Costumes & Props
Costumes are vital when it comes to expressing a character's personality or current mood. We've thought a lot about which outfit will help to emphasise our anti-hero as an outcast, and I decided to look into how 'outcasts' in the media are presented, as well young women are generally dressed within modern horror films.
Dexter, from the hit TV show 'Dexter' is one of the most popular anti-heroes in history, known for being a serial killer whom only targets other murderers (which relates to our character in how she targets those who she has a vendetta against. His balance of good/evil is expressed through his plain green-ish clothing, which is neither too light or too dark. This could suggest that whilst he isn't noticeably evil, he isn't particularly 'good' either. It is conventional in horror films for antagonists to be dressed in a dark attire, and protagonists in more casual, light clothing, therefore we will take this into consideration when choosing the exact outfit our main character will be dressed in.
An example of a horror film in which the protagonists are dressed in 'light' clothing is Friday the 13th. The colours include yellow, white, light blue and red, which are all bright colours, which can typically be associated with 'happy' things, such as summer for example (Yellow = Sun - Red = Flowers - Blue = Sky). White is often used to symbolise angels too, emphasising the positive tag given to that colour. 
On the other hand, antagonists are commonly dressed in dark colours, most notably black, which can be seen in 'Scream'. The colour black itself blends in with the darkness, meaning that at night it helps to be an effective disguise, which may be an angle we want to take with our character. Due to our realistic approach to our film, we will not be using any masks, which are only featured to both hide the antagonists identity, as well as give a human a more supernatural appearance.In regards to our anti-hero's outfit, we want to convey both her normal and psychotic states of mind. As we will be shooting scenes that take place in various different days, we will need more than one outfit, therefore we are looking to select attires of different colours (e.g. some white and some black), with the black connoting death and white connoting purity and innocence. By doing this, it could be used to foreshadow any actions she is going to take (wearing black shortly before she makes an attempt to kill one of her friends). This colour symbolises her state of mind/mood at different times, which is effective for an audience to identify actions she may take, whilst still being in the dark about the consequences/results of it. Furthermore, wearing black would be effective for her when attempting murder, as she would blend into the dark much more easily, reducing her chances of getting caught, and is conventional of villains in horror movies to wear the colour black. I think it's important to follow some conventions of horror movies whilst also differing from the norm, in order for the audience to recognise the horror aspects, whilst being introduced to some unexpected changes within it (such as featuring an anti-hero and having the villain be female).
One female protagonist/anti-hero we used for inspiration was Carrie. Who has some interesting costume designs.
This photo shows Carrie to be wearing plain coloured clothes, playing a troubled teenage girl who was subject to callous bullying and eventually snaps and kills a large number of students in her school. Her clothes aren't at all trendy/modern, which will be the case with Delilah too. This aims to show just how detached the character is from modern society, and how they do not fit into the mainstream fashion that the majority of students expect, and are therefore isolated from the majority of their peers, which is reflected here in 'Carrie'. The colour of her outer jacket is cream, which is often stereotyped as being a colour that old people generally wear, and is not associated with youth, further emphasising her lack of desire to fit in. Her white collared shirt is buttoned up right to the top, which creates a very formal, focused look. This is expected in a school environment, however in the film the other characters are wearing casual clothing, which segregates her even further. This may be the case in our film too, as we wish to make our supporting character wear regular, everyday clothing in order to represent the mass youth culture, contrasting with the old-fashioned clothing that Delilah will be wearing.
The difference in clothing when compared to her peers is shown here, in which the girl behind her is wearing a vest-top which exposes her cleavage, expressing a sense of sexuality in the other character which is not seen in Carrie. The vest-top also has a pattern on it, which aims to express her individuality and make her stand out as an individual, whereas Carrie almost blends in with the background, as the wall behind her is a very similar colour to her jacket.
Carrie is also seen wearing a dress in the film, which is a costume we are very likely to use within our production, as wearing a dress often differs from the norm in an every-day environment. Before the dress was covered in blood, it was a white colour, conveying the innocence of Carrie before the incident - as soon as she turned red her innocence was lost as she soon wrecked havoc on all in the building. This is interesting for us as we could use a white dress at the start of the trailer and then use a black one later on when Delilah breaks down, to show that her innocence has been corrupted by the evil in her mindset.
We have also decided we may include a male protagonist to further appeal to male audiences and we aim to make him appear very normal and like someone you would see on a daily basis, in order to make him more of a relatable character for our target audiences. Due to him being of a similar age to our target demographic, in conjunction with the way he will be dressed in everyday clothing for a teenage boy, this will make it easier for the audience to imagine what they would do if they were in his position, and remind them that the situation he is in has the potential to happen to someone like them. We feel that dressing this male protagonist in a hoodie and jeans would be an appropriate option, as this is a very common outfit worn by teenagers across the world, and connotes to the audience that the protagonist as a character is fairly laid back and casual, but also showing the audience that his life is about to experience some dramatic changes through the events of the film.
