
audience too much if he had a physical disability, plus the
character is already a psychologically damaged character
already. Adding to this, the character does suffer mental
illness, as the years of drug abuse have finally caught up to
him, thus making him mentally scarred and damaged. Along with
this is that he has split personality, thus the reason why he
has an evil side of him that torments him every waking moment
of his life. This could be because of the drugs or his
disturbed childhood.

Sexuality: In my opening sequence it is not shown whether the

victim is homosexual or heterosexual. I didnt want to draw
the audiences attention to this as I dont think it is
relevant to the narrative in my opening sequence.

Character 2: The evil side hallucination (Nawe)

Gender: This hallucination is male, because he is the same
person as our protagonist, physically.
Age: The evil side hallucination in my sequence is as
expected; a young man aged 16, because hes the same person as
my protagonist. I have chosen myself as the character, as I do
look a relatively realistic age, plus the fact that I couldnt
find any adults available when I was casting it.
Disability: The hallucination has no visible disability in my
opening sequence. I decided to do this as I thought it may
shock the audience too much if he had a physical disability,
plus the character is already a psychologically damaged
character already. Adding to this, the character does suffer
mental illness, he is a paranoid schizophrenic, he is overly
aggressive and violent and he is very disturbed. This
character represents all of the bad things Ewan truly is on
the inside. I wanted this character in a way to represent the
evil that secretly lurks in us all, but I felt that was
restricted as everyone isnt a white, 16 year old male.
Sexuality: In my opening sequence it is not shown whether the
character is homosexual or heterosexual. I didnt want to draw
the audiences attention to this as I dont think it is
relevant to the narrative in my opening sequence.

Character 3: The Homeless man (The Homeless Man)

Gender: This character is a male for really only one or two
reasons. I feel like using a female actress as the homeless
person will be too off putting and unusual for the average
viewer, even though there are homeless women. This out of the
norm casting may cost my audiences attention and viewing
experience. The other reason why I have used a male is,
because of the fact that he represents the guilt that lurks
inside our protagonist and since our main character is a male,
this hallucination has to be in return.

Age: Since this character represents the guilt that lurks

inside our protagonist, I figure he has to be a similar or the
same age as him, as using anyone older and younger would make
it hard to understand what he is. So, in retro respect, this
character is played by a 16 year old as well.
Disability: The character has no visible disability, because I
thought it was too much of a stretch for a character that is
already in the state he is. The character mentally, isnt
really disabled in any way either for the same reason.
Sexuality: In my opening sequence it is not shown whether the
character is homosexual or heterosexual. I didnt want to draw
the audiences attention to this as I dont think it is
relevant to the narrative in my opening sequence.

Character 4: The Deceased Mother (The Dead Mum)

Gender: This character is a female, for obvious reasons. The
reason I included her as a character, is because she creates
an emotional link between herself and the protagonist, so in
retro respect she is here to add a layer of emotional depth
and to make the story a cohesive and understandable one.
Age: Since this character is, as stated above, a mum she has
to be a certain age otherwise the production will not be
believable, which is exactly what I want. The character is 42
years old, as it gives us a justification of dates and
relationships between characters etc.
Disability: The character has no visible or mental disability
as her character is that of a strong willed, independent woman
who is mentally and physically fit.
Sexuality: In my opening sequence it is not shown whether the
character is homosexual or heterosexual. I didnt want to draw
the audiences attention to this as I dont think it is
relevant to the narrative in my opening sequence.