Costume Research.

For our opening two minutes, we had to ensure the mise- en- scene was representative of our film. We took photographs of all 4 of us, and this post will show you why we used the particular props and clothing...

Character one- Protagonist " Tara" played by Nadiye Killick:

Tara is wearing ordinary clothing. We wanted to keep it simplistic, to make her seem vulnerable and innocent. The use of the hoodie, holds connotations with "chavs" and "gangsters" but can alternatively  be seen as a relaxing item of clothing. The coat, is big, and thick. This suggests that it is cold outside, which creates the idea of bad weather. The bad weather seems more realistic for an assault, than having a hot, summery day, as it creates the negative mood well.  The dog lead we also had to think about. The fact that it is bright purple, it emphasizes the use of the dog, and the reasoning for Tara being in the woods in the first place. Also, when she drops the lead during the assault, it will bring the audiences eyes, towards the lead, due to the bright, vibrant colour of it. Additionally, the walking boots also help to emphasize why she is there, as this particular brand of footwear ( timberlands) are a walking footwear. Without forgetting, the main prop/figure the dog. We thought that using a dog, would, one, give a reasoning for Tara to be in the woods, so it doesn't look random/weird for a girl to be spontaneously walking through the woods on her own, and two, emphasizes the innocence and vulnerability of her character.

Character two- Tara's best friend, Ellie- played by Mae Fisher:

We wanted to keep the concept of reality important during our film. Thriller films, usually have a " ordinary" character, so we wanted to show this through the clothing of our characters. Again, the use of the big, thick jacket emphasizes the cold weather, and creates the negative mood. The black jeans and black trainers, are seen as ordinary clothing. This makes Ellie appear innocent. As she is wearing trainers, it suggests that she is not going to the woods, as trainers are not seen as the type of shoes you would wear to the woods. Instead, she is supposed to be meeting Tara in the coffee shop, until she does not turn up...  The clothing here, is very ordinary and simplistic, which we feel successfully highlights, the innocence of the character, and a sense of realism to the audience.



Character three- Antagonist, Rosemary- played by Chloe Bennett:

Our Antagonists clothing was a very important factor to consider during our filming process. We had to make sure it fitted the conventions of a thriller film, but also have our own individuality to it as well. First and for most, the only colour seen here is black. The colour black is seen as very negative. It holds connotations with, death, power, mystery and evil. This connotations fit Chloe's character well, and so the colour black seemed a logical choice. The use of the footwear, is also significant. Rosemary also, is wearing the same footwear as Tara, but are in black. As they are walking boots, it could suggest that she is going to the woods as well, which builds more tension to the audience. Although the first  photograph does not show it, Rosemary is also wearing a balaclava. (top right) We thought it was effective, as it hides Rosemary's face. By not showing her face, it creates a sense of mystery and confusion. It also allows the audience to not see any of Rosemary's facial expressions, suggesting that she has no empathy or guilt about the assault she has done.

Character four- Antagonists friend/sidekick- Bella, played by Katy Welch:



This costume is also kept very ordinary for the same reasons. The use of the coat, emphasises the weather, and the negativity the cold weather holds. Bella also, is wearing canvas trainers, which suggests that she isn't going to the woods.. or is she? We thought we needed to create a bit of mystery through the clothing Bella is wearing. Bella is actually the primary Protagonist, as she's the character that told Rosemary to kill Tara. So the use of the simple, innocent clothing would immediately suggest to the audience that Bella is an innocent character, but in reality, she is not. This creates mystery, and confusion which fits the conventions of a thriller film.