A recent horror film called 'Don't Hang Up' featured two male protagonists who were both consistently featured throughout the film wearing very everyday, normal clothing that any young male could be seen in. This makes the events that take place in the film even more disturbing to the audience as they can see that something like this could happen to them, and it is likely to make them feel more sympathy for the two protagonists. One of our aims is to make our audience feel an element of sympathy towards this male protagonist, and demonstrate the stark differences between him and our antagonist Delilah, as she will be shown in clothing that is a bit different from what our audience would see on a daily basis. However, one way in which we are subverting from the generic costume of a protagonist is by our choice to give him dark clothing. Typically, protagonists such as those shown above, are dressed in lighter clothing to connote their innocence and purity whereas we want to subvert from this in order to suggest to the audience that there may be a darker side to his character that they haven't seen yet, adding an element of mystery to our trailer.
The costumes we use are likely to be quite old fashioned to instantly separate our main character from other girls, and these old outfits also give the impression that she isn't quite in sync with mainstream society, perhaps connoting narcissism with just how much she stands out and is willing to take someone's life.
We have also decided we may include a male protagonist to further appeal to male audiences and we aim to make him appear very normal and like someone you would see on a daily basis, in order to make him more of a relatable character for our target audiences. Due to him being of a similar age to our target demographic, in conjunction with the way he will be dressed in everyday clothing for a teenage boy, this will make it easier for the audience to imagine what they would do if they were in his position, and remind them that the situation he is in has the potential to happen to someone like them. We feel that dressing this male protagonist in a hoodie and jeans would be an appropriate option, as this is a very common outfit worn by teenagers across the world, and connotes to the audience that the protagonist as a character is fairly laid back and casual, but also showing the audience that his life is about to experience some dramatic changes through the events of the film.
A recent horror film called 'Don't Hang Up' featured two male protagonists who were both consistently featured throughout the film wearing very everyday, normal clothing that any young male could be seen in. This makes the events that take place in the film even more disturbing to the audience as they can see that something like this could happen to them, and it is likely to make them feel more sympathy for the two protagonists. One of our aims is to make our audience feel an element of sympathy towards this male protagonist, and demonstrate the stark differences between him and our antagonist Delilah, as she will be shown in clothing that is a bit different from what our audience would see on a daily basis. However, one way in which we are subverting from the generic costume of a protagonist is by our choice to give him dark clothing. Typically, protagonists such as those shown above, are dressed in lighter clothing to connote their innocence and purity whereas we want to subvert from this in order to suggest to the audience that there may be a darker side to his character that they haven't seen yet, adding an element of mystery to our trailer.
The costumes we use are likely to be quite old fashioned to instantly separate our main character from other girls, and these old outfits also give the impression that she isn't quite in sync with mainstream society, perhaps connoting narcissism with just how much she stands out and is willing to take someone's life.
Final Pitch
Me and Megan have decided to produce a psychological/slasher horror film, focusing on an outcast anti-hero whom seeks revenge on all who tormented her. Our trailer will be set in a number of places, including our anti-hero's bedroom, living room and garden - as well as a traditional classroom setting. We are looking to film one or two scenes at Bradgate Park, which will be used as a place in which our character isolates herself from everyone, and contemplates how to go about her revenge. She will generally lack support from her peers, besides one friend and perhaps one teacher who try and support her throughout.
Applying Todorov's theory to our production here will help to explain the structure of our trailer in more detail, as well as outline specific events that will happen in each part of the trailer, and how it both converts to and subverts from similar trailers/productions.
Equilibrium - Our main character will be setting off for a seemingly routine day of school. The scene will show her getting ready, with a particular emphasis on her appearance so that the audience can see she isn't a conventional teenage girl.
Disruption - Upon arriving to school, she will be confronted by her oppressors, who behave very negatively towards her, making it clear to the audience that they are a big problem in her life. Her home life will also be shown, where it will be made clear that she is distant from them. Her room will feature some items that convey her difference to most teenage girls.
Realisation - Our anti-hero realises how badly she has been affected by her tormentors, and starts to act strangely, giving off demonic vibes. She starts to plan her bloody revenge and is less and less affected by what is done to her.
Attempt to Repair - She sets out to kill her classmates, with a weapon we have not yet decided. She doesn't try to hide her plan to show how much she doesn't care about being caught.
New Equilibrium - We don't want to reveal the new equilibrium in the trailer as it would spoil the end of the film, which is something that needs to be avoided.
Applying Todorov's theory to our production here will help to explain the structure of our trailer in more detail, as well as outline specific events that will happen in each part of the trailer, and how it both converts to and subverts from similar trailers/productions.
Equilibrium - Our main character will be setting off for a seemingly routine day of school. The scene will show her getting ready, with a particular emphasis on her appearance so that the audience can see she isn't a conventional teenage girl.
Disruption - Upon arriving to school, she will be confronted by her oppressors, who behave very negatively towards her, making it clear to the audience that they are a big problem in her life. Her home life will also be shown, where it will be made clear that she is distant from them. Her room will feature some items that convey her difference to most teenage girls.
Realisation - Our anti-hero realises how badly she has been affected by her tormentors, and starts to act strangely, giving off demonic vibes. She starts to plan her bloody revenge and is less and less affected by what is done to her.
Attempt to Repair - She sets out to kill her classmates, with a weapon we have not yet decided. She doesn't try to hide her plan to show how much she doesn't care about being caught.
New Equilibrium - We don't want to reveal the new equilibrium in the trailer as it would spoil the end of the film, which is something that needs to be avoided.
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