Actor List (Reasons For My Choice)

For our film trailer "The Outsider" we chose our actors due to them meeting the right criteria for the roles of the characters involved.

Melissa Heague - "Stacy"

Melissa (aged 18) was chosen to portray Stacy as we felt she would be able to play the "damsel in distress" stereotype perfectly.

Phil Wade - "Mark"

Phil (aged 18) was chosen to portray Mark as we felt he would be able to play the "heroic" stereotype perfectly.

George Hart - "Jack"

I was chosen to portray Jack as the rest of the group felt I would be able to play the "joker" of the group of characters perfectly.

Prop List

A 3 man to tent to make it evident that the group would be camping.

2 camping chairs as you would not go camping without chairs as there would be nowhere to sit.

A lighter to light the campfire to make it seem more like they were camping.

A knife for the murder of Melissa.

Fake blood for the killer to wipe off the knife.

Black gloves.

Costume List

Melissa Heague (Stacey) - Stacy is portrayed wearing primarilly conventional camping clothes. She is wearing wellis and a thick jacket. Also, her clothes are mostly dark which mirrors the feel of the trailer perfectly.

Philip Wade (Mark) - Mark was portrayed as wearing stereotypical teenage boy clothes with him wearing a hoody, trainers and traicksuit pants that are also not bright colours.

George Hart (Jack) - Jack was portrayed wearing a dark blue fleece and trainers. Dull colours also.

John Appleby (Killer) - The Killer was only revealed to be wearing primarilly black to avoid being noticed along with gloves so as not to leave any evidence linking him to the murders.

The Queer Theory

The queer theory is a field of gender studies that emerged in the early 1990's out of the gay/lesbian studies and feminist studies. Although many believe that the queer theory is only about homosexual representations in literature, it also explores categories of gender as well as sexual orientation. It is not only concerned with sexuality but also with identity.

Richard Dyer's Star Theory

Richard Dyer has written extensively about the role of stars in film, TV and music. Inrespective of the medium, stars have some key features in common. A star in an image, not a real person that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials (e.g advertising, magazines, etc. as well as films and music). Stars use internet, T.V, radio, magazines to construct an image for the film. Dyers theory is based around 2 paradox's.

Paradox one - The star must be ordinary and extraordinary

Paradox two - The star must be simultaneously present and absent to consumer (private life that audience wants to know more about)

Vladimir Propp Theory

In Propp's theory, he examined hundreds of folk tales and concluded that a formula was commonplace, including:

8 character roles or spheres of action (character and action being inseperable)

31 functions, always highly predictable such as villain being punished at end of story

Character Roles

The villain - represents evil and struggles against the hero

The dispatcher - character who makes the problem in the narrative known and sends the hero on his way  

The helper - helps the hero in his quest

The princess/heroine - the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. The hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain  

Her father - often rewards the hero with the princess/heroine 

The donor - prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object to help him in his quest

The hero - the centrail protagonist who leads the way in the narrative 

False hero - takes credit for the hero’s actions, is usually good looking and is often actually a coward

Roland Barthes Theory

Barthes is famous in media for suggesting that narratives work with five codes

The enigma code is the most famous as we use this to make guesses as to how the narrative of a film will finish, therefire providing pleasure for the audience. 
Hermeneutic Code
This is when parts of the story are not fully explained. They exist as enigmas or questions that the audience wishes to be resolved. Detective stories (e.g. Sherlock Holmes) have narratives that complies with this code - a criminal act is shown and the remainder of the narrative is devoted to answering questions raised by the initial event. 
In order to maintain interest, the final truth is not revealled until the end and some devices are used to conceal it:

The snare  

Partial answers 

Equivocation 

Proairetic Code
The proarietic code is a series of actions that imply further action/reaction. For example, a character may have an argument and the audience wonders what the resolution or outcome of this argument will be. This creates suspense and tension as the audience wonders what the outcome will be and begin to make their own guesses

Strauss Theory

Strauss argues that meaning in narratives is based upon binary opposites (conflicts). He was less interested in the arrangement (or syntagmatic)  of the narrative (or order) and more in the deeper meaning (or paradigmatic) of the themes.

Examples of Binary Opposition
Man vs. Woman
Science vs. Nature
Good vs. Evil
Earth vs. Space

Analysis of Lionsgate Ident

Analysis of Twisted Pictures Ident